In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Achebe tells the story of an indigenous man, named Okonkwo, and his surroundings in an Ibo village in Nigeria. Through the use of gender roles, traditional and cultural aspects, the author explores how the environment around Ezinma, one of Okonkwo’s daughter, shapes her moral traits. Throughout the novel, Achebe illustrates the ways culture affects characters and their qualities, which reveals the struggles one may face when considering change and is forced to break the tradition. Through the use of traditional aspects, the author reveals that in The Village of Umuofia, women were seen as the weak gender. Throughout the novel, Ezinma is treated with more privileges than the children around her, which made her develop a level of confidence that was not the expected behavior of a girl in her traditional community. In page 64 the author writes, “‘She should have been a boy,’ he thought as he looked at his ten-year old daughter. He passed her a piece of fish.” Within this quote, the author shows Okonkwo wishing that her daughter, Ezinma was a boy, he loved her but felt women were not enough and instead he wanted her to be a boy. By mentioning this quote, the author reveals …show more content…
In page 40 the author writes, “”Ekwefi,” she said, “is it true that when people are grown up, fire does not burn them?” Ezinma, unlike most children called her mother by her name.” Within this quote, the author shows Ezinma referring to her mother without respect and establishes that such action was not common among the children who lived in the village. By calling her mother “Ekwefi” instead of “mom” or “mother” the author reveals that Ezinma did not meet society's expectations. By presenting this example, the author reveals that Ezinma was not the stereotype girl who followed all the cultural
As wise John Berger once said,“Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one”. A “single story” is the story of a culture that we learn from stereotypes and conspiracies developed throughout time in our society. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe defies the single story of African culture while still tying their native language in to show the importance between a physical differentiation of culture, and the similarities with morals and values they have in common. Through gender roles and proverbs used in the language of this book, we have a cultural insight of Nigeria through a new set of eyes given to us by Achebe that detures us from the single stories that we were taught to by our society.
The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story that opens the reader's mind to an entirely different way of living in a Nigerian village. Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930, perhaps this is why he writes a whole book on a Nigerian village and introduces to us the ways of life for the Nigerian people. From the first page of the book to the last, Achebe allows the reader to enter the mind of the main character Okonkwo. Okonkwo is the leader of his village and is very respected for his many achievements. Although Okonkwo means well for his village, the novel invites the reader to see him has a flawed character who eventually suffers from the consequences of bad "masculine" decisions he makes throughout the book.
In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Mr. Brown, the first missionary in Umuofia, was a kind and respectful man. Not to say that Reverend James Smith was not, but his degree of kindness and respect were present in a whole different level. They both wanted to convert the lost, all those in Umuofia that were not in the church. Mr. Brown made friends with the clan and “trod softly on his faith,” (pg.178) while Mr. Smith told them how things were in a harsh voice and tried to force his religion on the people of Umuofia. The impacts the two had on the people and the church were exact opposites.
In life people are very rarely, if ever, purely good or evil. In novels authors tend not to create characters with an obvious moral standing not only to make their novel more applicable to the reader, but also to make the characters more complex and dynamic. Chinua Achebe uses this technique to develop the characters in his novel, Things Fall Apart. The main character, and protagonist in the novel, Okonkwo, is very morally dynamic showing some sensitivity to his family and friends, but in an attempting to rebel against his father, Okonkwo also exhibits the tendency to lash out violently.
Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart is a narrative story that follows the life of an African man called Okonkwo. The setting of the book is in eastern Nigeria, on the eve of British colonialism in Africa. The novel illustrates Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs, and his eventual downfall, all of which basically coincide with the Igbo?s society?s struggle with the Christian religion and British government. In this essay I will give a biographical account of Okonwo, which will serve to help understand that social, political, and economic institutions of the Igbos.
Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart tells the story of the people of an Igbo village in Nigeria. In Igbo society, the traditions and gender roles are strict, and being a woman or feminine is often viewed as a negative thing. The men who are masculine and show their dominance over their wives and children are highly regarded in Igbo society and have more power than those who do not. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist is a representation of traditional Igbo society.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a book about the effect of British colonialism on the people of Nigeria, but mainly focuses on the story of one man, Okonkwo, and his family. Achebe wrote the book because he wanted the world, mainly Westerners, to understand what African societies were really like; African villages were not the primitive backwater areas the world thought they were. A major theme of the book is toxic masculinity and the effect it has on men, especially men in areas with such harsh gender roles as Umuofia. This is especially present in Okonkwo and his real son, Nwoye, with whom he has a strained relationship with for most of the book.
