masculinity in things fall apart essay

Things Fall Apart

Chinua achebe, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Okonkwo dedicates himself to being as masculine as possible, and through his rise to become a powerful man of his tribe and subsequent fall both within the tribe and in the eyes of his son Nwoye , the novel explores the idea of masculinity. Okonkwo believes in traditional gender roles, and it pains him that his son Nwoye is not more aggressive like he is. As a result, it's revealing that he expresses the wish that his daughter Ezinma were a boy—from this we know how fond he is of her. Additionally, in a meeting towards the very beginning of the book, Okonkwo insults a man without title by calling him a woman, demonstrating how much masculinity is valued when ranking those in Umuofia society. Ultimately, though, Okonkwo's adherence to masculinity and aggression leads to his fall in society—he becomes brittle and unable to bend with the changes taking place in his clan. In keeping with this principle of masculinity, Okonkwo forces himself to kill his own surrogate son, murder the white man against his better judgment, and hang himself before a punishment can be imposed by others. Okonkwo's aggression makes him weak in the end—it leaves him with no room to maneuver against the more subtle ways of the white man.

Nwoye struggles with this idea of masculinity, as he wants to please his father by being aggressive and traditional, but ultimately, he's repelled by the violence in Umuofia rituals and joins the Christians. Nwoye's departure can also be linked to this idea from Okonkwo's uncle, Uchendu , after the family is exiled from Umuofia: “'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut.'” Likewise, after being beaten by his father, Nwoye leaves to seek solace in the more feminine and seemingly gentle Christian religion.

Masculinity ThemeTracker

Masculinity Quotes in Things Fall Apart

…[Okonkwo] was not afraid of war. He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head.

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 no title. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.

Okonkwo did as the priest said. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine. Inwardly, he was repentant. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan.

Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell…

Ezinma took the dish in one hand and the empty water bowl in the other and went back to her mother's hut. “She should have been a boy,” Okonkwo said to himself again. His mind went back to Ikemefuna and he shivered.

“The world is large,” said Okonkwo. “I have even heard that in some tribes a man's children belong to his wife and her family.” “That cannot be,” said Machi. “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.”

It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land. The crime was of two kinds, male and female. Okonkwo had committed the female, because it had been inadvertent. He could return to the clan after seven years…

Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.

Patriarchy and Masculinity in Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” Essay

The protagonist of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo, is the personification of radical masculinity and patriarchy. The protagonist’s self-identification as a warrior, husband, and father is brutal and often based on cruelty and aggression. To the greatest extent, Okonkwo’s personal qualities are manifested against the background of other characters who find themselves in similar situations. Thus, the novel is built on the juxtaposition of concepts, ideas, and concepts, thanks to which the reader can fully understand the main character’s perception of the concepts of masculinity and patriarchy.

Notable is his father’s influence on the formation of Okonkwo’s personality and worldview. The main goal of the protagonist’s life is not to be like his father. He carries this opposition into all areas of his life, from farming to dealing with children. Also, Okonkwo’s qualities as a father when comparing how he treats his children and Ikemefuna, and Okonkwo and Ikemefuna’s attitude towards Nwoye. Another noteworthy feature of the protagonist is the cruel treatment of his wives, while his uncle treats women with respect and reverence.

The main opposition in the novel is the clash of tradition and innovation. The author conveys this confrontation through the conflict between African traditions, embodied in Okonkwo, and Christian ideas, brought by missionaries. Even though at first glance, these concepts are opposite, they still have similar features. One of these features is the cruelty and aggression with each side defending its interests.

Khan, S. N., Sardaraz, K., Khan, I. U., & Khan, A. K. (2021). Exploring behavioral characteristics in Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart. PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology , 18 (18), 1209-1217.

In their study, Khan et al. describe the critical characteristics of the protagonist. Among the main character traits of Okonkwo, researchers list competitiveness, self-confidence, ambition, and fearlessness. An analysis of Okonkwo’s personality is necessary to understand the motivation for his decisions and actions, as well as the factors that influenced the formation of the character. Moreover, a study by Khan et al. (2021) analyzed the father’s influence on the protagonist, concluding that Okonkwo’s behavioral patterns were formed as the complete opposite of Unoka. This source helps to understand the character’s main characteristics better, as well as to identify scenes in the novel in which the protagonist deviates from his classical model of behavior. I will cite this source in my research project to support my argument about the general perception of the concepts of masculinity and patriarchy by the protagonist.

Kiran, A., & Pareek, S. (2022). Narrativizing patriarchy within the framework of Things Fall Apart. Specialusis Ugdymas, 1 (43), 8519-8528.

Kiran and Pareek analyze the patriarchal patterns in the Ibo community depicted in the novel. In particular, researchers focus on how the patriarchal structure of society influenced the distribution of dominant roles. Using the example of Okonkwo and his wives, Kiran and Pareek demonstrate how these dominant roles can be embodied in traditional African culture. Researchers also conclude that society predisposes men to act under specific patterns. I will use the results presented in the source to understand the nature of the patriarchy illustrated in the novel better.

Ngendahayo, J. D. (2021). The protagonist’s masculine perceptions in Things Fall Apart as the sign of Igbo society breakup. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics(JLLL ), 75 , 5-10.

