Things Fall Apart Gender Analysis

1100 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Things fall apart analysis essay

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo’s position on gender is that men are the dominant humans that rule over everyone, while women are nothing more than objects. The women are the property of the men who pay a bride price when they want to marry someone. The more wives a man has, the more wealthy and well respected he is. In Igbo culture, women are treated as nothing more than entities to be used for reproductive and housekeeping purposes, as well as targets for their husbands rage. Men are expected to bring titles, wealth, and glory to their families to cement their legacies; the reality is that women are probably much stronger than the men because they survive the abusive men in their society.
The Igbo men do not
The wives of the Igbo men are not the only women who have to care for him. The mistreatment of women starts at a young age when a man’s daughter’s have to help their mothers with her work in the household. The men treat their daughters the same way as their wives, with the exception of not conceiving children with them. “‘You have not eaten for two days,’ said [Okonkwo’s] daughter Enzima when she brought the food to him…’Go and bring me some cold water,’ he said…‘Bring me my bag,’ he asked…” (65-66). Okonkwo, like other men, expects his daughter to do everything she is told without question, otherwise she may be beaten as well. Okonkwo views his daughter as a strong, independent woman and always regrets that she is not a boy. He treats her with more respect than his wives and other daughters due to these thoughts, but he still will not let her complete actions that he considers manly. Enzima says, “‘Father, will you go to see the wrestling?’ Enzima asked after a suitable interval. ‘Yes,’ he answered. ‘Will you go?’ ‘Yes.’ And after a pause she said: ‘Can I bring your chair for you?’ ‘No, that is a boy’s job’” (44). [Could also reference page 66] Enzima is not a man, so Okonkwo can not allow her to complete “manly” duties. Enzima wants to help out her aging father who is not as strong as he used to be. Okonkwo refuses due to the
This demonstrates that they are insecure and that they need their success and arm candy to drown it out. The women are loving and caring, mothers and wives, who care for their husbands and children. The women have nowhere to go if they try to escape their husbands. They have learned how to protect themselves by complying with their husbands wishes. It is no way to live but they show their strength by continuing to live through the abuse, and keeping their self-control. The men probably are keeping the women out of power because they do not want to admit that the women would make better decisions for the community. The men have had a lousy run being in power, now the women should have a chance.
The Igbo women do not deserve the treatment they receive from the Igbo men. The Igbo men are all full of themselves and all they care about is personal success. Gender should not be a reason to oppress anyone for anything and a community should not have power based on levels of misogyny, but this is who the Igbo truly

Show More
Related

  • Igbo Culture Vs. American Culture In Things Fall Apart

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    The role of men in the Igbo culture is to provide food. Meanwhile, women are given easier tasks as to just serve the men. Work is shared equally in American culture.

    Read More

  • Uncivilized In The Igbo Society

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    ”Two little groups of people stood at a respectable distance beyond the stools. they faced the elder’s” (Achebe,1994,p.87). The court system only consist of the elders of the village but, all of the elders are males. And because they are males so they are biased to the other males so it can become an unfair court trial for the women of the village because the elder’s side with the men. Therefore there is still the debate that it is only their way of life so the Igbo people are still somewhat

    Read More

  • Masculinity In Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the theme of perceived masculinity is prominent and portrayed as a critical characteristic which has the potential to shape clans, families, and the safety of others. Because of the emphasis placed on masculinity, women are widely disregarded and downplayed, as they are seen as property. In African culture men are revered due to their warrior-like natures that can uphold the functionality of a clan, but frowned upon when deemed as weak; the result of this fear of weakness led to the dominance of men over women.

