Examples Of Ezinma In Things Fall Apart

Usually, an individual is something a person creates, about him or herself. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, characters gain experience, that help shape their identity. The character Ezinma from Things Fall Apart is a young girl who defies what her culture wants her to be. Individuality can form out of society’s roles and expectations. The Igbo village of Umuofia has specific standards for women, which is to be a wife, have children, and do chores, which is something they expect from only women. Achebe provides an example as to how women were seen by writing, “These women never saw the inside of the hut. No woman ever did. They scrubbed and painted the outside walls under the supervision of men. If they imagined what was inside,

She acted like much more than someone who was waiting to be defined by her village. Ezinma pushes the boundaries and she even tries to take on the tasks of a man, like carrying Okonkwo’s chair, which is something what the sons usually do. Ezinma dared to even ask, “‘Can I bring your chair for you?’ ‘No that is a boy’s job’” (Achebe 44) and Okonkwo made sure that she knew where [he thinks] her place is. Ezinma also stood up for herself and she spoke up, instead of standing down. In the interview, Achebe even expresses about having a hard time speaking out, “We realize and recognize that it’s not just colonized people whose stories have been suppressed, but a whole range of people across the globe who have not spoken” (Achebe Interview Question 5) and he discusses the people who have been silenced by society’s standards. Ezinma however, would not let herself be silenced, ad therefore did what she desired, rather than what they had

She was sassy and she would not let anyone make her do anything. She would not even let her mother tell her what to do, “Very often it was Ezinma who decided what food her mother should prepare. Ekwefi even gave her such delicacies as eggs, which children were rarely allowed to eat” (Achebe 76). Like Ezinma, Achebe spoke out and said, “The mindless absorption of American ideas, culture, and behavior around the world is not going to help this balance of stories, and it’s not going to help the world, either. People are limiting themselves to one view of the world that comes from somewhere else. at’s something that we have to battle with as we go along” (Achebe Interview Question 6) which showed readers that he was not going to let this view dictate what he truly saw. Achebe and Ezinma both stood out from the norm, and did not settle for