Gender Roles in Things Fall Apart

Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart illustrate the different ways of presenting Africa in literature. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad shows Africa through the perspective of the colonizing Europeans, who tend to depict all the natives as savages. In response to Conrad 's stereotypical depiction of Africans, Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart through the point of view of the natives to show Africans, not as primitives, but as members of a thriving society. Things Fall Apart follows Okonkwo 's life as he strives for prestige in his community. When European missionaries come to Umuofia, Okonkwo 's clan, Okonkwo tries to protect the culture that the missionaries would destroy in the name of "civilizing" the natives. However his rigid mentality and violent behavior has the opposite of its intended effect, perpetuating the stereotype of the wild African in the eyes of the European readers.

The role that women/mothers play on their children is very significant because they will always have an impact on the way their child decides his/her values. These roles are dependent on the mother's experiences and own values, and this can be conveyed in various forms, such as actions, or stories/ words of wisdom.

   In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo people's patriarchal society has a strict system of behavioral customs according to gender. These customs strongly restrict the freedom of Ibo women and help to reinforce generation after generation the notion that Ibo men are superior to the women of their tribe.

Achebe argues that the racist observed in the Heart of Darkness is expressed due to the western psychology or as Achebe states “desire,” this being to show Africa as an antithesis to Europe. He first states Conrad as “one of the great stylists of modern fiction.” [pg.1] He praises Conrad’s talents in writing but believes Conrad’s obvious racism has not been addressed. He later describes in more detail that

Culture is a big part of identity, as is gender, but ultimately, family defines a person’s identity. Though one piece is a cautionary tale about imperialism, the other seemingly a war story, deeper themes are woven throughout. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo holds onto his cultural beliefs about gender roles, family bonds, and struggle with reputation and self identity. In “Deuce Out” by Katey Schultz, the protagonist, known as Steph, also struggles with family dynamic and gender roles, as well as self identity. Both of these works are cautionary stories of the destruction that can be brought about by holding on too tightly to a set of beliefs, or even ways of life. When people are too focused on presumed outcomes and fixed beliefs,

Because Gender roles affect mostly women people don’t often look at the ways it affects men. In “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo is most affected by Gender roles and the expectations it brings. The idea of roles promote the ideology of “masculinity”. Because of this idea we see Okonkwo as a cruel and horrid man. The narrator explains, “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). This was caused partly by his father. His father was a infamous man for being “feminine” and indebt. “As a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala”(Achebe 13). Agbala either meant a person with no titles or a women. Okonkwo was mocked and teased because of his father. It's not entirely the father’s fault but more the society. It's so over masculine that everyone’s lives have to be ruled in a certain manner. They make Unoka seem like a terrible person but yet he just was different from the rest. He didn’t want his life to be ruled by the speculations aligned with gender roles. Samantha Olson a Journalist and professional writer

By utilizing an unbiased stance in his novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe promotes cultural relativity without forcibly steering his audience to a particular mindset. He presents the flaws of the Ibo tribe the same way he presents the assets—without either condescension or pride; he presents the cruelties of the colonizers the same way he presents their open mindedness—without either resentment or sympathy. Because of this balance, readers are able to view the characters as multifaceted human beings instead of simply heroes and victims. Achebe writes with such subtle impartiality that American audiences do not feel guilty for the cruel actions of the colonizers or disgusted by the shocking traditions of the tribesmen. The readers stop

Women are not treated the same as men. The book Things Fall Apart, is a work of fiction by Chinua Achebe, it takes place in the Nigerian village of Umuofia in the late 1880’s. It follows the protagonist, Okonkwo through his times of tribulation. Throughout Africa in the 20th century, women were not treated the same as men, the novel depicts that it is anti-feminist because, everything is gendered, women are treated as property instead of people, and women are made to act a certain way.

Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization."(Achebe, p.252) By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "the African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props."(Achebe, p.257)

He uses derogatory and offensive remarks that devalue people of color and make them out to be savages. Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, talked about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe) while he also "projects the image of Africa as “the other world”. Africa is said to be a “prehistoric” world. Conrad described this land as non-advanced and inferior to the western countries.

Through language, writers can tell vivid stories and convey strong emotions to readers, Chinua Achebe and Joseph Conrad both use language quite effectively. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses language in regards to Africans with a very negative tone. Achebe, the author of the novel Things Fall Apart, illustrates the feel of tribal life in Nigeria during the time of African colonialism and the African culture and customs. Both Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart analyze the image of Africa and their perspectives of the African peoples during the time of colonialism.

Chinua Achebe is the author of when Things Fall Apart while Joseph Conrad authored Heart of Darkness. Conrad and Achebe set their individual titles in Africa; Achebe is an African writer whereas Conrad is Polish-British. The authors draw strength from their backgrounds to validity the authenticity of their fictional novels. Conrad writes from his experiences in the British and French navies while Achebe uses his African heritage. The theme of culture is prevalent in both Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Achebe 's Things Fall Apart both writers use styles, symbols, and language to deliver the message. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness deliver a similar message using the same devices but adopt different approaches evoking varied responses from the reader in realizing culture is an inherent aspect of any society thus the difficulty in adapting to foreign cultures.

Written in 1899, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad conveys a story of European colonization along the Congo River in Africa. Although his work lacks central female characters, some of those mentioned hold great influence in society and the power to predict the future. Despite these abilities, women are still largely ignored by the men in their midst. Conversely, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart features a multitude of female figures, including oracles and priestesses, but much like Heart of Darkness, the majority of women in his work are belittled and viewed as unimportant. These two authors both showcase sexism in their works, as they promote stigmas surrounding females and a sense of male superiority that leads men to treat women as inferior. While the writers of Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart highlight the values certain females possess, they chose to depict sexist societies in which women are viewed as largely irrelevant and impotent.

Societies are like folktales, the stories and values get passed down from generation to generation, but along the way something changes, until you end up with a completely different story. Every society has derived from another to create their own unique characteristics and values that differ from every other in the world, but still have some uniformities to the ancient ones they sprang from. The Umuofian society possesses cultures that are deeply indebted to their traditions that have been followed over generations. As of today, religious practices and beliefs have greatly changed and people find ancient beliefs to be almost barbaric. Some of the beliefs that are discussed in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart are polytheism, polygamy, patriarchy,

Okonkwo illustrates the use of gender roles and lack of feminism in his daughter, Ezinma and his regret of her being a girl (Achebe 137). Okonkwo’s desire for his daughter to be a man is problematic and represents the patriarch’s refusal to view women as equal to men. Throughout Ezinma’s life time, Okonkwo expresses his desires for Ezinma to be born a boy ( Achebe 137). He explictly states to himself that he, “wishes she were a boy,” because she “understands him perfectly” (Achebe 136). Okonkwo expands on this desire as he continue to express how Ezinma is his favorite among the daughters and that she understands the ways of his consciousness and his moods (Achebe 137) . Although these expressions are subtle, Okonkwo’s regret of Ezinma’s gender plays a role in the patriarchal induced gender roles that women are socially lesser than men. Society’s standards