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Gender Roles In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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“Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust. This was a womanly clan, he thought.” (159) If Okonkwo takes “womanly” to be synonymous with weak or showing weakness, then he is unerringly accurate. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo comes to terms with the fact that his fellow tribesmen are not as dauntless and unwavering as they were first portrayed. Chinua Achebe, having been the son of a missionary within these tribes, has first-handedly witnessed the underlying flaws of the leaders. Reflecting on both background details and remarks from the missionaries, and the irrational diction of the tribe and Okonkwo when the royal python is killed, Achebe emphasizes the idea of weakness and indecisiveness in the Igbo culture, and even in Okonkwo himself. One major flaw that demonstrates weakness in the Igbo culture is their inability to look at the “big picture” of life and stop focusing on the small-scale problems. The fact that “no punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly” reveals that the Igbo only prepared for probable outcomes of events, …show more content…

The larger issue, of course, being that they were not prepared for an assortment of situations. Adding to this idea, the Igbo also struggled to reevaluate their strict traditions. Even the new …show more content…

The strength of the new faith’s leaders are shown in great contrast to the Igbo leaders’. For example, the missionaries were strong enough to remain unshakeable when their decisions were challenged. When the new converts complained about being ridiculed, Mr. Kiaga responded, “Let them laugh… God will laugh at them on judgement day.” (156) The people looked up to these unwavering men “and it was [their] firmness that saved the young church.”(157) The stability of this new religion is what attracted the followers, seeing that they come from a place of

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