Like Kiran and Pareek (2022), Ngendahayo (2021) focuses on the role of women in the society depicted in the novel. The research focuses on defining gender roles in the community and how the protagonist perceives it. Ngendahayo focuses on how Okonkwo understands the concept of a man as a husband. This approach helps better understand the Ibo community’s social structure and how radical and brutal Okonkwo is in his views. In addition, the article touches on the topic of confrontation between the indigenous African tribes and the British colonialists, which is also of great importance for my future research. Ngendahayo notes that despite the difference in views, the approaches to solving situations between people of the clan and missionaries have standard features. Thus, the results of this study will help me establish how different the traditional and innovative Roma society is. In addition, I will use this source to support my argument that the missionaries and Okonkwo had similarities despite their apparent differences.

Chinua, A. (1959). Things fall apart. [eBook edition]. Anchor Books.

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Bibliography

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Things Fall Apart Masculinity

This essay will explore the theme of masculinity in Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart.” It will discuss how masculinity is portrayed and its significance in the Igbo society. The piece will analyze the protagonist Okonkwo’s perception of masculinity, his struggles with societal expectations, and how this theme contributes to the broader narrative of cultural change and colonialism. At PapersOwl, you’ll also come across free essay samples that pertain to Chinua Achebe.

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Masculinity has a huge impact on the lives of the Ibo tribe. For instance, Ibo tribes in Africa highly support male masculinity and dominance. From a young age the individuals of the Ibo tribe are molded to understand the concept of male superiority. For anyone who digresses away from this idea, is thought of as weak by the community. In Things Fall Apart, the protagonist’s life, Okonkwo, is derived from his obsession with masculinity and his fear of failure and being like his father.

Okonkwo’s entire life revolves around masculinity and this ends of being his biggest flaw. How much would it take Okonkwo to realize that his greatest fear would eventually lead to his death?

How Has Masculinity Defined in Things Fall Apart?

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo resents his father, Unoka, for being lazy and unmanly. Therefore, this leads him to want to be nothing like him. Unoka was a disappointment to the community and even his own son. Unoka held only one wife and did not have what it took to support his family. When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt (pg. 5). Unoka was often thought of as an agbala, or a woman because he held no titles and was unmanly. As Okonkwo continued to grow and understand Unoka’s inability to take care of his family, Okonkwo realized that he wanted to be nothing like him. Okonkwo hated everything Unoka loved, in attempt to avoid the path that his father went down. Okonkwo strived every day to be as different from Unoka as he could. Unoka was very kind-hearted and caring. His father having these characteristics led him to be ruthless and harsh. Unoka’s reckless behaviors and failures shaped Okonkwo to be the man he was in the novel.

Along with Okonkwo’s father’s inability to be masculine, Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, followed in his grandfather’s footsteps. Nwoye disliked the things that were seen as masculine and the things that most males would do in the Ibo society. His interests are different from Okonkwo’s and Okonkwo forms a strong dislike of his son. Nwoye enjoys things that are thought of as a woman’s job, and hates farming and any type of labor. Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell. This leads to Nwoye frequently getting beat. Okonkwo stated in the novel that he will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan (pg. 28). He even goes as far as to say that he would rather strangle Nwoye with his own hands than have a weak son. Nwoye struggles throughout the entire novel trying to live up to his father and be the excessively masculine man his father was.

On the other hand, Ikemefuna, Okonkwo’s adoptive son, portrays the perfect idea of masculinity. When Ikemefuna was first given to Okonkwo by a neighboring village, Okonkwo’s first wife was assigned the responsibility of taking care of Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna quickly formed a strong bond with the children of Okonkwo and sooner than later formed a bond with Okonkwo himself. Ikemefuna was everything that Okonkwo looked for in a son: hard-working, strong-minded, masculine, and brave. Ikemefuna helped Okonkwo with the farming and even encouraged Nwoye to be more masculine and help with the things a man should do. Ikemefuna begins to be an older brother for Nwoye, and Nwoye greatly looks up to him. Ikemefuna’s presence in the family seems to make Nwoye become more mature and leads to him becoming more manly. Nwoye begins to spend more time with his father and takes on more masculine duties. Okonkwo was thrilled about the impact Ikemefuna made on Nwoye. Even though Okonkwo was extremely fond of Ikemefuna, he never showed it in fear of it making him seem weak, because Okonkwo believed that showing affection meant he was weak.

Throughout the entire novel, Okonkwo tries his hardest to be masculine despite the outcomes. In the end, Okonkwo ends up committing suicide after realizing there was nothing else he could do with his life. The more Okonkwo tried to show he wasn’t weak, the more miserable his life became.

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Masculinity in Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a groundbreaking African novel that gives insight into the complex and frequently controversial concepts of masculinity and gender roles within an Ibo culture. The novel tells the story of Okonkwo, a proud and enormously respected member of the Ibo tribe who is deeply rooted in subculture and culture. As the novel progresses, Okonkwo’s experience of masculinity and his region inside his tribe and society is challenged and examined by the arrival of Christianity. The novel explores the typical thought of masculinity inside the Ibo subculture and how the arrival of Christianity challenges it. In the usual Igbo culture, masculinity is described through strength, power, and domination. Okonkwo is viewed as an image of this traditional masculinity and is revered for his energy and courage. He is now not afraid to take the danger and is unafraid to challenge those who oppose him. His power and courage are often considered a source of pleasure and respect inside the tribe.

