When you think of the word “culture” what comes to mind? Many elements can contribute to the meaning of the word culture. In Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, we are given an insight into a
Nigerian Ibo culture in the village of Umoufia. Like the Ibo, many other nations are strongly rooted to their culture, one of which is the First Nations people of North America. These two cultures have many similarities in which they can relate, but not all cultures are the same. There are many factors that can distinguish a culture from another such as the roles of men and women, polytheism and religion. The roles of men and women are not the same in all cultures, especially for the Ibo and First
Nations people. In the Ibo society, men are considered the rulers and leaders of the
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Women were required to cook, clean and take care of the children. If these duties were not taken care of, the women of Umoufia could be beaten. The Ibo tribe not only allowed, but encouraged wife beating. Achebe describes beatings on a few occurrences. One occurrence is when Okonkwo’s second wife does not come home to cook him an afternoon meal.
Achebe says “Okonkwo bit his lips with anger welled within him…when she returned (Okonkwo) beat her heavily.” (p. 29). Despite the beatings, Achebe shows that the Ibo women have valuable parts in the society. The women paint the houses of the egwugwu. The man’s first wife is also shown additional respect. Achebe shows this through the palm wine ceremony at Nwakibie’s obi, “Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her, and so they stood waiting.” (p.20). Unlike the Ibo, the Plains
Indian gender roles were well defined, and men’s and women’s responsibilities were equally crucial to the functioning, even the survival, of their societies. Both men and women were respected for doing their jobs well. The men were responsible for hunting, defensive and aggressive warfare,
The idea of women holding authority was unheard of in ancient times and more recently in Colonial America up through the mid twentieth century. It has always been thought that men are superior to women and that women are not strong enough physically and mentally to hold any true authority. For instance, women did not receive the right to vote in the United States until 1920; the first female senator wasn’t appointed until late 1922. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Thing Fall Apart, however, women do hold authority and some even hold more authority than men. Achebe describes how in the Ibo culture women hold the main positions in Ibo religion as priestess and Oracle and that even the strongest man in the Ibo village and the main character of the novel, Okonkwo, must obey the commands of these women.
In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe certain themes are present in the the
Many societies have beliefs rooted deep in ancient religion. Some beliefs include polygamy, polytheism, and patriarchy, or rule by men. One such culture is that of Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Polytheism and polygamy are custom in the clan, and the role of each family member is very defined. The men are overly domineering. The women and children are treated poorly and often beaten. Life in Achebe's Umuofia would seem very different to someone living in modern day America.
The story is set within the Ibo tribe of Umuofia, which is one of the nine villages that combine to make one large clan in Nigeria. These tribes are ones that hold courage, strength, tradition and customs extremely high. The theme of tradition is examined by
...exiled to his motherland. Uchendu, his uncle, notices Okonkwo's grief and powerfully explains to Okonkwo how he should view his exile: "A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. And that is why we say that Mother is Supreme”. The only credit and fulfilment these women enjoy is motherhood. They receive respect and love from their children. They are strong for their children. Women are viewed to be very gentle and caring. They are expected to take care of their children with the best of their ability. Women are trusted totally by their children. This honorable portrayal of women is used by Achebe to identify women's role in the Ibo society. This portrayal is necessary to show that women indeed play an important role in society.
In the beginning of the book, the Ibo shows their traditions and harmless ways. This peaceful tribe has many traditions. One of the main traditions is their type of respect. The first type of respect we see is the use of Kola nuts when visiting someone’s Obi(hut). Okoye comes to see Unoka. Unoka is Okonkwo’s father. Okonkwo is very ashamed of his father because Unoka is always borrowing money, doesn’t have a job and is weak. So Okoye comes to see Unoka one day and brings a Kola nut. “‘I have Kola,’ he announced when he sat down, and passed the disc over to his guest.”(1.6) To show respect, one brings a Kola nut to a person’s hut. This shows peace and hospitality. Another example of respect is communication. “Among the Ibos the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. Okoye was a great talker and he spoke for a long time, skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally.” (1.14) The last example of their peaceful traditions are the stories they tell on rainy days.“At such times, in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia, children sat around their mother’s cooking fire telling stories, or with their father in his obi warming themselves from a log fire, roasting and eating maize. It was a brief resting ...
In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, women play the roles of oppressed homemakers that are perceived as weak and defenseless second-class citizens, as the educators of children, and as spiritual leaders in traditional Ibo culture. Through the life of Okonwo, the main character of Things Fall Apart, the roles of women in traditional Ibo culture are presented through various events that take place in the village of Umuofia. In traditional Ibo culture, women were to stay at home and tend to her husbands’ needs and satisfy them. Women were viewed as property of their fathers and were then sold to the suitor that was willing to pay her bride-price. A woman had no identity of her own, the status and position of her husband defined her. Women were considered inferior to men and were not to challenge or question their authority. When Nwoye’s mother or Okonwo’s senior wife questioned how long was Ikemefuna to stay with them, Okonwo was stunned at her questioning him and furiously responded, “ Do what you are told, woman ,” When did you become one of the ndichie of Umuofia?”(14). And so Nwoye’s mother took Ikemefuna to her hut and asked no more questions. In observance with the Ibo view of female nature, the clan allowed wife beating. The novel describes two instances when Okonwo beats his wives. The first instance is when Okonwo beats his wife, Ojiugo for not coming home to prepare his meal. He beat her severely and was punished but only because he beat her during The Week of Peace. Any other time people would not have come over to see why a woman was screaming, but this was during the Week of Peace, and to beat someone during The Week of Peace was unheard of. The second instance is when he beats his second wife, Ekwefi for ...
