Okonkwo Masculinity

The critically acclaimed novella, titled “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe is written from the perspective of the protagonist, Okonkwo; who holds a very traditional Ibo tribe cultural perspective on what masculinity is, which readers are exposed to repeatedly throughout the story. Although, different perspectives on the matter are observed through characters such as Nwoye, Okonkwo’s oldest son, who had a different idea about true masculinity in comparison to his more extreme father. Okonkwo shows his support for Both Okonkwo and Nwoye’s ideas on masculinity are compared to the European culture and norms towards the end of the book. Both Nwoye and Okonkwo weigh the European culture differently, and react to the conflicting ideologies in different manners;

The protagonist and main written perspective of the story, Okonkwo has a very radical view on what it means to be a man; when seen from a modern western perspective. Masculinity in relation to this story, is an idea that ties in deep to handling emotions, dealing with family situations and how a “masculine” man should be viewed by others. Okonkwo is introduced as being a man who “ruled his household with a heavy hand.” which shows that he firmly believes in patriarchal ideals, which automatically puts men in the dominant position in a family, regarding women equal to the lowest possible social standing a male can possess (Achebe 10); which the novella confirms by defining the word “agbala” to accurately represent the low social standing in society of both parties. Some examples of other behaviors and roles associated with being masculine according to Okonkwo include, not showing any emotion besides anger, constant work loads as a lazy man is a unsuccessful man in order to provide for family and to appear physically strong as a warrior in from of others.