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Masculinity In Okonkwo's Igbo Culture: Things Fall Apart

705 Words3 Pages
Is masculinity so important that you destroy a piece of you to keep an image? In Igbo culture the answer is yes, masculinity trumps all moral things; if you don’t kill if you don’t disrespect, if you show emotions, you are considered an agbala--a woman, or a man with no title. If you are a member of Igbo you are in a culture that is run by men, a patriarchy. The men fight, are served, make children, and marry women.

Okonkwo a member of Igbo culture, falls victim of masculinity over family, where he gets as many sons as he can and have multiple wives. He has a large number of kids, (eight minimum) and three wives, From the text, we know he has at least four sons and two daughters. He has three wives; Nwoye 's mother, Ekwefi, and Ojiugo. Their jobs are to prepare his food, take care of his home, and raise the children. If they disobey or step out of line, they 're beaten. Okonkwo sees the women as his property. Ezinma is Okonkwo 's oldest daughter and his favorite daughter. She is the one person he drops his hard, tough exterior, and the only person to “understand” her father. Even though he loves his daughter deeply that doesn 't stop him from talking about how much he wishes she was a boy instead of a girl.

He tells his sons story of how he killed in battles, in gruesome details how he drunk from their heads. This story put a wedge between him and his kids, especially Nwoye, he hated these stories, but he listened because he did not want the wrath of his father. Nwoye
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