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a powerful novel about the social changes that occurred when the white man first arrived on the African continent. The novel is based on a conception of humans as self-reflexive beings and a definition of culture as a set of control mechanisms. Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo, an elder, in the Igbo tribe. He is a fairly successful man who earned the respect of the tribal elders. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected member of the tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace graphically dramatizes the struggle between the altruistic values of Christianity and the lust for power that motivated European colonialism in Africa and undermined the indigenous culture of a nation.
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is a story about the rise and fall of a man who is a leader and great warrior of his Nigerian Tribe. He achieved his status and success through hard work and dedication. He is constantly hindered by his fear of being like his father. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses the portrayal of Okonkwo as a tragic hero based on Aristotle’s definition to prove that fear and arrogance ultimately leads problems and downfall.
There has been many issues between incompatible cultures regarding what one culture values and believes. As a result of these differences there has been conflicts such as abortion, same sex marriage, gun rights, and many more. People have taken stances choose their position within these conflicts based on what they believe in and their own cultures. Hence the disputes and even fighting between the people of one stance to people of the opposing and divisions within a community. Countless individuals have introduced numerous ways to solve these conflicts, one in particular called Cultural Relativism has been one specific solution that has been taken into consideration.
There are constant struggles between gender, identity, commodification, and class. Among the men and women in many African tribes that still exist today, there are divergences, which will always remain intact because of the culture and the way in which they are taught to treat each other. Chinua Achebe wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart, which is a great piece of African literature that deals with the Igbo culture, history, and the taking over of African lands by British colonization. The ongoing gender conflict is a prominent theme in Things Fall Apart, presenting the clash between men and women of the African Igbo society. Throughout history, from the beginning of time to today, women have frequently been viewed as inferior, men’s possessions whose sole purpose was to satisfy the men’s needs.
The Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a straight to the point story, embedded with interesting elements that capture readers’ attention. In my view, when I read the story, I found many interesting things about the theme of the book. But The Masculinity Okonkwo was what captures my attention. The story opens up to a Traditional Igbo lifestyle, a theme which is highly stylized from its ritual to the actions performed for certain ceremonies. Most of the action Igbo tribe has been an attempt to show respect to the gods, for example, when ikemefuna became sick and his stomach swelled up their traditions says that he take them to the evil forest and kill him. The story also seems to focus on gender, family, respect and reputation, and religion. In fact, Gender which in Igbo tradition, sets standards and roles between Igbo women and men. Women in Igbo Culture are the weaker sex, but are endowed with qualities that make them worthy of worship, like the ability to bear children. Men in Igbo Culture are the stronger sex, which gives them the ability to provide for their family and has prowess on the battlefield. In Igbo culture, building a nice and respectable family is important and titles in their culture gives them respect and builds reputation in the ‘‘Umuofia’’ village playing a big role in Igbo tradition. Nothing plays a bigger role in Igbo tradition than religion, the ‘‘Umuofia’’ village worship the goddess of the earth are always careful to avoid committing sins of their goddess with a fear of vengeance that might wipe out an entire generation. In the story, the men of the Umuofia village seem to care a lot about masculinity, when Okonkwo is hosting a party he takes it very seriously and ...
In Chinua Achebe 's classic novel "Things Fall Apart," the development of European colonization 's lead to extreme cultural changes, leaving a lasting impact on the Igbo village of Umofia in West Africa. In the novel, Achebe displays the impacts of European colonization in both critical and sympathetic terms to provide the reader with both positive and negative factors of Imperialism to develop an unbiased understanding of what the Igbo culture and society went through. While addressing the hardship 's of life by showing the deterioration of Okonkwo 's character, the cultural and traditional changes of society, and the positive and negative impacts of imperialism, Achebe keeps touch on the overall theme of the novel, once a dramatic event
Throughout Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, struggle between change and tradition is one of the most relevant issues. The Igbo villagers, Okonkwo, and his son Nwoye all experience this problem in many different ways. The villagers have their religion defied, Okonkwo reaches his breaking point and Nwoye finally finds what he believes in. People have struggled to identify and cope with change and tradition throughout history, and will continue to struggle with this issue in the
In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the author poses many perspectives for literary criticism and review. This work emphasizes many different cultural aspects that were considered controversial at the time of publication in both African and American culture. This novel’s focus on feminine roles, religion, and cultural norms give readers a glimpse of life in the village of Umuofia while allowing them to think critically about the thematic topics posed.