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Character analysis of things fall apart by chenue achebe
Essay on chinua achebe
Chinua achebe character analysis
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Throughout this semester, we have learned many different techniques that authors use when writing African stories. These techniques include rites of passage, myths, the characters of trickster and hero, and many others. One of the important things that was taught in the very beginning of the semester about African stories was that authors use these techniques in stories to make different kinds of social commentary. There are two authors in particular that have stood out in their use of heroes in order to comment on gender roles in society. One of the authors is Chinua Achebe in his novel, Things Fall Apart, and Nawal El Saadawi in her novel, Woman at Point Zero. In both of these novels, there is the struggle of masculinity and femininity that …show more content…
The hero in the novel would have to be Firdaus, a former prostitute and prisoner that is awaiting execution for the murder of a powerful pimp. The reason why Firdaus is considered a hero is because she stood up to the exploitation and corruption going on within the government and society during that time in Egypt. The story is set in 1975, during a time when women were still not valued and the sole purpose for them was pleasure or raising children and caring for the house. Firdaus’s life before prison exemplifies this societal norm; she was abused by family members, locked up by people she met that she thought she could trust, objectified by men, and disregarded when it came to decisions involving her wellbeing. Firdaus ends up choosing to be a prostitute instead of marriage because at least being a prostitute, she was free to make her own decisions and she was self-supporting (Harlow). When she was married, she was not able to make any decisions and even abused. In that sense, Firdaus is considered a hero because she does not give into the oppressive Egyptian society during this time. There are many instances during Firdaus’s life where she experienced injustice, from both men and women. One of the female characters in the novel that treat Firdaus as if she was an object was her uncle’s wife. It is clear that the aunt does not treat Firdaus nicely by having her sent away to boarding school and also by forcing her to marry an abusive husband. When the aunt was making her point about what to do with Firdaus, she says, “It is risky for her [Firdaus] to continue without a husband. She is a good girl but the world is full of bastards (Saadawi 37).” This sentence says a lot about the societal norms during this time because the aunt is making a point that even though Firdaus is a good girl, she will still not be able to survive without a man. In
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.
African literature is rich with examples of the plight that African women suffered during the political and social changes the continent experienced after colonialism. In Ama Aito Aidoo’s short story “Two Sisters”, and “Wedding at the Cross”, the lives of three different women are explored as they navigate a world dominated not only by the men in their lives, but by the omnipresent feeling of colonialism. The women in Aidoo’s “Two Sisters” Mercy and Connie, represent some of the difficulties perpetrated by the rigid societal structure they exist under, and the oppressive force of the men in their lives. Similarly, in “Wedding at the Cross”, the main female protagonist, Miriamu, is bound by societal pressures to assume the role of obedient housewife, and undergoes a loss of self after her husband is consumed with gaining success in post-colonial Africa. Through these stories, Aiddo and Thiongo’o represent African women and their struggles as well as their journey to assert themselves independently from the men in their life and their society during a time where the continent itself was struggling with its own identity in the aftermath of Western colonization.
The concept of a tragic hero is one of the most notable and widespread literary tropes, having been in existence for over some 2000 years. As defined by Aristotle in his Poetics, a tragic hero is someone who undergoes a struggle far more potent than deserved. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, exhibits a tragic hero through its protagonist, Okonkwo. Achebe achieves this status through his tragic flaw of excessive pride, his ultimate demise caused by said pride, and his ability to evoke fear and pity within the audience.
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.
“Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way. You become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, and brave by performing brave actions.” -Aristotle.
“He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.” This quote by Chinua Achebe describes the self-inflictions when a person purposely goes after another. This goes hand-in-hand with the Nigerian author’s magnum opus, Things Fall Apart. For the duration of the book, Achebe uses subtle events to create amplifying changes. He uses Okonkwo’s relationship with others, his learning about the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. Achebe also uses Okonkwo’s fear of change for the Ibo regarding to the missionaries and their spread of Christianity through the region. Creating universal and relatable characters, Chinua Achebe warns people of rash actions and their effects over time.
‘’I would be quite satisfied if my novels did no more than teach my readers that their past was not one long night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them’’. (Morning yet) Chinua Achebe wrote stories so that people would get knowledge out of it. That being said, making Things Fall Apart was not for entertainment, but it showed us the gender-role of males in females at the time. Males are the focus of my research, there are two great protagonists that will be discussed in this paper: Okonkwo and Jay Gatsby.
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
Planet Earth harbors seven billion independent human minds, living seven billion independent, equally complex lives. Even more impressive, each mind contains unique perspectives and opinions. With so many different minds interacting, conflict between individuals’ perspectives and opinions becomes inevitable. Unfortunately, no single perspective, held by a single mind or a group of minds, dominates as the correct perspective. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the meeting of different cultures creates conflict between perspectives, in which both parties assume righteousness but neither is entirely correct. Though Okonkwo may draw a readers’ sympathy for his role as the tragic hero, the author’s sympathy sits with Obierika, who is positioned between the missionaries and Okonkwo as the most humane balance of the two cultures.
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.
Osei-Nyame, Kwadwo. "Chinua Achebe Writing Culture: Representations of Gender and Tyranny in Things Fall Apart" Research in African Literatures Summer 1999.
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.
I read this article "Reading as a woman:Chinua Achebe 's things fall apart and feminist critics”by Linda strong - leek she wrote " consequently, Achebe 's main character, Okonkwo emerges early in the text as a traditional hero, who has within himself the ability to languish or attain his goals." People always have it behind their mind Okonkwo’s story is what is being told I 'm the novel and the story started and ended with Okonkwo. Therefore, Okonkwo is the hero of his own story. I have failed to see Okonkwo as the hero and the unbalance representation of both gender by the author. I have always seen the women presented in this novel as the hero of the play. One thing I was able to understand was that the author wanted people to see gender representation according to the indigenous societal structure. He wanted people to see this was how gender was represented in the society it wasn 't just about the stereotypical man as the
The inventions that the authors had for their writing were met by showing the misogyny in Egypt and encouraging the revolution that was occurring. Through the authors’ setting, the techniques used throughout their writing, and the similar goals that they set in their journey, both authors were able to produce written work in which one could draw many connections. Works Cited El Saadawi, a.k.a. Nawal. Woman at Point Zero.
The Importance of Things Fall Apart & nbsp; & nbsp; The novel "Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe, was an eye-opening account of the life and eventual extinction of an African tribe called the Ibo. It focuses on one character, Okonkwo, who at a very early age set out on a quest of self-perfection. Coming from a family ruled by a man who was lazy and inconsistent with everything he did, Okonkwo vowed to never accept the fate of his father. Okonkwo and his family have suffered through many hard times in their lives, but usually managed to come out on top. Through terrible crop seasons and bad judgement calls, Okonkwo usually prevailed, until the day came when he was faced with a situation that could not be resolved by his strength and character alone.