ipl-logo

Things Fall Apart Patriarchal Society Essay

544 Words3 Pages

Patriarchal Society in Things Fall Apart

Women have always lived in a misogynists world, where women are inferior to men. Men are the head of the household and make all the rules that contain their family. In Things fall Apart, the way men view the women in their society is very prominent that they are considered property. Gender roles conclude that the different mentions of male vs female, how men ruled their household, and women are seen weaker than men that dominates a patriarchal society.

When Ogbuefi Udo’s former wife died the village had to choose a replacement for her, when this was decided a girl was chosen automatically. In the text it says, “The elders, or ndichie, met to hear a report of Okonkwo’s mission. At the end they decided, as everybody knew they would, that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. As for the boy, he belonged to the clan as a whole, and there was no hurry to decide his fate.” The boy’s decision on what was soon to come was indefinite because it had to be thought upon first, but the girl’s life changing movement was quickly decided. This goes to show that women were being tossed around like they mean nothing to the Igbo people and that are objects that are traded and bought. Okonkwo’s wives were perceived as human devices that meant nothing. …show more content…

It was known that, “ Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper.” Men were seen as the dominant sex and controlled lifelly decisions, including their wives. Women were forced to deal with their husband’s bad personality and didn't have a way to get away from it or even get a divorce. This means that the Igbo women are directed to a subservient role to their husbands. Even Igbo’s insults concluded that women were a ‘lower

Show More
Related
424 Words | 2 Pages

Theory of Relationship: The relationship between Rainsford and General Zaroff is that of a friend becoming an enemy. Paragraph 1: “He was finding the general a most thoughtful and affable host, a true cosmopolite” (7 Connell). In this passage from “The Most Dangerous Game” Rainsford’s first impression is that general Zaroff is nice and polite.

Read More
802 Words | 4 Pages

Okonkwo constantly struggled to create the same masculine character in Nwoye that he made for himself and constantly found a reflection of his effeminate father, Unoka, in Nwoye. Chapter two describes the relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye in Nwoye’s youth. “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness... He sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating” (13-14). Okonkwo’s efforts to change Nwoye’s resemblance of Unoka were causing their relationship to be pushed apart because of Okonkwo’s violence and Nwoye’s resistance.

Read More
797 Words | 4 Pages

Manhood is being treated as a human of mankind. Okonkwo, however, equates manhood to brute force and anger. Anything else was considered to be characteristic of a woman. It is this idea of manliness that pushes Nwoye into the hands of the missionaries. Okonkwo “wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man” and although Nwoye at times acted as if he was annoyed with the tasks the women would ask of him, “nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives” (Achebe, 36).

Read More
690 Words | 3 Pages

In an article about the Igbos perception of women there is a proverb that says “when a lady lives to her satisfaction, she puts her buttocks in the kitchen” (Mmadike 100). This is saying that the men do not want women in the way of things. Women are to do what they need to do and then go to the kitchen. The men are valued because they do all the “heavy lifting.” Okonkwo said “I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan.

Read More
755 Words | 4 Pages

Okonkwo was a big supporter of physical and verbal abuse in his home, especially towards his wives and Nwoye. To Okonkwo, physical abuse was another language. This is how he spoke, and punished, on the occasion of the abuse, and how he had handled the situation. Women was treated poorly in Umuofia because men believe that they were weak and in inadequate. “ Even as a little boy Okonkwo had represented 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.

Read More
868 Words | 4 Pages

The poor and unknown would not dare to come forth” (Achebe 173). Okonkwo knew that she was a wonderful young women. We continue to hear from him that he wishes that she was a man. “She understood things so perfectly. Who else among his children could have read his thoughts so well?”

