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Depiction of women in things fall apart
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Book Report
02/11/05
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is about different traditional village
cultures in Africa. It also speaks about the British who try and take over the
village by introducing his religion and making it the higher and better religion.
Okonkwo is the narrator of the story. The novel setting is in a small village
called Umofia which is located in the southeastern part of Nigeria and it is
in the late nineteenth century. Man verses Man is the conflict that is seen
in this novel.
Okonkwo is the main character in the novel. He is a hard working
farmer, wrestler, and clan leader who has severa...
Within the Obi tribe, Okonkwo is an important man, who has risen from nothing to a man of great wealth and social status. Okonkwo is obsessed with masculinity, and he has a very narrow view of “manliness”. Okonkwo's relationship with his dead father is the root of his violent and ambitious conduct. He wants to rise above his father's legacy of laziness, which he views as weak and therefore feminine. This drive and fierce pride made him a great man, but they are also the source of all of his faults.
As Europe, and particularly Britain, tried to take over Africa, they also forced their structure of culture into the natives’ way of living.“Your new-caught, sullen peoples / Half-devil and half-child…” (Doc F). This quote shows that the Europeans thought little of the African natives and thought they needed to be taught
The protagonists of this novel, Okonkwo, is an especially masculine leader in the Indu tribe in Nigeria. The novel starts off with some background information that Okonkwo was forced into independence at a very young age, mentally isolating him from other children and his family. Okonkwo reflects, "I began to fend for myself at an age when most people still suck at their mothers’ breasts." (Achebe, 9). Immediately this statement causes great sympathy for Okonkwo because of his parents terrible nurturing skills, as well as the lack of childhood that Okonkwo got to experience. Not only does it cause sympathetic feelings, but it also allows the reader to see Okonkwo's heroic qualities that he acquired at such a young age. Similarly to Winterson, Okonkwo put in effort to remove himself from the isolation that his family forced him into as well as making the reader feel compassionate towards
From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.
The most prominent and compelling theme in the novel originates from the main character Okonkwo
How is colonialism a theme throughout the novel? How does this novel address a Eurocentric understanding of African history?
Okonkwo is not all that he may seem; as there is more than what meets the eye. Okonkwo is the primary protagonist within the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo is a cruel yet kind man who has everything yet has nothing, which in turn creates a sympathetic character. A character such as Okonkwo has many facets; or masks if you will. Then we have his many influences: the Ibo culture; his father Unoka and of course his own personality. Then there is a staggering list of achievements. Okonkwo is a strong character but thinks only inwardly - especially towards his father - which will be discussed further in this essay.
Despite his love for the culture in which he was born, Okonkwo, an esteemed member and warrior of the Ibo peoples of Africa, has a difficult time complying with the traditions of his tribe. Although he respects the tribe’s customs and the decisions of the elders, Okonkwo often makes rash decisions that bring him and his family unnecessary troubles. He strives to gain the tribe’s respect, as well as to compensate for his father’s “failed” life by portraying himself as the perfect man and warrior; however, his efforts toward honor seem to always end in dishonor. In a way, the reasons for his behavior come from deep within Okonkwo himself, not the culture of which he is a part. Compensation for character flaws turns in overcompensation, which places him out of touch with his community. In short, his sense of, and obsession for, self-image acts as a catalyst for his actions throughout the book.
Polsgrove, Carol. Ending British Rule in Africa: Writers in a Common Cause. Manchester University Press, 2009.
Okonkwo is the protagonist of this story. The weak are compared to women and the strong are compared to men in this society. Chinua Achebe tried to sketch the position and status of women in the Ibo society. In this story, Achebe gives an account of gender discrimination prevailing over the Ibo society. The novel is a depiction of Postcolonial criticism. For example, it is mostly concerned with text critiques. Post-colonialism is a concept that goes against colonialism. Therefore, pos...
Okonkwo grew up from poverty to wealthy enough to support three wives, and many children. He was well respected by his clansmen from his village. Although, Okonkwo has many great aspects in his life, his tragic flaw is the fear of becoming like his father. While everyone was working on their farm, Unoka did nothing but drink, dance, and just plainly pray to the gods.
Okonkwo wanted to become one of the greatest men in the Ibo tribe, but three unfortunate events occur bringing him closer to his end. Okonkwo was a proud, industrious figure who through hard work was able to elevate himself to a stature of respect and prominence in his community. The one major character flaw was that he was a man driven by his fear to extreme reactions. Okonkwo was petrified of inadequacy namely because his father was a complete and utter failure. This fear of shortcoming made him hate everything his father loved and represented: weakness, gentleness, and idleness. Who was Okonkwo, well Okonkwo was a hero and also he...
Okonkwo embodies all the ideal and heroic traits of the Igbo culture. He is strong, authoritative, hardworking, and successful. The opening sentence states that “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond” (3). Okonkwo is great and famous because of his “solid personal achievements” (3). Okonkwo first achieved fame and recognition when he became the village’s wrestling champion. At eighteen years of age, he had “brought honor to his village” by defeating the seven-year champion. By winning the wrestling match, Okonkwo demonstrates to his village his great strength and skill as a warrior. After that his fame spread “like a bush-fire in the harmattan” (3). Okonkwo governs his household with authority. He “ruled his household with a heavy hand” (13). His wives and children lived “in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (13). Okonkwo is a hard task-master. He works on his farm “from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost” and compelled his family to do the same (13). He does not tolerate laziness in his sons. He punishes his son, Nwoye, with “constant nagging and beating” (14). Okonkwo is the sole and unquestionable authority figure in his household.
In the book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the setting of the story is the Igbo tribe in Niger, which is located in southeastern Africa. There is a strong social and economical structure with the Igbo people. The villages have a solid set of traditional beliefs that they live their lives by, without stray of that tradition. The introduction of Christianity to the tribes brought changes to the social and religious lives of the villages. The novel provides a glimpse into the changes of how the colonialist changed the traditional roles of the economic and political lives of the villages of Niger. Tradition is set so cultures have a path to follow in their creation of family and life, in Things Fall Apart, the collide of the Europeans and the Nigerian cultures created a conflict and the introduction of Christianity and Colonialism set a path for change that was not welcomed.
Okonkwo takes his life as he sees himself a lone warrior in a society of weaklings. This isolation is truly imposed by his decision of how to handle the conflicts which he encounters. His unitary channeling of emotions, cultural inflexibility, and tendency to seek physical confrontation are compiled into a single notion. The idealized vision of a warrior by which Okonkwo lives is the instrument that leads to the climax of Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart: Okonkwo's demise.