Masculinity In Things Fall Apart

Throughout Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, it is made very apparent how much the main character, Okonkwo, values manliness. Despite the fact that Okonkwo lived quite a few centuries ago, his story still shares some similarities with the way men today are pressured to be masculine. Okonkwo’s desire to be masculine affects him by causing him to be violent towards his family, view women as lesser than him, and produce a view that men shouldn’t have emotions. In the end, this desire causes his downfall, eventually causing him to take his own life.

The connection that Okonkwo has with masculinity is that he shows to others who is in control. He ends up beating up one of his wives because of the assumption

We take a look at his personality and see that he had a warrior complex and machismo. For example in the novel on page 158 paragraph six it says “let us not reason like cowards.” His warrior complex turns everything he does like a battle plan. He wants there to be a fight or else they are not doing it right. Okonkwo’s machismo makes everyone else who is not like him not a man. In the book we see this on page 26 paragraph two “this meeting is for men.” He did not want to listen to the man because he was not well known like him and he did not have as many titles as okonkwo did. Both of these traits aided in the way he responded to the new culture.

Okonkwo thought of himself as masculine, not feminine. He tried everything he needed to to not become just like his father. When he put that as his priority. He started to provide for his family materially and lovingly. He also became heroic. As a result of everything that he did, he became very wealthy, hold a high-ranked and trusted position in his community, has 3 wives. He also presented himself as strong as a warrior and also a

Eventually, Okonkwo lets masculinity take over, which causes utter destruction throughout the community. The literary element that drives this theme is characterisation. This drives the theme of Okonkwo's intense approach on masculinity and success, driven by his father, for he was a loser that couldn't

Author J. S. Bryan once said, “Many men can make a fortune but very few can build a family.” This can be said of many families today and may be the reason why successful men have not-so-successful marriages. The importance of family and healthy communication is emphasized in the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - ironically- by portraying the complete opposite: a fairly broken relationship and the consequences of that negative influence. The main character, Okonkwo lives his whole life obsessed with the idea of masculinity and is “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness"(22). This fear was implanted into him because of his firm desire to be nothing like his father, who was seen as a shameful man who had taken no title in

How are masculinity and femininity used to symbolize different objects? Things Fall Apart is about a guy named Okonkwo that starts off as a determined guy and ends up being weak. Okonkwo is full of anger and rage and he takes it out on his son, Nwoye, who gets so fed up with that that he converts religions and leaves his clan. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses different objects to represent masculinity and femininity, such as folktales, yams, and fire which tells us that masculinity and femininity is valued in different cultures and societies. Folktales are not just fun stories for kids to teach them a lesson; they can also be a symbol of femininity.

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, masculinity plays a prominent role in Ibo society as it defines a man’s strength and character. Nwoye struggles with the idea of masculinity as he wants to please Okonkwo by being aggressive and violent but ultimately rejects the role of masculinity by joining the Christian movement. Throughout the novel Okonkwo constantly tries to instill masculine traits into Nwoye. When Okonkwo is telling Nwoye and Ikemefuna “masculine stories of violence and bloodshed” (53). Nwoye states that he, “knew that it was right to be masculine and violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell” (53).

Chinua Achebe says in a recent essay to Africans, “their past—with all its imperfections—was not one night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them.” In Things Fall Apart, western missionaries came into the African world- culture and economy- and overtook what was left of African culture in the village of Umuofia. The book focuses on Okonkwo and his family- having the masculine drive to succeed to his tragic downfall. Okonkwo’s drive to not be like his father, Unoka, is to be thought as a major flaw and plays a major role in the novel. Okonkwo constructs masculinity through hard work and toughness while suppressing all other emotions which he thinks is femininity.

He is very strong (page 27) and never shows any emotion, because he thinks showing affection is a sign of weakness (page 28). He hates gentleness and idleness just as much as he hates everything else that could match with his father. (Sparknotes.com) Other than Unoka, Okonkwo was famous for being a successful wrestler when he was young and now as an adult, he is known as a wealthy farmer and strong warrior (cliffsnotes.com). Next to ruling his household with a heavy hand (shmoop.com), he also does everything else to be seen as a strong man, because he fears that anybody could think he is weak (cliffsnotes.com).

He does not want to be seen the same way his father was seen, so whenever he had an opportunity to demonstrate his masculinity, he took full advantage. Being masculine involved being the man of his own house. “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (Achebe 13). By keeping full control of his house he was considered manly.

In the 1950s the Europeans came to Nigeria to Christianize the African inhabitants, resulting in the change of their beliefs and culture. Similarly, the Native American Arawak tribe of the early 15th century had a society that was built on the pillar of culture and religion. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, culture and religion are the heart of the novel. The storyline of the novel follows the protagonist, Okonkwo, a man whose goal in life is overcoming his father’s reputation. Despite Okonkwo’s efforts for success, at the end of the novel, Okonkwo hangs himself after discovering that his clan members would not go to war against the European missionaries.

The novel Things Fall Apart took place in the Igbo Society-the part of the world that has very strict views on gender roles, but not just gender roles. It is likely that every individual in the Igbo society viewed or defined masculinity differently. To some, masculinity was expressed through anger and violence; to others, masculinity was expressed through a man’s responsibility. These different views on masculinity can create conflicts and can therefore impact individual's life. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo and Obierika different interpretations of masculinity led them to a different life and such intention was successfully introduced through Achebe’s uses of foil characters.

In most cultures an individual’s gender will influence their characterization. For instance, Ibo tribes in Africa classify people according to their gender. Women are thought as submissive individuals who are to some extent weaker than men. Men on the other hand are thought of as strong beings with much expected from them. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart strongly emphasizes on the categorization of masculinity and femininity in the society of Ibo tribes. Throughout the book, Okonkwo’s idea about masculinity situates him with respect to his community. In his community Okonkwo is greatly praised for his masculine traits. It is Okonkwo integration with masculinity that leads to him becoming an

Okonkwo is the epitome of manhood, as it was perceived during those times. He deliberately decides not to show love and affection because he believes that by doing so others will start doubting his masculinity and try to take advantage of it. Moreover, Okonkwo presumes that the role of a man is