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Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"

Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" essay

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Things Fall Apart — The Portrayal of women in Things Fall Apart

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The Portrayal of Women in Things Fall Apart

  • Categories: Things Fall Apart Woman

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Words: 751 |

Published: Jul 17, 2018

Words: 751 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Works Cited

  • Achebe, C. (1958). Things Fall Apart. Heinemann.
  • Anyadike, C. N. (2011). Gender and power in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. International Journal of English and Literature, 2(4), 080-086.
  • Emenyonu, E. N. (Ed.). (1991). Emerging perspectives on Chinua Achebe (Vol. 2). Africa World Press.
  • Ezeigbo, T. U. (1994). The place of women in Igbo society as reflected in the novels of Chinua Achebe. African Literature Today, 17, 96-112.
  • Ineichen, B. (2007). Reconstructing the female voice: A critical analysis of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. Studia Neophilologica, 79(2), 225-236.
  • Maduka, C. (2009). Women in African traditional religions. African Journal of History and Culture, 1(1), 001-005.
  • Metzger, J. (2017). Women in African traditional religions: A case study of the Igbo of Nigeria. Journal of Pan African Studies, 10(5), 202-218.
  • Nnolim, C. E. (2016). Women in Achebe's world: Gender roles and patriarchal ideologies in Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. Creative Artist, 2(1), 42-53.
  • Ohiwerei, F. O. (2009). Gender discourse in the novels of Chinua Achebe. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
  • Okonkwo, R. C. (2012). Women's role in Igbo society as reflected in Chinua Achebe's novels. Gender and Behaviour, 10(2), 4685-4702.

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“A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall” as Aristotle once said. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is used to portray Achebe’s own characterization of a tragic hero. A [...]

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Tradition and change are as much at war as the people are in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The events that define this war are centered on and around the main character, Okonkwo, who finds himself unable to adapt to [...]

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The presence of sexism, both individual and institutional, runs rampant in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. It is the most constant theme in the story, more intrinsic in the plotline than even racism, and certainly more [...]

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The role of women annie white.

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart explores the struggle between old traditions within the Igbo community as well as Christianity and "the second coming" it brings forth. While on the surface, it appears the novel narrows its focus to a single character, Okonkwo and his inner battles, one can read deeper into the text and find an array of assorted conflicts in the realm of human vs. human, human vs. nature, human vs. society, and society vs. society. This paper shall focus on the labyrinth of human vs. human and human vs. society in the framework of the role of women in Igbo society and how men assign and dictate these roles. I will also briefly explain the importance of women in terms of motherhood and wifedom.

Most essays on the rights women in Igbo society site the role of widows in Igbo society as well as the respect given to the first wife as proof that while this society is not an ideal situation for women, it is hardly the misogynist society that some make it out to be. I passionately disagree. It is obvious to me that to the characters in Things Fall Apart, women are "things" to be exploited, abused and to serve as second-class citizens to the rank of male privilege. The theme of misogyny runs...

GradeSaver provides access to 2312 study guide PDFs and quizzes, 10989 literature essays, 2751 sample college application essays, 911 lesson plans, and ad-free surfing in this premium content, “Members Only” section of the site! Membership includes a 10% discount on all editing orders.

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essay on gender roles in things fall apart

Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Books / Things Fall Apart

Gender Roles in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

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Writers , Books

Chinua Achebe , Things Fall Apart

  • Words: 671 (1 page)

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"Things Fall Apart" intricately weaves the themes of change and tradition, illuminating the multifaceted nature of societies in transition. The clash between the two forces drives the characters' decisions and actions, ...

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If we look around at the whole universe today, there are tons and millions of cultures centered everywhere around the globe. With this much cultures in the universe, people are bound to believe that they’re all divergent. Even ...

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Achebe, C. (1958). Things Fall Apart. Heinemann Educational Books.Emenyonu, E. (1995). "Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Casebook". Oxford University Press.Eze, E. C. (1998). "Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Classic ...

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essay on gender roles in things fall apart

Things Fall Apart

Chinua achebe, everything you need for every book you read..

Tradition vs. Change Theme Icon

Okonkwo dedicates himself to being as masculine as possible, and through his rise to become a powerful man of his tribe and subsequent fall both within the tribe and in the eyes of his son Nwoye , the novel explores the idea of masculinity. Okonkwo believes in traditional gender roles, and it pains him that his son Nwoye is not more aggressive like he is. As a result, it's revealing that he expresses the wish that his daughter Ezinma were a boy—from this we know how fond he is of her. Additionally, in a meeting towards the very beginning of the book, Okonkwo insults a man without title by calling him a woman, demonstrating how much masculinity is valued when ranking those in Umuofia society. Ultimately, though, Okonkwo's adherence to masculinity and aggression leads to his fall in society—he becomes brittle and unable to bend with the changes taking place in his clan. In keeping with this principle of masculinity, Okonkwo forces himself to kill his own surrogate son, murder the white man against his better judgment, and hang himself before a punishment can be imposed by others. Okonkwo's aggression makes him weak in the end—it leaves him with no room to maneuver against the more subtle ways of the white man.

Nwoye struggles with this idea of masculinity, as he wants to please his father by being aggressive and traditional, but ultimately, he's repelled by the violence in Umuofia rituals and joins the Christians. Nwoye's departure can also be linked to this idea from Okonkwo's uncle, Uchendu , after the family is exiled from Umuofia: “'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut.'” Likewise, after being beaten by his father, Nwoye leaves to seek solace in the more feminine and seemingly gentle Christian religion.

Masculinity ThemeTracker

Things Fall Apart PDF

Masculinity Quotes in Things Fall Apart

…[Okonkwo] was not afraid of war. He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head.

essay on gender roles in things fall apart

Even as a little boy he had resented 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 . That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.

Tradition vs. Change Theme Icon

Okonkwo did as the priest said. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine. Inwardly, he was repentant. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan.

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Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell…

Ezinma took the dish in one hand and the empty water bowl in the other and went back to her mother's hut. “She should have been a boy,” Okonkwo said to himself again. His mind went back to Ikemefuna and he shivered.

Fate vs. Free Will Theme Icon

“The world is large,” said Okonkwo. “I have even heard that in some tribes a man's children belong to his wife and her family.” “That cannot be,” said Machi. “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.”

It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land. The crime was of two kinds, male and female. Okonkwo had committed the female, because it had been inadvertent. He could return to the clan after seven years…

Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.

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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Chinua Achebe / Cultural Impact On Gender Roles In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

Cultural Impact On Gender Roles In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

  • Category: Literature , Sociology
  • Topic: Chinua Achebe , Gender Roles , Society

Pages: 3 (1535 words)

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