However, when Christianity arrives in the Ibo tribe, Okonkwo’s feel of masculinity is challenged and tested. The Christian missionaries deliver a distinct notion of masculinity based on peace and humility. This new concept of masculinity is in stark distinction to the common Ibo masculine beliefs of strength and power. This new concept of masculinity conflicts with Okonkwo’s sense of identification and place within his tribe and society. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo is compelled to confront his inside conflict between his normal thought of masculinity and the new Christian notion of masculinity. He faces reconciling the two concepts and discovering his region inside his tribe and society. In the end, Okonkwo cannot reconcile the two principles, and his experience of masculinity is destroyed.

Things Fall Apart is a vital novel presenting a perception of the complicated and frequently controversial standards of masculinity and gender roles within an Ibo culture. The novel explores the standard concept of masculinity and how it is challenged and examined with the aid of the arrival of Christianity. Through Okonkwo’s hostilities to reconcile the two standards and locate his region within his tribe and society, the novel gives a vital lesson about the strength of identity and the significance of the perception of exclusive cultures.

Okonkwo’s masculinity is a source of pride and admiration among the Ibo people. He is a leader, a warrior, and a provider, and these characteristics are exceedingly valued with the aid of the Ibo people. His masculinity is rooted in the thinking of power and the potential to provide. He believes that energy and braveness are the most necessary features for a man to possess, and he strives to embody them in his actions. He is a self-made man, having labored tough to become one of the most respected and feared men in the Umuofia clan. He values challenging work and expects identical from his household and tribe. Okonkwo’s masculinity is also defined by his aversion to emotion and his ability to remain stoic in adversity. He is a man of few words; however, his phrases raise an exquisite deal of weight when he speaks. He is a man of action, not words, and can take decisive motion when necessary. He also no longer shows any emotion, as emotion signals a weak spot in the Ibo culture. This stoic nature approves Okonkwo to remain strong in the face of adversity and take integral steps to guard his household and tribe.

Okonkwo’s masculinity is a source of electricity and delight amongst the Ibo people. He is an example of how a man has to behave, and his instance is used to train the younger generations of Ibo guys on the importance of strength, courage, and difficult work. He symbolizes power and balance in the Ibo culture, and his masculinity is something to be admired. Okonkwo’s masculinity is an instance of how a man has to live his life. He values energy and challenging work and expects equality from his family and tribe. He does not show emotion now and is rapid in taking decisive motion when necessary. He is an image of electricity and steadiness in the Ibo culture, and his masculinity is something to be admired. Okonkwo’s masculinity is a supply of delight and admiration among the Ibo people and is a testament to his power and courage.

The arrival of Christianity in Umuofia was a major cultural shift for the tribe. Before the arrival of Christianity, the guys of Umuofia were anticipated to display strength, dominance, and courage. These were exceedingly valued qualities in the tribe and have been seen as the defining characteristics of a precise man. Okonkwo, the protagonist of Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, is an ideal example of this traditional view of masculinity. His friends admire him as a sturdy and effective man for his electricity and courage. However, the arrival of Christianity brings with it a new set of gender roles and expectations for the men of the tribe. Christianity presents a complete view of masculinity based on compassion and appreciation as an alternative to strength and dominance. This new view of masculinity is in stark distinction to Okonkwo’s regular view and affords a tough project for him to accept and embrace.

The Christian missionaries promote a view of masculinity based on humility, gentleness, and mercy. This starkly contrasts Okonkwo’s view of masculinity, which is based totally on energy and dominance. The missionaries also undertake Okonkwo’s standard appreciation of gender roles. They argue that guys and ladies are equal and be treated as such. This is difficult thinking for Okonkwo to be given and understand, as he has been raised to accept as true that men are top of the line to women. The Christian view of masculinity provides a hard challenge for Okonkwo and the other guys of the tribe. They have to figure out whether or not to be given the new view of masculinity or hold to the ordinary view they have recognized for generations. Ultimately, Okonkwo cannot take delivery of the new view of masculinity, and he struggles to reconcile the two views. He is unwilling to be given that there is a unique view of masculinity, and he finally chooses to hold onto the ordinary view of masculinity.

Despite the assignment posed via the Christian view of masculinity, the arrival of Christianity in Umuofia, in the end, has an advantageous effect on the tribe. The Christian view of masculinity encourages the guys of the tribe to be compassionate and understanding, traits that are indispensable for a prosperous and harmonious society. The Christian view of masculinity also encourages the men of the tribe to treat girls with admiration and to value them as equal participants in society. This is a nice step forward for the tribe and helps convey a more harmonious and just society.

Okonkwo’s conflict to reconcile the normal and the present day is further problematic using his interior warfare to hold his sense of Okonkwo’s trip of struggle to reconcile the typical and the modern forms a main part of the novel Things Fall Apart via Chinua Achebe. This is a ride of internal conflict. Okonkwo is forced to confront the reality that his typical view of masculinity may no longer be gorgeous daily in his society. Okonkwo’s normal view of masculinity is based on the concept that men should be strong, brave, and unafraid of taking risks. This usual view of masculinity is at odds with the new values of the Christian missionaries who have come to Umuofia. The missionaries price education, humility, and kindness, values that are now not in line with the ordinary view of masculinity that Okonkwo holds dear. He is compelled to confront the truth that his usual view of masculinity may no longer be suitable or usual in his society. Okonkwo’s battle to reconcile the usual and the cutting-edge finally leads to his downfall. It is a cautionary tale of the dangers of clinging too tightly to outdated notions of masculinity.

