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.

“No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and children (and especially his women) he was not really a man” (Chinua Achebe 53). This quote from Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart demonstrates the power of men as it is presented throughout the novel. Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo’s struggles in society, and his search for power throughout his life. During his exile, cultures clash and chaos erupts in the Igbo village. Okonkwo’s father, his exile in Mbanta, and the roles of men in society urged Okonkwo to gain power over others, and enhanced Achebe’s theme of change.

Okonkwo’s continuous urge to fit under gender roles in society eventually lead up to internal dispute. In Things Fall Apart, the rigid gender roles that Ibo men are expected to conform to influences the collision between Ibo and Western culture. Expectations for men, such as Okonkwo, to display masculinity, the need to hold a superior reputation and eventually,

In Chinua Achebe's, "Things Fall Apart", a man of admiration was one who displayed superiority through his masculinity, his honoring of traditions, and his merit as opposed to a feminine man who did not. In African Ibo culture a man with a strong sense of masculinity took care of his priorities as the man of the house and a warrior in society. An admirable man honored native traditions by worshipping the gods of his fathers, abiding by the laws of the land, and going to war with anyone who dared to challenge his culture. His merit gained him superiority in society because men of Ibo culture were judged by their possessions and the amount of possessions that they had. In Things Fall Apart, the main character Okonkwo is the manliest of men, his achievements as a husband, warrior, and member of society confirms why he is so admired by the men and women of his society.

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Nwoye, Okonkwo’s eldest son, faces an internal conflict throughout the story as a result of the pressure of forced gender roles and his father’s expectations which then motivates him to abandon his family. In Igbo culture, people are taught to act a certain way based on their gender from the beginning of their childhood. For instance, girls are taught how to cook and do domestic work while boys are taught to be violent and aggressive. Nwoye’s personality do not match with the gender roles that were assigned to him, therefore, he faces an internal conflict. “Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent,” Achebe writes, “but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell” (Achebe 53). Nwoye’s desire to listen to his mother’s stories indicates that there is a part of his character that is thought to be sensitive and “womanly” in their society.

The way masculinity is performed in the narrative structure of both novels allows a continuous going back and forth from masculinity as a secure category to masculinity as a state of crisis. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses the third person narrator to showcase the narrative’s cultural conflict through voice. The distance between the narrator and the reader as well as the use of past tense narration helps destabilizing masculinity at the same time as the colonial order of things is destabilized. Thanks to the three-part structure of the novel with each part representing a step downward from masculinity, the reader doubts Onkokwo’s iconic status as the narration reveals him as a deeply flawed individual. Igbo culture is represented within a normative space and communication, their internal dialogues make up for the distance between the narrator and the reader. If critics go as far as arguing that the form of the novel constitutes a space in which the contestation of gender meaning occurs, it is because language represents a means to either include or alienate a listener, suggesting that there is a masculine language. Physical performance is in compliance with verbal performance, Onkokwo uses aggression to replace his lack of speech: ‘whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use his fists’.

In a society where everyone was first born into a culture of not their choosing, one feels that they must conform to it whether or not certain customs are questionable at times. Brought into the Ibo culture and raised by the ancient traditions since birth, Nwoye finds himself questioning the morals behind this culture and searching for an escape after an unfortunate incident occurs within his village. In Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe introduces themes such as justice, morals, and traditions in order to establish the idea of Nwoye being the most affected by the presence of the missionaries. In the beginning of “Things Fall Apart,” the audience is introduced to a sympathetic, naive, and rather soft Nwoye who lacks certain masculinity; a trait valued by Ibo people and especially his father, Okonkwo.

(Flood, 2016) and ethnicities have different beliefs that have a significant impact on males due to the ideas of masculinity and social norms. For example Benny Lemaster who is Asian ethnicity stated “I am considered a flamboyant failure of a man, because I’m not masculine enough” (Tarrant, 2009, pg.64) compared to Spanish ethnicity “men were hugging and kissing each other” (Phoenix, 2012) as a form of celebration where as in America “Men are petrified of being seen as gay” (Phoenix, 2012). This is showing how different ethnicities have different social norms in regards to masculinity and what is acceptable in their ethnicity and therefore influences the social construction due to ethnicities having different

Masculinity Displayed by the worst, Okonkwo In Things Fall Apart by, Chinua Achebe masculinity is shown from the beginning, the ideal man supports and provides for his family; and shows off his strengths and expertise on the battlefield. Okonkwo spends the majority of his time expressing his masculinity and often ignoring family values and discrediting feminism. In the Igbo culture, men and women have specifically assigned roles and they balance each other out. Because Okonkwo is extremely concerned with being hyper-masculine his life is unbalanced.

Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart is a response to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Achebe describes the fall of Okonkwo, the protagonist, and the fall of Ibo culture. Ibo culture is characterized as a male dominant society and very advanced at the time, but Okonkwos’ hyper-masculine feelings often get him into unnecessary trouble with the rest of the village. He refuses to concur with the rest of the societal views in Umuofia, especially his view on women – believing that women are weak and powerless Achebe suggests that though Ibo culture is male dominant, Okonkwos’ uninhibited masculinity leads to his downfall, suggesting that both male and female roles play a main part in society.

Often times, authors use literary elements to convey important central ideas in a text. In the novel, “Things Fall Apart,” Chinua Achebe uses misogyny to enhance the central idea that men are held superior to women. Misogyny is simply defined as the hatred of women. Achebe uses symbolism and the cultural components of Igbo, an African culture, to enhance sexism as the reoccurring theme throughout this novel. Okonkwo is a man held with high respect in the book, and does everything in his power to be anything, without resembling his father.

The Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a straight to the point story, embedded with interesting elements that capture readers’ attention. In my view, when I read the story, I found many interesting things about the theme of the book. But The Masculinity Okonkwo was what captures my attention. The story opens up to a Traditional Igbo lifestyle, a theme which is highly stylized from its ritual to the actions performed for certain ceremonies. Most of the action Igbo tribe has been an attempt to show respect to the gods, for example, when ikemefuna became sick and his stomach swelled up their traditions says that he take them to the evil forest and kill him. The story also seems to focus on gender,

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.

When Okonkwo discovers that Nwoye has found a new faith in Christianity, he claims that Nwoye is a woman and not a man nor his own son and addresses that Nwoye is effeminate and degenerate (Achebe 153). These gender roles for men are problematic because it implies that the men in Okonkwo’s life cannot stray away from highly masculine tendencies or else he will be ostracized or beaten. Feminist theory is applicable to this certain situation because Okonkwo perpetuates the male gender role for his son when Nwoye wishes to break from the roles.

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