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun Gender Analysis

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, begins with an African American family about to receive a check from their father’s death. The check makes the family think about what each person would do with the money and they all have different ideas. Whenever we find out what Walter Lee and Beneatha each want to do with that money, we learn more about their different views on gender and what they believe a man and women "should” do. The family lives in Chicago in the 1950’s, which from my research about this time and location, I’ve learned it’s like everywhere else during this time; the men think they control everything and everyone. During this time, these men and women were raised like this, so they didn’t know any different. It’s hard for us to read about this stuff because women are much more independent these days than they were even just 10 years ago. Walter and Beneatha have different views on how men and women should act. Walter’s relates more to the time period they are in and Beneatha is more modern.

    Read More

  • Notion of Balance in Things Fall Apart by Achebe

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    Okonkwo, the main character of the book, was born the son of Unoka, who was a loafer. Unoka was too lazy to go out and plant crops on new, fertile land, and preferred to stay at home playing his flute, drinking palm wine, and making merry with the neighbors. Because of this, his father never had enough money, and his family went hungry. He borrowed much money in order to maintain this lifestyle. Okonkwo perceived this as an imbalance toward the female side in his father's character: staying at home and not using one's strength to provide for the family is what the women do. In reaction, Okonkwo completely rejected his father, and therefore the feminine side of himself. He became a star wrestler and warrior in his tribe and began providing for his family at a very young age, while at the same time starting new farms and beginning to amass wealth. He is very successful, and soon becomes one of the leaders of his tribe and has many wives and children. His big ambition is to become one of the powerful elders of the tribe, for what could be more manly than that?

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Post Colonial Igbo Culture

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Men are still looked at as the dominant gender and still believed to “own their wives.” According to BBC News, women are still looked at as property and are perceived to be pure and submissive to their parents and husbands. Yes, society has changed in the world to where women are allowed to have “equal right as men,” and women are allowed more freedom. Nonetheless, women in Nigerian society have not had that same change and are now standing up for themselves. Women went from being valued in culture, to being submissive housewives. Men went from being strong warriors who cared for women’s rights, to not caring about women. It was always seen in the Igbo culture that women are supposed to be pure and able to bear multiple children for their husband, but it has taken a bigger turn than expected in their

    Read More

  • Umuofia Government In Chinua Achebe's Thing Fall Apart

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    As with most primitive societies, the Igbo was ruled by a few elite, all of which were male. Those able to obtain power in the village are male,

    Read More

  • The Gender Trap Analysis

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emily Kane begins her book, The Gender Trap, with a flash back on her attempt at gender-neutral parenting in the midst of “traps” that make this effort frightening: our societal world is arranged to focus on the differences amongst girls and boys, as Kane saw in such ordinary experiences as the narrow selection of “princess” or “cowboy” themes when shopping for children's apparel. Kane also observed some of the everyday consequences of gender-unbiased parenting in, for example, the social rejection her son faced as a result of not having the toys unofficially necessary for playing with the other boys at his preschool. The rest of Emily Kane's book explores this “gender trap”—“a set of expectations and structures that inhibit social change and stall many parents' best intentions for loosening the limits that gender can impose on us”, in a social scientific manner.

    Read More

  • Overview of Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    The prior history of Nigeria before the 1900’s is critical in exploring the effects of colonialism. During the pre-colonial era, Nigeria was mainly divided into three tribes: Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa Fulani. A female’s role differed according to kinship structure of the tribe and the status of the woman in the economy. Neither new nor peculiar, women have long been regarded as the “subordinate” class in Nigerian culture. Nigerian women were able to achieve high statuses by lineage or marrying into ruling class families. Under customary laws, a woman’s purpose was to be fertile and able to bear children. Tribes expected their women to marry into Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa Fulani patri-lineage and bear sons to guarantee the future of the tribe. A wife’s position improved as she gave birth to more children and gain approval from elder members. Women who could not were scorned just as Mama wa...

    Read More

  • Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo’s fear leads him to treat members of his family harshly, in particular his son, Nwoye. Okonkwo often wonders how he, a man of great strength and work ethic, could have had a son who was “degenerate and effeminate” (133). Okonkwo thought that, "No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man" (45).