Things Fall Apart explains the complicated and often controversial principles of masculinity and gender roles within the Ibo culture. Through the story of Okonkwo, Achebe presents a glimpse into the struggles of reconciling typical and modern views of masculinity and the challenges of retaining one’s feel of identification and area within a changing society. The novel serves as a reminder that common views of masculinity may also not constantly be terrific or typical in the cutting-edge world and that we must be open to trade and new ways of thinking.

Chinua, A. (2021). Things fall apart.

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“ Masculinity” in Things Fall Apart

An igby prize essay by nidhi singh on achebe’s things fall apart and its flawed idea of masculinity that defined the life of its hero okonkwo.

The Kalahari Review

Kalahari Review

What Achebe accomplishes with Things Fall Apart is exemplary. He renders the “wild and passionate uproar” of the “savages”, as described by Marlow in Heart of Darkness , with meaning. He assimilates their rites into the realm of orderly complexity, strong tradition, a vibrant culture which gives a beautiful recognition to humanity’s relationship with nature. He tells us of the unremitting hard work invested by them in agriculture, their proud self-sufficiency, and the fascinating mix of folklore, dance and music which breathes an imaginative vigour in the everyday life and celebrations of Igbo society. Hegel’s declaration of the characteristic point of Negro life as being devoid of that realisation “in which the interest of man’s volition is involved and in which he realises his own being” seems preposterous as Achebe documents the organisation of life in a society in which “a man was judged according to his and not according to the worth of his father” — a principle only the most sophisticated societies can hold to. The other important aspect of Achebe’s documentation is that it is honest and neutral, it doesn’t glorify and it doesn’t diminish. This is the strength of his narrative which humanises the ‘dehumanised’ — he never looks away from the degeneration that festers within, he never fails to spot the weak linings that threaten to turn into fissures which would split wide open the whole structure. Achebe’s portrayal of the Igbo society is hard-hitting because it is intensely human — there are societal forces shaping the individual, there are imperfections in the hero it idolises, there is violence and injustice that is normalised and overlooked. Achebe never looks past the imperfections and never offers any deliverance. Because, these are things which are not within his bounds — Igbo society bristles with life and decomposes as any society would, which battles the invasion of colonialism while harbouring sinister limitations. One of the major limitations of the Igbo society is its flawed idea of masculinity which defines the life of Okonkwo who, perhaps unconsciously but perpetually, exerts to align himself with the socially sanctioned concept of ‘heroism’ and ‘masculinity’. Okonkwo’s life is dominated primarily by two things: “the fear of failure and of weakness”, and his quest to establish himself as one of the greatest men of his clan. What is posited against this idea of weakness is the idea of strength that constructs itself only with the negation of sensitivity: “To show affection was a sign of weakness — the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else — with a heavy hand.” Such construction of strength and masculinity, thus, is in opposition with the values of love, kindness, compassion and it invalidates an environment in which these values could mature and develop. It puts a huge limitation on the individual and his self-exploration because the end of any such journey has been pre-decided. Okonkwo, as a small boy, has already settled on what he wants to and what he doesn’t want to become. There are no alternatives considered, no mutability allowed. Okonkwo, perhaps “is not a cruel man”, but what propels most of his actions is not the presence of an unapologetic cruelty, but the readiness with which he overcomes each of these emotions — the potency of his desire to “tremble and subdue” puts down his kindness and compassion. A man’s life so constituted by ruthless masculinity and a desire for success in his society, calls into question the dictatorial values of the whole society — because his manhood is the function of the latter. Igbo society seems to believe in the ‘maleness’ and ‘femaleness’ of people, things, and actions. The latter is considered extremely undesirable in context of the former and there is a constant attempt to distance the two. The idea of bravery and heroism emanates from an accomplishment attained by overcoming of the ‘feminine’ by the ‘masculine’, the ‘passive’ by the ‘active’, ‘demonstration of affection’ by ‘apathy’, ‘domestic folklore’ by ‘the stories of war’. This is how masculinity in Igbo society is understood and defined — in a constant opposition with femininity, by keeping maleness in a domain separate from all things apprehended as female. The only realm in which the feminine is respected, its power recognised, and its voice heard is the realm of divinity — the earth goddess of fertility, the motherland which protects its warrior son in adverse times, the prophetic priestess of Agbala. In ordinary life, the priestess of Agbala, is “a widow with two children” who puts everyone into disbelief by being someone deific and prophetic in another realm. In ordinary life and in the local space, the woman loses the voice and agency she has in the orbit of divinity. This is in stark contrast, with men functioning as ‘egwugwu’, the spirits of the ancestors. If it is suspected that Okonkwo could be one of the egwugwu behind the mask, it is never expressed because, “if they thought these things they kept them within themselves”. The contradiction in the idea of a man’s participation in the realm of divinity and his ordinariness in life isn’t questioned but the same circumstances when applied to a woman are met with incredulity. The rigid separation of ‘maleness’ and ‘femaleness’ in the Igbo society produces a constant duality which is never resolved and that weakens its strength from within. Storytelling has a central place in Igbo society. It is an integral part of the everyday Igbo life, of everyone’s experience of childhood and growing up. Nwoye has a great love for the stories of his mother and Ikemefuna. They tell him of the quarrel between the earth and sky, the disagreement between “a man and a mosquito”, “of the tortoise and his wily ways”. He is also introduced to Okonkwo’s stories which are “masculine stories of violence and bloodshed”. His mother’s stories are gradually discarded in favour of his father’s masculine stories because he is made to understand that it is a part of growing up, his initiation into manhood — this relegation of the feminine. But it has also been stated how “he feigned that he no longer cared for women’s stories”. This leads to a perpetual duality, a chasm in the self and its wholesome flourishing. The feminine stories more beautifully and harmoniously integrate humanity with nature. They are more in line with the communitarian values of Igbo society and the animism of its religion — a reminder of how life exists not just inside the territory of man and his associations, a gentle acceptance of the difference and discord that is inherent in such a framework. This is contradictory to the masculine stories which are based on tales of brute force and decimation. The exclusion of Nwoye from this world of stories, takes away from him the power of language and expression, the ability to articulate the “vague chill” that descends on him when he “heard the voice of an infant crying in the thick forest”. It takes away from him the power to express pain and fear, the power to identify and speak against evil and injustice. It is an ailment that plagues not just Nwoye but the whole Igbo society — it handicaps language and expression. It deforms personalities. One of the major reasons why the Igbo society was unable to protect its culture, traditions and religion from missionaries and colonialism was its rigid conception of masculinity. Christianity assimilated everything that was considered odious, cancerous, throwaway by the Igbos — the outcast osus, women who had been the most compromising victims of patriarchy, and tortured souls like Nwoye who finally found a space which gave voice for the criticism of sinister practices. Everything that was broken, battered and overridden by the obsessive exaltation of masculinity, found a space to accumulate and build up. The Igbo society failed to recognise the cracks within. It failed to remedy its diseased state and reinvent. It never relented its grasp on individuals like Okonkwo who grew, lived and got distorted in its calcified cell.