Read More
946 Words | 4 Pages

He didn’t marry her because he didn’t have money to pay for he dowry, instead a few years later Ekwefi escaped from her husband and got married to Okonkwo. This is very rare that something like this happens in the Umuofian society. It shows that there is courage and that even in the toughest situation rules can be

Read More
277 Words | 2 Pages

In the Ibo society, and many other cultures, women are overlooked by the men. The women are thought to be inferior, weak, overly-sensitive, incapable of taking care of themselves. It is in these same patriarchal societies that the men are dependent on the women’s care: placing food on the table, raising the children, taking care of the house. As seen in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo relies on the labor of his multiple female counterparts. He mistreats their care, as the women and children endure his irrational anger, and physical and verbal abuse.

Read More
970 Words | 4 Pages

This also represents the importance of image to him and shows that he is self-conscious about himself. “‘We shall not do you any harm,’ said the District Commissioner..” (Achebe 194). This is quite ironic since the Europeans ended up abusing Okonkwo and his comrades and eventually destroying the Igbo culture. In this quote the author is implying that in the European's’ perspective, they are doing a good thing for the Igbo in the Umuofia by changing their beliefs, but in reality they are destroying their culture which the foundation and the identity of the Igbo.

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Nonetheless, he repeatedly wishes she was a boy (Achebe 56) in order to fit their patriarchy gender role. Men in the Igbo tribe role are scrutinize by their masculinity, and if you do not exhibit a barbaric persona, you are categorized weak like a girl. For instance, after Okonkwo had murdered Ikemefuna, he was going through a period of depression, asking himself "When did I become a shivering old women" (Achebe 56) This demonstrates the gender stereotype in the Igbo society as if women were the only one allowed to empathize or have feelings. Also, gender roles in the Igbo tribe hinders men from having their own identity.

Read More
1106 Words | 5 Pages

The way the gender roles in his society were set up was the women had to always obey the men. This causes Okonkwo to be strict so he can manage his household. But the effect

Read More
895 Words | 4 Pages

His fear of weakness and failure is derived from his father, Unoka’s failures, which ignite Okonkwo’s misogynistic views. Throughout his lifetime, Okonkwo associates femininity with weakness because of Unoka, who was called an “agbala” or woman by the people of Umuofia. Since women have this reputation for weakness, Okonkwo lives with constant fear that he will be given the same title as his father. Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye’s effeminacy reminds Okonkwo of his own father. He says, "I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, but there is much of his mother in him ."(Achebe, 66).

Read More
1890 Words | 8 Pages

Fear is the core cause of the dramatic shift of lifestyle for both Okonkwo and Nwoye. Through the management of reputation and the avoidance of their father’s likeness, Okonkwo and Nwoye built new lives for themselves. Okonkwo sought power and authority to prove his masculinity and make up for Unoka’s reputation as a weak man. He did this to the point where manliness became his character. Fearlessness and violence were masculine qualities that in Igbo culture signifies strength and influence.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

For instance, women painted the the compound of the egwugwu (Achebe 84). Furthermore, the first wife of a man in the Ibo society is paid some respect. This deference is illustrated by the palm wine ceremony at Nwakibie's obi . Anasi, Nwakibie's first wife, had not yet arrived and "the others [other wives] could not drink before her" (Achebe 22). The importance of woman's role appears when Okonkwo is exiled to his motherland.

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

He was a caring man down in his heart but “his whole life was dominated by the fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13), and his mission to become one of the greatest men of his clan. Okonkwo was devoted to masculinity, he put it above anything else preventing anyone from questioning his masculinity. When he felt a slight sign of weakness it reminded him of his fathers failure to being a true man not providing for his family or ruling women and his children, therefore “he was not really a man” (Achebe 53).There were many traits to being a masculine man but to Okonkwo the main one was ruling his wife and children, if any of them had disobeyed him he would beat them without hesitation or regret. Although Okonkwo is influenced by masculinity it is because the Ibo culture believes in men dominating women which leads their society to fall

Read More

More about Things Fall Apart Patriarchal Society Essay

Related Topics

Open Document