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart: Gender Roles In African Igbo Society

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    Do you think men are held at a higher standard than woman? In the book “Things Fall Apart” it deals with the Igbo Tribes history on how they treat women . There are many constant struggles that a women has to face within this book, from getting treated unfairly to being ruled by their husbands. These are gender roles in the African Igbo society when it comes to women. Throughout history , from the beginning of time to today, women are frequently been viewed as slaves to men. Meaning that they are a men’s possessions whose sole purpose is to satisfy the men’s needs. This might be because men are physically stronger than women and have always had the ability to control them that way.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

    2265 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Umofia, manliness is associated with strength and womanliness with weakness (Okhamafe 127). There is no such thing as a strong woman, and all men should disdain weakness. In Umofia, “all men are males, but not all males are men” (Okhamafe 126). Only the strong men who hold titles deserve to be called “men”. The Igbo word “agbala” is an alternate work for “woman” and for a man who had no title. Women in Igbo society are expected to act a certain way. Okonkwo scolds his daughter, Ezinma, when she does not “sit like a woman” (Achebe 44). He will not let Ezinma bring his chair to the wrestling match because it is a “boy’s job” (Achebe 44). Eve...

    Read More

  • Conflicts of Gender in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Women have many responsibilities in the Igbo society such as having children, cooking, cleaning, and farming. These are important functions for women, yet they are not given much credit or meaning for their existence in the roles they fill. As Rose Ure Mezu points out “The world in Things Fall Apart is one in which patriarchy intrudes oppressively into every sphere of existence. It is an andocentric world where the man is everything and the woman nothing.” In some way, Mezu is correct in saying that the man is everything and the woman nothing.

    Read More

  • The Ibo Society In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within the Ibo tribe, men have more dominance over the women as they accept titles to display their power and importance, allowing them to participate in the decision making for the village. Compared to the women of the clan, men can marry multiple wives as a sign of wealth, and their wives stay home attending to their husband and caring for their children. For example, Okonkwo has already gained much respect among his tribe as “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars. And so although Okonkwo was still young, he was already one of the greatest men of his time. Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered” (Achebe 8). To prove their masculinity and power, Ibo men rely on their wealth, shown by their farming and the number of wives they have, and their fighting abilities in wars. Even though elderly members of the tribe gained much respect, a man’s contributions to the village and successes increases their importance among the clan. As demonstrated from a village gathering, “It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin” (Achebe 87). During the ceremony, the way one is positioned illustrates their role in society. While the titled, important men and elders are seated in the front rows, the women are neglected in the outer regions as to show their low social status compared to the men. Achebe compares the women to outsiders because they serve little importance to the ceremony and to the village as they only work from home to care for their family. The ability of men to accept titles and

    Read More

  • Theme Of Feminism In Things Fall Apart

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    Okonkwo sees his father’s gentleness as a feminine trait. He works hard to be as masculine as possible so that he will be the opposite of his father and overcome the shame his father brought to his family. Okonkwo deals with this struggle throughout the entire book, hiding the intense fear of weakness behind a masculine façade (Nnoromele 149). In order to appear masculine, he is often violent. In his desire to be judged by his own worth and not by the worth of his effeminate father, Okonkwo participates in the killing of a boy he sees as a son, even though his friends and other respected tribe members advise him against it. (Hoegberg 71). Even after the killing of Ikamefuna, Okonkwo hides his feelings of sadness because the emotions are feminine to him. He goes so far as to ask himself, “when did you become a shivering old woman” (Achebe 65), while he is inwardly grieving. The dramatic irony of the secret fears that Okonkwo has will open the reader’s eyes to how important gender identity is to him. This theme is also presented among Okonkwo’s children. He sees his oldest son, Nwoye, as feminine because he does not like to work as hard as his father (Stratton 29). When Nwoye eventually joins the Christian church, Okonkwo sees him as even more feminine. On the other hand, Okonkwo’s

    Read More

More about Things Fall Apart Gender Analysis

Open Document