Nidhi Singh lives in Bangalore, India. She studied English literature at the University of Delhi and was a Fulbright FLTA at Ohio University. She loves African literature and feels most fulfilled as a person when she reads or writes. Someday, she will visit Africa.

Written by The Kalahari Review

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An Appraisal

Bearing Witness, With Words

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By Dwight Garner

• March 22, 2013

“If you don’t like someone’s story,” Chinua Achebe told The Paris Review in 1994, “write your own.”

In his first novel and masterpiece, “Things Fall Apart” (1958), Mr. Achebe, who died on Thursday at 82, did exactly that. In calm and exacting prose, he examined a tribal society fracturing under the abuses of colonialism. The novel has been assigned to generations of American high school and college students — my college dispatched a copy to me before my freshman year.

In many respects “Things Fall Apart” is the “To Kill A Mockingbird” of African literature: accessible but stinging, its layers peeling over the course of multiple readings.

“Things Fall Apart,” its title taken from William Butler Yeats’s poem “The Second Coming,” has sold more than 10 million copies and been translated into some 45 languages. Time magazine placed it on its list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

The novel tells the story of Okonkwo, a stoic clan leader and former wrestling hero who returns to his village after seven years in exile. (He’d been sent away after his role in an accidental death.) The changes that Christian missionaries and other white men have brought are intolerable to him. “Things Fall Apart” rolls toward a bleak denouement.

What sticks with you about the novel is its sensitive investigation, often through folk tales, of how culture functions and what it means. Mr. Achebe (his name is pronounced CHIN-you-ah Ah-CHAY-bay) had plenty to say about notions of traditional masculinity, as well, not to mention his braided observations about nature, religion, myth, gender and history.

The novelist grabbed the subject of colonialism “so firmly and fairly,” John Updike wrote in The New Yorker in the 1970s, “that the book’s tragedy, like Greek tragedy, felt tonic; a space had been cleared, an understanding had been achieved, a new beginning was implied.”

Growing up in Nigeria, Mr. Achebe attended schools that were modeled upon British public schools. In his recent book of essays, “The Education of a British-Protected Child” (2009), he was eloquent about what it felt like as a young man to read classic English novels. They provided a cognitive dissonance he had to work through.

“I did not see myself as an African in those books,” he wrote. “I took sides with the white men against the savages.” He continued: “The white man was good and reasonable and smart and courageous. The savages arrayed against him were sinister and stupid, never anything higher than cunning. I hated their guts.”

Mr. Achebe grew up, and grew wiser: “These writers had pulled a fast one on me! I was not on Marlowe’s boat steaming up the Congo in ‘Heart of Darkness’; rather, I was one of those unattractive beings jumping up and down on the riverbank, making horrid faces.”

Mr. Achebe was a poet, professor, short-story writer and critic in addition to being a novelist. His more than 30 other books include the novels “No Longer At Ease” (1960) and “Anthills of the Savannah” (1987). He published several children’s books. He was also the author, controversially, of an essay called “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness.’ ”

While many critics defended Conrad, Mr. Achebe didn’t back down from his assertion that the racism in Conrad was not merely the norm for its time. In a book of essays he quoted earlier writers who, he said, were less backward.

