Things Fall Apart

Question ( 2 ): Discuss Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe 's “Things Fall Apart” is a tragic hero.

Based off the book Things Fall Apart, the videos we watched in class, and the poem “The White Man’s Burden”, the white man’s burden of spreading Christianity was more harmful than helpful. In both the book and the film the African Tribes were already fully functional as a whole. They had systems in place such as forms of government, art, social systems, and economic systems. After the whites came to convert them, things started to fall apart and become chaotic.

He had a daughter whom he adored the most. However, he wished she were a boy because his sons did not turn as he wanted them to. In the text it says, “She should have been a boy, he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter” (Achebe 64). In other words, Okonkwo saw the boy spirit in Ezinma whenever he looked at her, he saw how strong, well brave and emotionless she was which made him realize she should have been a boy, not a girl. However, the irony is that he killed his adopted son who had this manliness quality that he looked for in his own son which he didn’t find. This is why he wanted Ezinma to be a boy. This connects to the thesis because Okonkwo did not want to accept Enzima the way she is, he wanted her to be a boy. He believed if a girl has boy’s characteristic, she should be a boy not a girl. This shows how he didn't see boys and girls in a equal way. I think it is ok for a girl to have the quality and characteristic of boys and vice versa however, that does not mean they have to be the gender specific with their gender

The world is filled with many different types of societies and cultures. This is due to the fact that many people share dissimilar beliefs and ideas, as well as diverse ways of life. People lived under different circumstances and stipulations, therefore forming cultures and societies with ideas they formulated, themselves. These two factors, society and culture, are what motivate people to execute the things that they do. Many times, however, society and culture can cause downgrading effects to an assemblage if ever it is corrupt or prejudiced. Society and culture not only influences the emotions individuals have toward things like age differences, religion, power, and equality but also the actions they perform as a result.

   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.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel about a man in West Africa. It tells about his triumphs and trial ultimately leading to his demise. It explains how the “white man” came into his country and took over. It show you how the “white man” mad things fall apart.

vvIn the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe presents a true reflection the conventional view of women and their roles in the many societies in Africa and across the world. Achebe uses a combination of various writing techniques and literary devices to effectively bring out the theme of the role of women in the novel. The author goes a mile ahead to highlight contextual issues surrounding the usual discussion of the role of women in the society. Inasmuch as most scholars focus on the presentation of women as being weak and subjugated group, the story contains bits of their contrasting depiction as being important, influential and more powerful than even men. Even so, the general perception about the overall position and role of women in

Should they be seen? Should they be heard? In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, women play a rather subordinate role to men on the surface. They are frequently beaten by their husbands and given orders they are obliged to obey. However, upon reflection, the women in this novel actually play a vital role. They serve as the balance and backbone in the Igbo society, despite their common inferiority to the men.

Okonkwo victimizes his family due to his sexism. Okonkwo’s actions and thoughts signifies his idea that men and women are not equal. Throughout the plot he berates his daughter, Ezinma, concerning her gender. Since she is not the son he wishes for he continually abuses her into acting more feminine. When Okonkwo summons Ezinma to his hut and as she sits down “‘Sit like a woman!’ Okonkwo [shouts] at her,” (Achebe 44). Okonkwo forces Ezinma to cook and care for him and usually shows no affection towards her. Okonkwo’s victimization causes Ezinma to feel unwanted and unable to make Okonkwo happy. Yelling to Ezinma and trying to teach her what he wants from her conflicts what she hears her father tell Nwoye. Okonkwo tells Nwoye to become stronger and focus on

Seen in the interaction between Okonkwo and his wives, this matter illustrates the influential role of the patriarch in Ibo society. Speaking of his role in society Okonkwo gives the advice that,”if [a man] was unable to rule his women...he was not really a man”(Achebe 53). Based off of Okonkwo’s advice we know the men in Ibo society hold the power over their families and if they can not control their family that they are not really a man. Okonkwo demonstrates the power he holds over his wife and children many times, often going too far. For instance, during the Week of Peace Okonkwo beats his wife Ojiugo when she went out to a friend’s house without notice.

The novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs, customs and also about conflict. There is struggle between family and within culture and it also deals with the concept of culture and the notion of the values and traditions within a culture. The word culture is Latin and means to cultivate. To cultivate has several meanings; it can mean to plow, fertilize, raise and plant, to win someone’s friendship, woo and take favor with, to ingratiate oneself with, to better, refine, elevate, educate, develop and enrich. In Things Fall Apart all these words are accurate in describing the culture of Umuofia. A culture is an

    Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart explores the struggle between old traditions within the Igbo community as well as Christianity and "the second coming" it brings forth. While on the surface, it appears the novel narrows its focus to a single character, Okonkno and his inner battles, one can read deeper into the text and find an array of assorted conflicts in the realm on human vs. human, human vs. nature, human vs. society, and society vs. society. For the purposes of this paper I shall focus on the labyrinth of human vs. human and human vs. society in the framework of the role of women in Igbo society and how men assign and dictate these roles. I will also briefly explain the importance

He married three women, which was more than his father and had enough food for all of wives and children to never go hungry. He was so prominent in his society that an orphaned boy, Ikemefuna, was given to Okonkwo to raise. The people of his village revered Okonkwo’s accomplishments due to his masculinity and maleness being the cause of those achievements. Maleness in the Igbo society was power and leadership, both of which Okonkwo possessed. Unoka was a joke in his society due to his effeminate nature, but Okonkwo was viewed as a champion in his due to his masculine nature. Due to the traditional view of maleness in the Igbo society, Okonkwo often did not express his feelings in order to not appear weak. He never told his daughter, Ezinma, that he appreciated her understanding of her father’s actions. However, this desire to not appear also causes Okonkwo to act rashly. This is evident when he hits one of his wives during the week of peace and in the end of the play when he wants to start a war against the British. Due to Okonkwo’s obsession with fitting into the traditional view of maleness, he is unable to adapt with the changing society when the English invade and kills himself.

The other wives were very much afraid of Okonwo but they knew better than to challenge his authority. Neither of the wives dared to interfere between an occasional and tentative, “It is enough Okonwo “, pleaded from a reasonable distance (38). Okonwo even attempts to shoot Ekwefi when she referred to him as one of those “guns that never shot.” The novel describes a third instance of wife beating, when a severe case of wife beating comes before the egwugwu, they found in favor of the beaten wife, but at the end of the trial an elder wondered,” Why such a trifle should come before the egwugwu?”(94). All these occurrences demonstrate that women are oppressed and are treated like inferior, worthless properties that deserved to be beaten now and then in traditional Ibo culture. The Ibo believe that women are weak in every aspect of life. Men insult each other by calling each other women. An example of this is Okonwo’s deep hatred and resentment for his father, Unoka, whom he considered a woman because of his carelessness to rank high in status among the Ibo, for his laziness, and him being an untitled man. In a kindred meeting of his peers, Okonwo unkindly tells Osugo, the man who had contradicted him in the meeting, “This meeting is for men” (26). Since Osugo has taken no title, Okonwo considers him a woman. Okonwo perceives women as being weak and does not want to appear weak or like a woman among the Ibo. After murdering Ikemefuna,

More than those of any other African writer, Chinua Achebe’s writings have helped to develop what is known as African literature today. And the single book which has helped him to launch his "revolution" is the classic, Things Fall Apart.  The focus of this essay includes: 1) Achebe's portraiture of women in his fictional universe, the existing sociocultural situation of the period he is depicting, and the factors in it that condition male attitudes towards women; 2) the consequences of the absence of a moderating female principle in his fictions; 3) Achebe's progressively changing attitude towards women s roles; and 4) feminist prospects for African women. In the context of this study, the Igbo people whom Achebe describes will