Things Fall Apart Gender Roles Essay

1. Why did Cato object to repealing the Oppian law? What was the basis of his objections?

Domination and authority over women are reflected by the male characters in Things Fall Apart, specially the protagonist Okonkwo, as he oppresses his wives and overly abuse his power as the male dominator. At the beginning of the novel Okonkwo displayed, this trait as the monarch of the household “He ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children” (Acebe, 10). In the Igbo community men were the domineering sex and ruled over their families especially their wives. They treated their wives with disrespect and continuously let women live in fear. As stated above, males being more powerful than women limit woman capabilities and let them fear their husband. Throughout the book the author gives a clear idea that within the Igbo culture they live in a patriarchy society and as proven above the males continuously withhold this dominate role in their household.

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

In this session, I will discuss the gender roles in my family. The definition of gender role is the degree to which a person adopts the gender-specific behaviors ascribed by his or her culture (Matsumoto, D. R., & Juang 2013, 156). For example, traditional gender roles recommend that males are aggressive, angry, and unemotional. It goes further and explains that the male should leave the home every day to make a living and be the main wage earner. The traditional gender role for the female purpose is to stay at home and care for the children. It explains that the female is to be nurturing, caring, and emotional (Matsumoto, D. R., & Juang 2013, 156). These traditional roles for female and male are the opposite of one another. It is believed that the culture is likely to influence our perception about gender role in a family. In my family, my parents utilize the traditional gender role. Growing up, my father went to work every day and my mother stayed home with me and my sister. I believe my parents were influence by their parents and their culture to be traditional gender role parents. My father explained to me that they chose traditional parenting role because both sides of the family utilized traditional parenting gender roles. I believe my parents felt pressure to obtain the gender roles of the mother staying home with the children while the father worked. However, when my younger sister was old enough to go to school, my mother started to work. It was believed that when

Gender roles have been changing throughout the centuries with both men and women. The most and drastic change has occurred in our 21st century to women. Women are now viewed as equals in the work and home, they are able to achieve just as much as men and no longer have limits suppressing them. There have been limits put on women since the beginning of time, women were to attend to the house and children but never other responsibilities beyond that. This change in gender roles has shaped our society in numerous ways making new jobs for women and breaking through social norms. Throughout history the role of women has dramatically changed, first with women being primary caregivers and up keepers of the house to women being able to have their own careers and lastly to being equal to men and no longer being inferior to them.

According to Achebe, the main character detested his father at a very young age, “Even 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.”(28) The Igbo tribe in Things Fall Apart uses the term an “agbala” which is used to describe “woman”. Okonkwo considered his father to be weak, effeminate, poor, disgraceful, and always in debt to his fellow tribes people. Okonkwo’s life revolves around the deep fear of becoming a failure and adopting the image of his father. Due to this self rooted perception of failure there are indications that he tries to rise above his father’s legacy.

Gender roles were strictly enforced for many centuries, specifically in the nineteenth century. Women and men were to act different ways from each other and it was social taboo to break out of these roles back in the day. All different forms of media from previous eras express this. In different forms of literature such as Kate Chopin’s short piece, “The Story of An Hour”, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Both writers have lived within the nineteenth century, and have written stories reflecting gender roles and regulations of peoples within the time period. Kate Chopin is seen as a feminist in her time period, and her writing was not allowed to be published for a very long time. While Charlotte Perkins Gilman was one to write about women and their roles in the society in which she belonged to. Both writers had used what they knew from their lives to write what they have written. Each story displays how men and women are written in the stories, reflecting upon time periods and the time period . Both of these stories display gender roles, as well as the main women of each story anticipating their own forms of freedom.

Historically, women have been viewed as inferior to men due to a female's lack of physical strength. In the candid novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe clearly defines gender roles; women are the caretakers and cooks- simply existing to satisfy men’s desires. Although “Things Fall Apart portrays the women as weak ,inferior, and being put in their place by men; however, Achebe also notes their importance during several parts of the story. By incorporating powerful dialogues and scenes to develop gender conflicts, Achebe uses the completely divergent character of Okonkwo, who constantly strives to achieve manliness to demonstrate that although women in the Igbo society are important, they are not treated as such. Chinua Achebe, the author suggests that there is a constant conflict which exists between the two genders and the expectations of the roles in which each of them must play.

“Even 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. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title.” This quote, taken from Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” (1959), depicts almost the whole idea of gender roles in the entire book. Women are weak, men are strong. A man with no power is called a woman.

The major theme of Things Fall Apart is the different views of Okonkwo and his clan has regarding masculinity, as well as Okonkwo who shows hubris. Okonkwo is a fierce warrior who is famous throughout his clan and known to speak out his mind freely without any ridicule. In Igbo culture, to be called a woman, is the lowest title a man can receive. A man known by no titles contradicts with what Okonkwo says during a meeting for the ancestral feast, in which Okonkwo rebukes(or challenges) the man's authority. Okonkwo utters an insult, "This meeting is for men," Okonkwo knew how to bring the man's spirit down. Okonkwo's clan perceives a man without titles, a woman and therefore do not have the right to speak out with men. While, Okonkwo sees masculinity

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.

Throughout Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, storytelling is portrayed as a critical part of Nigerian culture. From the tales told in this novel, readers learn about everything from the fate of a dishonest tortoise, to the story of Okonkwo’s first human head. Stories in this region are often used to strengthen the bond between community members and define the roles of people from different genders and classes.

The role of both genders depicted in Achebe’s fictional novel, “Things Fall Apart” in comparison to reality represent different sides to each society. Generally, males are seen as superior to women, and refuse to be lesser than a woman, but throughout history there have been changes that occurred that made individuals to believe so. And with that, due to the inequality of males and females in the novel, “Things Fall Apart”, the reflection of discrimination present in fiction and reality can be portrayed through their roles in society, economics, and their rights.

In things fall apart, we can really see how there is a gender difference. How man are viewed as powerful and strong, and woman as weak and not good. In the beginning of the story okonkwo describes how his father was a bad person according to his culture. Okonkwo also treats his wifes very bad just because they are woman.

One way gender is conveyed throughout Things Fall Apart is shown through family, the way the family is run and by whom it is run by. Throughout the story Okonkwo runs the household in a strict manner, constantly yelling at his children to act a certain way, controlling their lives and actions. “‘Sit like a woman!’ Okonkwo shouted at her” (Achebe, 43) “‘Do what you are told woman.’ Okonkwo thundered and stammered” (14) This is a prime example of Okonkwo controlling the actions of his daughter. “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his children.” (13)