Mr. Achebe was a mentor and role model to a generation of African writers — he’s often referred to as the father of modern African writing. But like many novelists who find success with an early book, Mr. Achebe found himself almost solely defined by “Things Fall Apart.” He spent the last two decades in the United States, teaching at Bard College and then Brown University.

It’s been more than 50 years since the publication of Mr. Achebe’s pioneering and canonical novel; it no longer seems to stand, to a Western audience at any rate, for African writing as a whole. His talent and success have helped spawn an array of postcolonial writing from across the continent. Among the talented young Nigerian writers alone who cite him as an influence are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani and Lola Shoneyin.

In 1990 Mr. Achebe was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident in Nigeria. The following year he gave an interview to Bradford Morrow in Conjunctions magazine.

Mr. Morrow asked him about the accident, and Mr. Achebe spoke about it with stoicism and good humor. “Children are born deformed,” he said. “What crime did they commit? I’ve been very lucky. I walked for 60 years. So what does it matter that I can’t for my last few years. There are people who never walked at all.”

“Things Fall Apart” is, at base, about the strength that human beings find in community. His car accident offered him similar lessons. “It is an opportunity,” Mr. Achebe told Mr. Morrow. “It’s a lesson. It’s so much. It is an enrichment. I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned how much we depend on each other.”

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Masculinity/Feminity, Things Fall Apart Essay Example

• Pages: 8 (2191 words)
• Published: September 26, 2017
• Type: Analysis

Things Fall Apart Masculine/Feminine 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 “outcast” in his community and to him committing suicide. Ac

cording to Okonkwo it was better dead then to summit to femininity, any feminine action on a man’s behalf is considered to be humiliating his reputation. Okonkwo’s father Unoka is an example of a man with a humiliating reputation. Unoka is a failure in his community and considered an “unsuccessful” man, due to the fact that he was always borrowing money and his family suffers from hunger. When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt.

” (p. 8) For this reason Unoka is often referred to as being agbala, which is the word for a woman or a man with no titles. Okonkwo is the opposite of his father, he is a successful man. It is because of his father that he tends to look down at feminine actions of any kind, because of this fear of becoming his father or having one of his son

become like his father. In contrast to his father Okonkwo earns many titles and instead of being looked down upon, he is greatly admired for his achievements.

Once of Okonkwo’s greatest achievement is his escapement from his father femininity and failure. “But for a young man whose father had no yams, there was no other way. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meager harvest. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father…And so at a very early age when he was striving desperately to build a barn through share-cropping Okonkwo was also fending for his father’s house. ”(p. 22) Okonkwo is able to do what his father does not do.

Okonkwo is able to take care of the family. From an early age Okonkwo has to do his work and his father’s work of supporting the family all at the same time. One can see that by taking on his father’s tasks and his own tasks that he wants to rise above his father’s legacy of spendthrift, lazy behavior, which he views as weak and therefore feminine. Not only does Okonkwo show that he is trying to rise above his father’s legacy but he also shows his aggravation and lack of patience with unsuccessful men.During the meeting held for men to discuss the next ancestral feast, Okonkwo let off on a man with no titles.

The man with no titles contradicted Okonkwo and displeased with his comment Okonkwo fired back “this meeting is for men. ” With this comment Okonkwo “killed” this man’s spirit by insinuating that the man was feminine

for having no titles and for being stupid enough to contradict Okonkwo who is a man of titles. The people in the village were very displeased with Okonkwo’s comment asking him to apologize.This shows that although Okonkwo is viewed as a hero, his impatience and extreme masculinity make him an outcast among the people in his tribe. Okonkwo’s impatience and extreme masculinity is not what solely makes him an outcast in his tribe but ironically it was also his feminine sin that forces him to be cast out of his tribe for a long period of time. In the tribe there are two kinds of crimes a female crime and a male crime, when Okonkwo’s gun blows up, he incidentally kills a boy and that is a feminine sin.

It is considered a feminine sin because it is done unintentionally. This shows how his masculinity as well as feminine crime makes Okonkwo an outcast in his community. Even though his faults are unintentional it is foreshadowing how Okonkwo will never again fit in with his native tribe or any other one for that matter. Similarly to his father Okonkwo is unable to fit in with the native tribe or even adapt to changing times.

On the contrary to his father who stood for an inactive, poor, spendthrift, weak, calm, and a man that is interested in music, Okonkwo manages to attain great social and financial success by being the complete opposite of that a productive, wealthy, thrifty, brave, violent, and a man unalterably opposed to music. Yet, both Okonkwo and Unoka are incapable of adapting to changing times; as other people come to live with the people

Umuofia, namely the white men. One can see his inability to cope with his culture or that of the white men, towards the end of the story whenOkonkwo is speaking on how to deal with the abominable gang of white men. “Let us not reason like cowards, if a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do I shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head. That is what a man does.

