Things Fall Apart Masculinity Analysis

Okonkwo life is “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). When Okonkwo was a boy, his playmates teased him calling, saying that his father was agbala. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was lazy. He did not work on his farm; he died in great debt. He did not acquire a single title. He did not have a barn to pass down to his son. Unoka is a type of man who is scorned in Umofia. He is seen as weak and effeminate. As Okonkwo grows older, he is determined not become a failure like his father. His father was weak; he will be strong. His father was lazy; he will be hard-working. Okonkwo earned his fame by defeating the reigning wrestling champion. Okonkwo diligently plants yam, building a successful farm. He builds himself an obi, has three wives and many children. His fame “rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo will not let one womanly trait sully his reputation. Therefore, he “hate[d] everything that his father Unoka had loved” (Achebe 13). One of these was gentleness. Okonkwo refuses to show any signs of emotion, except his temper. He

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 the beginning, Okonkwo feared being like his father, he raised his family and built up his life by his self because he did not want to be like his father. “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father.” (pg. 1 TFA) the book said. He wasn’t very fond of his dad; his dad did not own much and had a lot of debt with everyone. Okonkwo did not want to grow up like his father; “In his

Okonkwo's first and most prominent flaw is his fear of becoming a failure. It is greatly influenced by his father, but Okonkwo takes his fear to the extreme. Okonkwo's father was a very lazy and carefree man. He had a reputation of being "poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back." (Achebe Page: 5) In Umuofia, a father is supposed to teach the children right and wrong, and in this case, the lessons were not taught, but self-learned. Okonkwo had to rely on his own interpretations of what defined a "good man" and to him that was someone that was the exact opposite of his father. As a result of his own self-taught conclusions, Okonkwo feels that anything resembling his father or anything that his father enjoyed was weak and unnecessary. Because of his fear to be seen as weak, Okonkwo even strikes down a child that calls him father: "(and as the machete came down] Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow... He heard Ikemefuna cry 'My father, they have killed me!'... Okonkwo draws his machete and cuts him down, he does not want to be thought weak." (Achebe page:61) The fact that he kills the child shows that the way that he thinks is wrong, that reputation is more important than the life of a child. Although it is a shame to be

Okonkwo is initially introduced as a proud, hardworking, successful warrior. He is described as "clearly cut out for great things" (6). But he is the son of a ne'er-do-well father; though genial and inoffensive, Unoka must certainly have been considered a failure. He is lazy and does not provide for his family. Not only is this disgraceful, but life-threatening as well. He is dependent on other members of the clan and must have been considered unsuccessful. Okonkwo chafes under such disgrace and his success is a consequence of his desire to be everything his father is not; society's vision of an exemplar citizen. The fact that Okonkwo is able to rise above his poverty and disgraceful paternity illustrates the Igbo's acceptance of individual free will. But Okonkwo's fate and his disharmony with his chi, family and clan are shown to cause his ultimate disgrace and death.

Okonkwo thinks he is the owner of his household and he shows no mercy to anyone who angers him. “He ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives…lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness.” (Achebe, Chapter 2, p.8). Okonkwo beats his children and wives because of his temper which is influenced by the Igbo society; he puts on a hard exterior because he is afraid of being weak and unsuccessful. At one point, he attempts to kill his second wife with a gun because he thinks she is the cause of a tree’s death. In order to prove his power and strength, without thinking of the consequences, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife during the week of peace - a week when the village celebrates peace and who ever disrupts the peace will be punished by Ala, the earth goddess (Lycos, online). “His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for the fear of a goddess.” (Achebe, Chapter 4, p.21). Okonkwo lives in a male dominant society where men are pressured to be strong and successful; because of these influences, Okonkwo develops an inner

Okonkwo shows his anger through heavy abuse of his family. Okonkwo constantly beat his son, Nwoye, for being lazy (Achebe,13). Okonkwo was angered at Nwoye for being lazy because it reminded him of his father who was also very languorous, which put a bad name to his family. Okonkwo resented his father for being lazy and causing the rough start to his life. Alo, Okonkwo would pummel his wife Ekwefi for simple things, one he even shot at her (Achebe,38).

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 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).

Now despite all his good qualities Okonkwo had a pretty troubled past with his dad Unoka. Coming from the book “Things Fall Apart” it is mentioned that “When Unoka died he had taken no titles and was heavily in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?” This quotation from Chapter One demonstrates how Okonkwo felt about his father, even after his death. This trait is represented by how hard he tries to be number one, and his hatred towards his father. He is strongly motivated to not be like his father in anyway, Okonkwo uses the past to push for the best and to be the best.

The only thing he (Okonkwo) fears most is not ending up like his father, Unoka. However, Achebe ‘‘makes an insightful comment on the nature of masculinity through his representation of the tribal leaders. Achebe basically, was conducive in creating four alter egos of Okonkwo: one of which were the masculinity; next of his fatherly abilities; and the last of his family progress and four of his likelihood of success’’ (Achebe.179). My paper will explain how Okonkwo’s Masculinity from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart will be characterized by his fears, beliefs, and emotions for several reasons.

In African culture, men usually have the most power in the clans and in the family. They always works in farm to grow food, make all the decisions in the clans, and even claim title if they have done any good deeds. On the other side, a men who is lazy and cannot feed his family is often look down at by everyone. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Unoka, is a very lazy men who don’t work hard in the farm and consequently, everyone looks down at him and even his own his son to dislike him a lot. An irresponsible father may cause his son to dislike him.

Okonkwo grew up ashamed of his father because he was unable to provide for his family and he preferred music and the art of language over success. Because Okonkwo knew that being successful and working hard earned respect and power, he wanted to be the stark opposite of his father-manly and successful. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure. He prevents himself from showing any emotion besides anger. “Even Okonkwo himself himself became very fond of the boy-inwardly of course.

Good afternoon Mr. Wilson and fellow students, I will be discussing the importance of masculinity and how it influences Okonkwo and the character around him in Achebes novel Things Fall Apart. Since the beginning of the novel the reader understands where Okonkwo stands for his self-worth and his masculinity. As a child, Okonkwo and his family never got to enjoy power and status then he eventually came to crave as an adult. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is describes as lazy and lacking ambition. Okonkwo has always been shamed of him since his childhood, Unoka was known for being a coward in clan for not becoming a warrior because he feared the sight of blood.

Throughout the story we see that he strives for perfection in every aspect of his life. Okonkwo sees his tribe beginning to fail because of the white men, so he tries to solve the problem by murdering a white man. However, when this plan does not work he feels like he has failed not only himself, but also the Igbo community as a whole. Okonkwo also feels that he has failed as a father. When Nwoye leaves his culture behind to become a Christian Okonkwo blames himself saying that he had not raised his son to be a good enough