Empowerment through Creation and Protection: The Role of Women in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a depiction of the tragic life of Okonkwo, the main character. Many elements combine to result in the tragic end of the book, as well as the end of the traditional ways of Okonkwo's Ibo tribe. The major contributing factor to this demise is the arrival of Western missionaries. The foreign beliefs and customs imposed upon the tribe change them forever, effectively destroying the social structure they have built up. This traditional social structure involves specific roles assigned to men and women respectively. Men are to be involved in politics and hunting, while women are creatively involved in the household environment and childbirth. While to the western eye then it would appear that women are inexcusably abused in the Ibo culture, these women do use their traditional roles to wield subtle power in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Online articles by June Chun and Annie White are also considered for their interpretation of women's roles in Achebe's work. It is undeniable that the attitude of the men, represented by Okonkwo, towards women in the Ibo tribe leaves much to be desired. Okonkwo for example views any kind of weakness or failure as a feminine quality, even if these do occur in men. Conversely, if a woman shows herself to be strong and capable, she is likened to a man. In Okonkwo's family, the first view is represented by...
Similarly, his son by his first wife, Nwoye, reminds Okonkwo of his father's weakness, and is therefore described as "effeminate" (Achebe 143). In contrast to this his favorite child is a daughter, Ezinma, who would have made Okonkwo happier had she been a boy (Achebe 63).
Moreover, the unquestioned belief in the oracle's word conflicts with Okonkwo's own needs to solidify his family's political leadership and social standing in the tribe. Okonkwo's desire to redeem himself and his family name proves stronger than his respect for the oracle. Thus, Okonkwo at once seeks to preserve the political institutions of Umuofia culture while at the same time subverting core social and spiritual traditions. He wants to
Religion in Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is centrally focused on religion, and the varied ways it can be interpreted and how those interpretations can be acted upon. (MacKenzie 128) Secondary to the Igbo religion, which plays an important role in the everyday lives of African's is the contrasting Christian faith of the missionaries that predate colonial interests. It is to some degree important to stress that colonial
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe is one of the most influential and powerful writers of today, and he is also one of the most widely published writers today. Chinua Achebe has in fact written more than twenty-one novels, and short stories, and books of poetry as well, and his very first landmark work was "Things Fall apart," which was published in the year 1958, when the author was just twenty-eight years
Role of Women in African and Indian Society Both Things Fall Apart and Nectar in a Sieve weave rather vivid imagery of the life of women in the traditional, patriarchal society of Africa and India during the colonial period. The vividness of the images of cultures where a great deal of importance was placed on women bearing sons and devoting their lives to the care of their families, leads the
Things Fall Apart is not necessarily a novel about globalization, but the implications of a changing world -- and that includes issues related to globalization along with the fading of colonialism -- are an important part of this novel. On the surface this novel is the telling of a nationalistic-themed tale about the tragic circumstances surrounding the initial respect that Okonkwo had from the Igbo culture, along with his demise,
Colonial Resistance in Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe was born in Ogidi, Nigeria, and his father was a teacher in a missionary school. His parents were devout evangelical Protestants and christened him Albert after Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, although they installed in him many of the values of their traditional Igbo culture. He attended University College in Ibadan, where he studied English, history and theology. At the university Achebe
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