These people are daily pouring filth over us and Okeye says we should pretend not to see…this was a womanly clan he thought. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland, Umuofia” (p. 158-159) One can see that even in his exiled state in his mother land, he is unable to see things the way others in his mother’s clan see it.Unlike Okonkwo, the people in his mother’s clan feel that resorting to violence and brutality is unnecessary. They believe that violence and brutality is not their affair but instead it is of the gods and the offender. His masculine attitudes of not “reasoning like cowards” and “this is what a man does” are examples of how he cannot and will not back down from his war ways, which shows he is trying to strive away from his father’s legacy of a man who had no titles.

Through out the book Okonkwo tries to get the most he can possibly attain.Okonkwo was really first recognized for throwing the cat and becoming the greatest wrestler in Umuofia. This probably has him thinking that the way to achieve greatness is through sheer strength

alone. Okonkwo thinks that his mother’s clan is too womanly compare to his father’s clan of Umuofia, however even when he returns to his father’s clan after the completion of his exile he is also very much out of place there also. This is due to his obsessive masculinity and also because he just cannot adapt to the changing of times.Okonkwo “had lost his place among the masked spirits in the village” in addition to that “he had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion” consequently he lost any voice he ever had and was a “stranger” in his land seeming as nobody appeared to have taken any special notice of the “warriors” return.

He speaks with his friend Obierika about the strangeness of his home land saying, “Perhaps I have been away too long, but I cannot understand these things you tell me. What is it that has happened to our people?Why have they lost the power to fight...

I have also heard that Abame people were weak and foolish. Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards to compare ourselves with the men of Abame. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors. We must fight these men and drive them from the land. ” (p. 199-201) Okonkwo does not realize that everyone else in the tribe is adapting to the inevitable and that is the assimilation or the taking over of by British people’s culture.

Okonkwo does not see that his place in society is diminishing very rapidly and his masculinity is not a match for what the

other culture brings with them, that being its cleverness. He does not even understand his own people and why they are doing what they do. All he thinks of responding with is again violence and brutality another sign of his Macho only attitude. The people in his tribe are slowly and easily succumbing to the white man as his friends Obierika tells him right afterwards “It is already too late, our own men and sons have joined the ranks of the stranger. This is perhaps all Okonkwo can take in and also foreshadowing the events that will happen later on in the story.

Even so Okonkwo feels that his tribe could still be saved if only people were to get together and strike back at what was upon them. Okonkwo blames Egonwanne saying that he is a “coward” and that if it was not for his womanish wisdom Umuofia would not be going through all that it is going through right now. Okonkwo does not know that there is really nobody to blame and its just the changing times.To put it simply Okonkwo is a lion in the snow left all by his lonesome self, not adjusting to the times and letting his masculinity get the best of him. “He had brought down his war dress, which he had not touched since his return from exile.

” To further emphasize on his masculinity Okonkwo goes out with his war gear. This not only distinguishes him from the rest of the men in the town meeting but also completes his transformation into an outsider in his own community; a tribe that would not go to war.

“Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man.He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape they had broken into tumult instead of action. He discerned fright in this tumult.

”(p. 205) Okonkwo figures out the fact that Umuofia would not go to war during a meeting regarding the white man. In this meeting he cuts a white messenger’s head off and sees the looks of the people’s faces and how they will take no action against the “strangers” in their land. During this meeting Okonkwo sets on his path to becoming a complete outsider.

He is a complete Outsider/Exile due to his masculinity and that the femininity of his “fellow’ tribesman. Okonkwo finally completes his transformation into a complete outsider in his tribe when he commits suicide. The district commissioner asks someone to take down the hanging body of Okonkwo. One of the people in the tribe responds to him saying that it against their custom. “…a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it.

That is why we ask you people to bring him down, because you are strangers. ”(p. 207)With this final act Okonkwo sets himself free from a culture from which he is no longer a part of but an old relic, a symbol of the changing times. His suicide makes it so that people know that he no longer wishes to associate himself with his tribe.

He feels that it is all “falling apart” and his masculine ways just cannot adjust to the womanly way that the tribe is

headed in. In conclusion, Okonkwo’s masculine way might appear too extreme to have led to suicide, yet the audience must understand that his masculinity was not only a way of life but also a way to escape from his father’s “feminine” lifestyle.Okonkwo’s father was degrading due to his lack of masculinity and Okonkwo could not bear to be the same. Okonkwo put his masculinity before anything. Okonkwo would rather be an outsider in his community than a doomed “feminine” man.

When Okonkwo sees that his people have given up the will to fight and stand up for them selves, Okonkwo feel’s discouraged. Not standing up to fight for your country, your people and your family is cowardly, and Okonkwo just cannot and will not submit to cowardliness.Okonkwo insisted that his people go back to its war based lifestyle, yet his people refused to go to war against the whites. Okonkwo was to manly to change his mind and assimilate to the whites, he viewed that as weak and feminine. Although his refusal to adapt to his tribes new ways made him an outsider, Okonkwo could not and would not give up his manliness for anything, not even his life.

Okonkwo choose his death before ever submitting to femininity, and his greatest fear of becoming just like his father who held such a trait.

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Theme Of Masculinity In Things Fall Apart Essay

In the time of imperialism and when the Europeans came to the African, tribes after year they still fought their way of culture by standing their ground. “Black men struggle with masculinity so much. The idea that we must always be strong really pressured us all down- it keeps us from growing (BrainyQuotes). ” In the Igbo culture the men are the center of that makes the theme of the book masculinity. They are the ones who farm, take care of their wifes and Masculinity is presented in the way they do their traditional activities, how Okonkwo acts towards his family and others and how they reacts to situations.

