Search for Free 150,000+ Essays

Find more results for this search now!
CLICK the BUTTON to the RIGHT!

Need a Brand New Custom Essay Now?  click here

Women in Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"

Women in Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was published in 1958 and is the seminal African novel in English. Although there are others, none are as influential, not only in African literature, but in literature around the world. It’s most amazing feature is that it portrays Africa, but mostly the Ibo society, before white men arrived. Achebe is trying not only to tell the outside world about Ibo cultural traditions, but to remind his own people of their past and it‘s value. In teaching the reader about Ibo society, he also explains the role of women in pre-colonial Africa.

Nigeria’s traditional culture, Muslim as well as non-Muslim, had been masculine-based even before white men arrived. This has caused many problems in African literary debates. Many other female writers believe that the image of the helpless, dependent, unproductive African woman was one that was delivered by Europeans whose women lived that way. Colonial rule just aggravated the situation by introducing a lopsided system in which African men received a good education while, like Europeans, African women received only the kinds of skills that could prepare them to be useful helpmates of the educated successful men.

In Things Fall Apart, the reader follows the trials of Okonkwo, a hero whose tragic flaw includes the fact that "his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness." For Okonkwo, his father Unoka was engulfed in failure and weakness. Okonkwo was teased as a child by other children when they called Unoka agbala. Agbala could either mean a man who had taken no title or "woman." Okonkwo hated anything weak or frail, and when he would describe his tribe and the members of his family show that in Ibo society anything strong had to do with man and anything weak with woman. Because Nwoye, his son by his first wife, reminds Okonkwo of his father Unoka he describes him as woman-like. After hearing of Nwoye's conversion to the Christianity, Okonkwo questions how he, "a flaming fire could have begotten a son like Nwoye, degenerate and effeminate" On the other hand, his daughter Ezinma "should have been a boy." He loved her the most out of all of his children, but "if Ezinma had been a boy he would have been happier." After killing Ikemefuna, Okonkwo, asks himself, "When did you...

Sign In Now to Read Entire Essay

Not a Member?   Create Your FREE Account »

Comments / Reviews

read full essay >>

Already a Member?   Login Now >

This essay and THOUSANDS of
other essays are FREE at eCheat.

Uploaded by:  

Date:  

Category:   Literature

Length:   3 pages (660 words)

Views:   9786

Report this Essay Save Essay
Professionally written essays on this topic:

Women in Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"

View more professionally written essays on this topic »