The 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, follows the life of the protagonist, Okonkwo, a leader and a local athletic hero in a made-up Nigerian hamlet, named Umuofia. The novel is divided into three very distinct sections— the first which examines the family of the hero, another his personal perspective and lineage along with the current societal customs, the following sections look at the influence of outsiders on the village such as colonists from the United Kingdom and missionaries of the Christian faith. Despite these clear separations within the book, there is a consistent treatment of gender and gender roles that paint a disturbing picture. Achebe’s novel shows the scathing legacy of destruction that strict gender roles can unleash upon society. The strict divisions of gender and gendered work, along with gendered roles in society, are one of the ways this society manifests fear. Rather than confronting the source of the fear, the society at large and its leaders allow this fear to create dysfunction, even if that dysfunction wields much destruction.
In the society of Umoufia, all things connected women or to things that are female or feminine, are considered weaker or subordinate. One of the most flagrant ways in which this manifests is in the treatment of crops: crops were either male or female and the most profitable, nutrient crops were always male. Consider the following: “His mother and sister worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like cocoa-yams, beans and cassava. Yams, the kind of crops, was a man’s crops” (Achebe 1996, p.16). This is just another way in which the author demonstrates how in this society, all things which are at the pinnacle of excellence are masculine; all things which are subordinate are feminine. By constructing society in this way, the leaders of the village can be certain that women will feel inferior and will feel less than, and thus “know their place.”
Umoufia society is a judgmental one, and there are very clear expectations regarding how women should act, the ideal qualities ascribed to them, and how men should act. It is disgraceful if men should ever embody qualities that are considered feminine. Such disgrace is something Okonkwo is made to understand firsthand. His father is known to be a failure by everyone in the village in part because he is lazy and in part because of his lack of accomplishments. In the midst of his failures, the father is given the term “agbala”: “That is how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title” (Achebe, 1996 p. 10). This quote showcases a very revelatory aspect of the society and their perspective upon the worth and value of a woman. A man...
References
Ogede, O. (1996). Achebe's Things Fall Apart. A&C Black.
Anyadike, C. (2007). Duality and Resilience in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Philosophia Africana, 10(1), 49-58.
Jeyifo, B. (1993). Okonkwo and his mother: things fall apart and issues of gender in the constitution of African postcolonial discourse. Callaloo, 16(4), 847-858.
Osei-Nyame, G. K. (1999). Chinua Achebe Writing Culture: Representations of Gender and Tradition in Things Fall Apart. Research in African Literatures, 30(2), 148- 164.
Things Fall Apart What falls apart and why? The title of Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart refers mainly to the integrity of the Nigerian tribal cultures: to their customs, traditions, and ways of life, all of which fall apart as the result of internal and external conflicts. In Okonkwo's personal life, a series of unfortunate events lead to his loss of personal integrity and his eventual psychological destruction. The gradual yet
The unpolluted picture of Ibo people comes to life with the helps of such things as the detailed description of New Yam Festival that opens Chapter 5. While some things may appear corny and affected such as sentences like this one: "Drums beat violently, and men leaped up and down in a frenzy" [86], most of the comments are meant to highlight the true meaning of these otherwise demeaning observations.
Okonkwo seems full of passionate intensity to preserve things as they are, and to preserve his sense of masculine, patriarchal authority. But although this sense of passion seems to have its origin sense of nostalgia for traditional forms of control, it is also too tied up the man's ego to be called a conviction. A true conviction about justice is not self-interested. It is also worth remembering that Okonkwo's
" Okonkwo inflexible traditionalism pitted him against his gentle son Nwoye, who joined the Christian European missionaries. In the book, Oknokwo had to participate in a ceremonial human sacrifice and endure a seven-year exile after his gun accidentally killed the son of the deceased warrior Ezeudu. He also lost part of himself when he lost Ikemefuna. Upon returning to the village, he found it torn apart by Western Imperialism. Finally, he
Things Fall Apart Hubris and the Suicide of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart This novel by Chinua Achebe was first published in 1958. Set on the continent of Africa this is the story of Okonkwo, a member of the Umuofia clan, one of nine villages of a tribe in Nigeria. Okonkwo is an esteemed tribesman who, despite the stigma of his cowardly father who died in disgrace leaving many unsettled
Therefore, Okonkwo rejected his father, and hence, the womanly element of himself. He turned out to be a leading wrestler and warrior in his people to make available the facilities of life for his family at a very small age. Simultaneously, he established a new farm and began to collect his own riches, and ultimately a name. His uphill struggle confirms itself in his victory, and he rapidly became
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