In conclusion, we see that gender roles, as specific as they are in our culture, vary from culture to culture. And the variation of gender roles, in a global perspective, demonstrates that they are learned through socialization as oppose to stemming from nature, instinct and drive.
News comes that the village has decided to murder Ikemefuna as punishment for the earlier murder of the young girl. Ezedu, advises Okonkwo to not take part in Ikemefuna’s murder because he considers him his father. Okonkwo decides to tell Ikemefuna that he is returning to his village and a group of men gather to “accompany him home (Achebe 41).” Then Okonkwo had an opportunity to hide the boy or defend his son but he acts as a coward instead. When the men are killing him, Ikemefuna cries out to Okonkwo but instead of rescuing him, Okonkwo delivers the fatal blow (Achebe 44). Here he fears being thought of as weak so
By trying to fix his problems with the white man through violence, Okonkwo does not realize that violence may not be the answer to the problem he is trying to solve. During the time of Okonkwo’s banishment, Christian men from Europe started to steadily spread their religion upon the Ibo people which caused their own culture to dwindle. Okonkwo hoped the Ibo people would take physical measures against the white people but the meeting to decide this was not approaching this method so Okonkwo took measures into his own hands. As Achebe writes, “In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete...Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniform body… ‘That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia.You drove him to kill himself.’” (Achebe 205,208). Okonkwo had faced loss many times throughout his life. The power that he had in his homeland was taken away when he accidently shot a man, he had lost his son whom he had beaten after finding out that he had joined the Christian men, and this bad luck was thought to originate from the time when he had abused his wife during the sacred week
... only used by Achebe to further enrich the common theme of clash of opposing cultures, but they also are what make Things Fall Apart a universal human experience that is common to all people. Achebe uses these symbols because all cultures can relate to them: drums are seen as a celebration of culture, locusts are unwanted invaders, and fire is destructive. Things Fall Apart is written from the unique African point of view, and it shows how Europeans have destroyed important parts of African culture. Perhaps Achebe uses universal symbols not only to make it more relevant to all cultures, but also to seek increased humanitarian missions to Africa. Nevertheless, Achebe’s use of figurative language and common elements not only highlight the most profound changes that Umuofia experiences, but it also causes people to question their preconceived notions on society.
Following the historical events that took place before the literary attempt to lay down the issues dominant in the society, the Nigerian society posed a class dominated society. In fact, the ideology behind domination did not centre on just the issue of class but also on gender domination. In the vein, Achebe captures the events in his works. From class domination resulting from economic, social and political vices, to detailing the patriarchal society that encourages male domination.
Spirituality is a source of guidance, discipline and justice. Spiritual leaders are a primary source of guidance for the Ibo people. The Oracle is revered “and people came from far and near to consult it [on matters such as] misfortune...dispute...the future” (p. 17). The Oracle’s strong influence is reflected in the story of Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna, a boy who committed no crime, is sentenced to death by the Oracle. Citizens who choose not to take part in the murder are regarded with confusion “as if [they] question the authority and the decision of the Oracle, who said he should die” (p. 66). Spirituality is a source of discipline in Ibo culture. Okonkwo commits a sin against Ani (the earth goddess) by breaking the Week of Peace. He is visited by the priest of Ani who serves Okonkwo his sentence “You will bring to the shrine of Ani tomorrow one she-goat, one hen, a length of cloth and a hundred cowries” (p. 31). Okonkwo also lost more than wealth in this event. There is a sense of communal discipline in Ibo society towards breaking spiritual law. Okonkwo is regarded with contempt by some citizens for his actions. Spirituality is a source of justice in Ibo culture. The ceremony of egwugwu is a judicial proceeding. Ceremonies of egwugwu function to “settle the dispute[s]” of Ibo people. The egwugwu are ancestral spirits of Umuofian ancestors embodied by masked male clan members. The egwugwu were empowered with the
The Ibo’s government is administered by the nine egwugwu who are ancestral spirits that represent each village of the clan. As large crowds of the Ibo tribe would gather on the village
First and foremost, Achebe uses gender roles to show social norms in order to highlight that there is no crossover in expectations or duties. Women depict a lifestyle that is common throughout the african culture. They exemplify an important female role for the children and the household. One of the wives many purposes for the males is to bear lots of children. Okonkwo remarked, “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the babies” (Achebe 74). Women are used for the birth of children so the men can obtain as many sons as possible. The women are given no option but to get pregnant in order to further the clans success with male superiority. Also, women are given the role as the nurturer. Uchendu states,