Verified Document

Androgynous Quality Of Ezinma In Term Paper

Related Topics:

¶ … androgynous quality of Ezinma in "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

In the novel "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, the apparent display of male dominance have become the focus of the novel, depicted through the character of Okonkwo. Through his character, Achebe was able to illustrate the voluntary submissiveness of women to the male members of the Umuofia and the discrimination between males and females in almost all their everyday activities. However, embedded in Achebe's narration of Umuofia life is the implicit display of female power in spite of the males' dominant display of authority in the tribe.

Ezinma, Okonkwo's daughter, best illustrates this 'power' among females in Umuofia. Apart from being Okonkwo's favorite daughter, Ezinma had shown power by possessing the female trait of beauty while at the same time having the aggressiveness of a male; characteristics that made Okonkwo wish the "she should have been a boy" (64). Similarly, the combination of both male and female characteristics was seen in the character of Ani, the fertility goddess of Umuofia. In the novel, Ani possesses power primarily because she is the one who makes it possible for Umuofia members to have productive harvests and for women to bear more children, yields greater power in the patriarchal Umuofia community (30-1). The power Ani wields to the village reflect the importance given to agriculture and fertility, symbolic and actual concepts related to reproduction, which would not become possible without the participation and presence of women. Thus, Ani embodies the collective power of women in Umuofia, whose ability to reproduce makes them more powerful than the monied and powerful men of their village. Through Ezinma and Ani, female power has managed to emerge and become influential in Umuofia, although male dominance is tolerated in order to maintain the status quo in the tribe.

Works Cited

Achebe, C. (1994). Things Fall Apart. NY: First Anchor Books.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Chinua Achebe's 1958 Novel Things
Words: 1656 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

But because Ezinma is female, she cannot function in this capacity. Moreover, even a woman, in a traditional reading of the text would support this notion" (Strong-Leek). The fact that society was patriarchal at the time was especially devastating for women. Moreover, women readers are probable to consider that it is perfectly natural for Ezinma to be unable to follow her father's footsteps because society as a whole has

Chinua Achebe / Buchi Emecheta in Buchi
Words: 1056 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Chinua Achebe / Buchi Emecheta In Buchi Emecheta's book, The Joys of Motherhood, colonialism is already instituted and through the main character, Nnu Ego, we are able to see what post-colonialism looks like from a woman's perspective. The reader has the knowledge of hindsight and what colonialism did in Africa, the major impact of it, however, the story that Emecheta creates completely avoids anachronism. The characters in Emecheta's book only know

Chinua Achebe's Fifth Novel, Anthills of the
Words: 4071 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Chinua Achebe's fifth novel, Anthills of the Savannah, was first published in 1987, some fifteen years after his fourth novel, A Man of the People. In Anthills of the Savannah, Achebe states his abhorrence of any theory of radical transformation of society. "Society is an extension of an individual," he says through Ikem Osodi, his protagonist. "The most we can hope to do with a problematic psyche is to re-form

Chinua Achebe - Bibliography Dehumanization
Words: 870 Length: 3 Document Type: Annotated Bibliography

It is this process of dehumanization of the colonial populations that justifies their own imperialistic behavior. In a similar manner, the human psyche may really be incapable of the kinds of structures and deeds necessary to subjugate a population. In order to do so, then, the colonial population slips into a sense of unreality and justification, accelerating dehumanization in order to allow for colonial subjugation (Fanon, 108, 171-4). Bibliography: Achebe, C.

Chinua Achebe's Novel, Things Fall
Words: 906 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

These converts become zealots and actually kill the village's sacred python. We read no one believed "such a thing could happen" (158). The violence shocks some in the community but not in the way we might expect. Okonkwo wants to chase the missionaries away but the clan overrules his idea is overruled and ostracizes him. This is interesting human behavior. Some clansmen are opposed and others are not and

Chinua Achebe: Literary Genius Chinua
Words: 1617 Length: 6 Document Type: Thesis

In the end, he cannot cope with what is happening to him and chooses to deal with things in his own way. Jonathon, too, is a man that is faced with challenges in his community. His outlook is more positive and he chooses to cope by adapting as best as he can. Adapting was something that Okonkwo simply could not do and would not do. These men represent the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now