Men and women in every society have different roles to fulfill. In Things Fall Apart, the author Chinua Achebe sets the book in Umuofia, a village full of numerous Igbo communities. Achebe bases the story around Okonkwo, a well respected leader of the Igbo community. Now each man in the the community has more than one wife and multiple children. Women are portrayed as weak servants. But the men are ruler of their huts and can punish their wives for almost anything.
The men and women are similar in their community because they both grow crops, however they differ because men have the main jobs to uphold and they commit crimes on purpose, while women are overall stay at home moms and their crimes are done on accident. Males in Things Fall Apart are supposed to be role models for the people of their village. They’re supposed to provide for their family and battle fiercely on the battlefield. Most men are lawmakers and enforcers, warriors, leaders, and farmers. The main character, Okonkwo, is the leader of his community and rules his “household with a heavy hand. His wives,
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If a man commits a crime, it is supposedly done on purpose. But if a crime is done on accident, then it is considered a female type of crime. However an ironic crime occurred during the betrothal ceremony dedicated to Ezeudu, the oldest man in his village. When the guns were being fired, “Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced” the heart of Ezeudu’s son (13.124). This crime was an accident meaning it was a woman's type of crime done by a man; or the “crime was of two kinds, male and female” (13.124). And since it was half of a woman’s crime, his punishment was lessened a little. But having the punishment reduced because it was part female crime, shows how their society think of women… weak, nothing more than servants, and trophies for the men to show off their ability to support for all of
Set in Africa in the 1890s, Chinua Achebe's ‘Things Fall Apart’ is about the tragedy of Okonkwo during the time Christian missionaries arrived and polluted the culture and traditions of many African tribes. Okonkwo is a self-made man who values culture, tradition, and, above all else, masculinity. Okonkwo’s attachment to the Igbo culture and tradition, and his own extreme emphasis on manliness, is the cause of his fall from grace and eventual death.
In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe certain themes are present in the the
Fear is a feeling no one wants to admit they have. A young child, though, will say what they are afraid of, but as one gets older the more they want to be looked as a tough person. Zack Wamp puts it perfectly, no one should be scared or afraid to go into the future, but yet be intrigued into stepping into a new light of knowledge and learning. In Chinua Achebe's book Things Fall Apart he shows the Ibo people and their fear, superstition, response to fear and the British.
In Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the Ibo culture revolves around structured gender roles, from the crops that the men and women grow, to the characterization of crimes,which creates tension between the sexes and will ultimately lead to detrimental consequences. Things Fall Apart represents the hardships and struggles between females and males. For example, Ekwefi, the wife of Okonkwo, she is often beat for the things she has genuinely forgotten about . Also, we have Enzima, Okonkwo's favorite daughter, but since she is a female, she must be treated like a women. Although females are considered the weaker gender, they possess many qualities that make them worthy, such as bearing children. Achebe explained the importance of both genders and how they contribute to the society.
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.
Things Fall Apart, a novel based on the cultures and the traditions of the Igbos depict a very strong sense of struggle between change and tradition. This story is somewhat an archetype of To Kill a Mocking Bird. Not just centered on sociopolitical views but also cultural and traditional beliefs, Achebe specifically defines each speck of this Eastern Nigerian culture, from the breaking of the “kola –a caffeine-containing nut of evergreen trees to the unmasking of the egwuegwu and spiritual sacrifices to the gods and ancestors. Kola, a very essential part of the Igbo culture is represented in so many ways; it signifies peace, blessing, wealth, abundance, and respect most especially. In this society, the contest for wealth, titles and success was very important, it was a great legacy to be left by any man. Okonkwo being the strongest and most powerful man in the village had more than set a standard in that village by conquering the greatest warrior of all time. He had a symbiotic relationship with his community, as much has he benefited from the community’s societal and cultural values, so did they benefit from his strength and will power to succeed.
A consistent feature of the statistics, not only in England and Wales but across Europe and America, is that far fewer women are convicted of crime than men – a fact which has changed little over the years. Female offenders also show a different pattern of offending being less involved in violent offences and proportionately more involved in theft. In general most now accept that girls and women do commit fewer offences than boys. GENDER AND PATTERNS OF CRIME Writing in 1977 Carol Smart stated: Our knowledge is still in its infancy. In comparison with the massive documentation on all aspects of male delinquency and criminality, the amount of work carried out on the area of women and crime is extremely limited.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is about a man named Marlow who was a sailor that travelled to Africa as an agent for The Company. During his experience with the company he realized what his job was, which was to colonize the people of Africa. During his experience he saw the interaction between the whites and the African people, he finally learns the truth about the company. Along the way he meets a mysterious man called Kurtz, he idolized him and was on his side rather than the company’s. Throughout his journey the way he viewed African people was like he had never met another species of humans that looked different. Everything about the Africans amazed him, how they moved, and danced intrigued
When you think of the word “culture” what comes to mind? Many elements can contribute to
In the book women are being treated poorly. Okonkwo has three wives in which he expects for them to follow his orders or there would be consequences. Women do not get enough credit in the Igbo culture, they do so much stuff but yet receive so little credit for their work. They cook, clean the house and take care of their kids. They get disrespected by their own husbands. For example, when Okonkwo hit his youngest wife because she left the hut without making
When there is a great battle between two nations, one must always come on top. There must be one victor that takes all the treasures and asserts their dominance over those below them. This only makes sense in such a dog eat dog world. The winner will continue to grow and prosper into the race of who will become the most civilized and advanced, while the other stays to play with their sticks and stones. Mankind is constantly in some type of a power struggle. Someone always has to be on top when it comes to two. This in many ways applies to whether it is man versus woman, human versus God, or even one civilization versus another civilization. One of these two is always thought to be more important than the other. When it comes to Chinua Achebe’s
In the book “Things Fall Apart”, evidence of a social structure was apparent within the Igbo community. This rigid social structure served as a purpose to balance the life of the people within the society, as well as promoting the downfall of the clan. The social structure was important in keeping a centralized society and preventing any sign of corruption within their clan. The social structure had advantages in keeping a balanced and equal society, supporting a division of labor, providing a surplus of food, individual huts, a communal society, and the development of some kind of government. In contrast, this social structure led others to reject to cooperate with the new religion and aided the lack of unity among the people. It also promoted a more patriarchal society, the inferior rank of women, and the lack of strong bonds between family members.
The character of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was driven by fear, a fear of change and losing his self-worth. He needed the village of Umuofia, his home, to remain untouched by time and progress because its system and structure were the measures by which he assigned worth and meaning in his own life. Okonkwo required this external order because of his childhood and a strained relationship with his father, which was also the root of his fears and subsequent drive for success. When the structure of Umuofia changed, as happens in society, Okonkwo was unable to adapt his methods of self-evaluation and ways of functioning in the world; the life he was determined to live could not survive a new environment and collapsed around him.
Throughout history, there have been many instances of people struggling to identify and cope with change and tradition, and this is no different in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe we are given insight into what life was like before and during the European, imperialist land grab of africa. In this essay I will discuss how the christian missionaries tried to convert the native African population to christianity and what made some of the villagers join the christian missionaries in converting their fellow clansmen. We will also examine how Europeans used a combination of fear and cooperation to successfully convert the native population to christianity.