Things Fall Aprt Study GUide 3 & 4

Answer all the questions (except the ones in grey) in full sentences in your workbook after you have read the chapter. Please note that the page numbers given are for a different edition of the novel.

Anderson starts out the book by introducing the reader to her interest in African culture,and relates how she sent essays to an anthropological board so she could go to Africa to do her graduate study. She soon realised that she would be unable to do so because

Reread pages 52-54 and copy down quotations that help us understand Okonkwo’s view of “manhood” or “manliness”. After each quotation, write down your analysis of it.

The last idea to keep in mind is the roles the females are given in the book.

Okonkwo, a very demanding character, has just finished a day's worth of labor and comes home expecting food at the table and his youngest wife has not prepared it yet. Okonkwo waits for her arrival when, “she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace” (Achebe, 28). This quote displays gender inequality throughout the African villages during the Age of Exploration. The tone seen in the words “beat” and “heavily” give a sense of insecurity and negative connotation towards women during that time. In keeping with Igbo view of female nature, they allowed wife beating. It is clearly evident that tone in the book Things Fall Apart allows Achebe to get his point across that women were on the bottom of the social hierarchy and were treated like property. Women were subjugated to their husbands whims, in this case it meant beating his wife when dinner was not ready. This occurred during a Week of Peace regardless that no violence should

     The book focuses on one of the tribe members, Okonkwo. He is a well respected member of the tribe. Okonkwo is a good example of a respected member of the tribe who also has great renown. He is known as a great wrestler and warrior of the nine villages of the tribe. He is a very powerful and influential member.

Part 2 – Choose twelve words/phrases that you deem to be critical to the book. They should be chosen from a variety of chapters. Give examples of the words being used in the text and explain why you think each word or phrase is critical.

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 the Ibo culture, when a woman was to be married, the family of her suitor would come and inspect her to be sure she was beautiful and ripe enough to be a part of their family. A woman did not have any value other than her beauty and her abilities to cook and bear children. In a conversation between Okonkwo and his friend Obierika, they spoke of two other villages where their ''customs are all upside down'' and ''titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives'' (73).

The way in which the women of the Igbo village are presented, by Achebe, make it seem as if they serve very little purpose to the society. The main character, Okonkwo, is infatuated with making sure he does not turn out to be like his father. By living in a village where manliness was crucial and weakness was not, Okonkwo viewed his father as being a weak and cowardly mean because he could barely support his family. To make sure he did not become an adult that resembled his father, he developed the characteristics of being brave, wealthy and even violent. Since he acquired these traits, it gave him a sense of superiority over his wives and the other women of the village. Perhaps because of Okonkwo’s behavior, the women of the village are treated with less respect. It is portrayed by Achebe that the women of the Igbo village only purpose is looking after the children and helping their husbands when or if it is needed. Although the women of the Igbo village are described as being insignificant, the women are the people that fill in the gaps in the society. For example, the women are the ones that cook, clean, take care of everyone, help harvest and grow food, as well as all the other everyday tasks that are easily overlooked.

3. Women are expected to serve men submissively. They are like flowers...beautiful, fragile and they have no choice in who comes along and picks them. Women were used for entertainment and satisfaction. The book seemed to basically revolve around Genji's relationships with women.

The novel also explores the negative impact that inequality has on the lives of Nigerians. Characters experience both gender inequality and inequality between different classes of society. In the story ‘Tomorrow Is Too Far’ the author highlights that how her grandmamma treats her and brother differently. Her grandmamma taught her brother Nonso how to pluck the coconuts but not her. Because ‘girls never plucked coconuts’. Nonso was always given the first sip of coconuts and grandmamma cooked meals with him in mind, not his sister. Nonso’s sister was told instead ‘this is how you will take care of your husband one day’. And also her mother used to end her brother’s nightly goodnight ‘ho-ho-ho’ laughing, but never left her room laughing. That’s all because Nonso is grandmama’s ‘sons only son, who would carry on the Nnabuisi’ name. This demonstrates that the importance of name and that these beliefs lead to gender inequality. The author also shows the negative impact of gender inequality.

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 illustrates the use of gender roles and lack of feminism in his daughter, Ezinma and his regret of her being a girl (Achebe 137). Okonkwo’s desire for his daughter to be a man is problematic and represents the patriarch’s refusal to view women as equal to men. Throughout Ezinma’s life time, Okonkwo expresses his desires for Ezinma to be born a boy ( Achebe 137). He explictly states to himself that he, “wishes she were a boy,” because she “understands him perfectly” (Achebe 136). Okonkwo expands on this desire as he continue to express how Ezinma is his favorite among the daughters and that she understands the ways of his consciousness and his moods (Achebe 137) . Although these expressions are subtle, Okonkwo’s regret of Ezinma’s gender plays a role in the patriarchal induced gender roles that women are socially lesser than men. Society’s standards

Though being a political narrative, the presence of women to strengthen the quality and reality of the novel is undeniable. Critic Abdulzarak Gurnah says: "Ngugi's writing is never far from the subject" and this is perfectly applicable for his description of the African women. However, being rather objective he also points a picture of the white women who though being secondary characters play a certain role in the novel.