Traditional ceremonies are a big part of masculinity in the Igbo culture. A ceremony they do is when a young man is old enough he will inherit his father’s farm to start off their life on their own. Even though how successful a man is not all have the same start based on this quote from Things Fall Apart, “Okonkwo didn’t have the start like in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a farm from his father. ” Pg. 16 A man is only as strong as their father, but not all have a high titled father to give them a boost up in the society.

This tradition shows how strong the father is and how that will translate into the son. A ceremony that takes place everyday is the kola nut ceremony. A kola nut is presented in the house of a person who is being visited and this quote shows how sacred the tradition is, “Take away your kola nut. I shall not eat it in the house of a man who has no respect for our gods and ancestors. ” Pg. 30 This quote means that a man has disrespected their gods and ancestors and the kola nut shouldn’t be opened around someone who has disrespected their culture and someone apart of their clan, especially during the week of peace.

The kola nut is sacred to the villagers of Umuofia because the number of nuts inside can tell if the visit will be good and bring luck or the visit will be bad and bring harm. As also being a great wrestler brings good fortune for them and their village. If a man is a great wrestler he has high titles and famous all over the nine villages, ” Once in awhile young two men carrying palm fronds ran round the circle and kept the crowd back by beating the ground in front of them, if they were stubborn, their legs and feet. ” Pg. 7 This quote means that a wrestling event with the top new boys that people watch in anticipation to see who will become a man and the next amazing wrestler. Wrestling is something people in all villages know about because it is based on strength and shows that a boy is now a man. These traditions also reflected how Okonkwo rules his house. Okonkwo is an overall manly man and runs his house with a tight leash and heavy fist. Okonkwo likes things to go his way all the time and has harsh punishments. He wants his wife’s to take care of him by feeding him when he wants, “And when he returned he beat her very heavily.

In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. ” Pg. 29 This quote means Okonkwo can her very anger easily when he doesn’t get what he wants, men in the village take control to look manly and in charge of his house. If a man can’t take control and be in charge he looks weak and is considered to be acting like a women. He control his house on a tight leash for his boys to turn onto men and his daughter to turn into wife’s for successful men. He liked a boy who wasn’t apart of his house or even his village, “As soon as his father walked in, that night.

Nwoye knew that Ikemefuna has been killed, and something seemed to give way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow. He did not cry. He just hung limp. ” Pg. 61 This quote means that he loved this boy than his own son working in his house and even on his farm, but also helped Nwoye be more of a man. Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna to show the men in his clan with higher titles he doesn’t have any sort of feeling towards this boy who was meant to be killed, so he killed him to stay being masculine. After the experience with the boy, he wants to be seen as the brave soldier he once was.

Okonkwo takes big measures to stay on top of the society,” It’s not bravely when a man fights with a woman. ” Pg. 93 This quote means the same thing every time, that beating and punishing a woman is never going to prove anything to anyone, but that the man is not the leader people thought he was. Okonkwo want his house to run the way he thinks it should and how a strong man, unlike his father, should be, so he tried to be so different from his father in every way, so he acts manly with no feeling to show.

How Okonkwo rules his house is a way how he reacts to situations too. The ways Okonkwo mainly, but also the men, in the village react to situations are to show they are manly in everything they do. In the situation with Ikemefuna the men there are all of a high title and they need to do what they were assigned to do. They do things to be seen as the brave leaders no matter how much it will hurt, “You, who are known in all nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in war falls to pieces because he has added a boy to his number?

Okonkwo, you have became a woman indeed. ” Pg. 65 This quote means that Okonkwo tried everything to be a man, for his village and elders around him and when he shows any emotions others think he is weak. The other man who Okonkwo talks to knows how he reacted to the killing and tries to do other things to look masculine. Okonkwo handles situations in his house very bad which creates worse situations. His temper puts him in bad places,” Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart. ”

Pg. 14 Okonkwo had a tiff with one of his wifes and used the gun that never shot straight and reacted violently to any mistakes his wifes make. He protects and helps his family when something is wrong. He went with his wife to make sure his daughter was ok,” A strange and sudden weakness had descended on Ekwefi as she stood gazing in the direction of the voices like a hen whose only chick had been carried away like a kite. ” Pg. 102 This quote is about how Okonkwo will help and take care of his wifes and children when things get bad for them.

He is the man of the house and this is where his masculinity shines through because he is going to all ends to help his family. Okonkwo reacts well to his exile. He was working on getting back to his own village,” He had been ruled by a great passion-to become one of the lords of the clan. That had been his life-spring. And he had all but achieved it. Then everything had been broken. He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach. ”

Pg. 31 Okonkwo from day one had tried his best to keep things under control and to make sure when he goes back home he can start in the same place. He works hard in bad situations to make things better and back to normal. In all of these situations Okonkwo does everything to still be seen as manly and tries to reacted as well as he can to fix and make things right again. The theme of the book is developed through the tradition of the clan, how Okonkwo runs his house and how he reacts to situations that happened through his time in the book.

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