Masculinity In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

“A man does not die of love or his liver or even of old age; he dies of being a man” Miguel De Unamuno. This quote connects to Things Fall Apart since Okonkwo ends up taking his life and dies a “man’’. In the book Things Fall Apart the author Chinua Achebe uses the power of masculinity to allow the reader to understand Okonkwo and his culture. There are many pieces of evidence supporting this idea throughout the book. Okonkwo classifies a man as physically strong and tough. He thinks women do not deserve as much respect as men either. In this book men are held at a higher standard than women in society. They rely heavily on their masculinity which is what they are known for, and is the only thing that matters to them. First off, throughout …show more content…
He talks about how he will curse Nwoye since he is converting to christianity. He does not support this because it is not in their traditional …show more content…
“He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women.”(Achebe 183) Since the men are not fighting with the white missionaries Okonkwo thinks they are weak like women. He believes the only way to make them leave is to fight. “Before the end of the fourth week they were suing for peace. Those were the days when men were men.”(Achebe 193) Okonkwo believes everyone in Umuofia is turning into a woman since they are suing for peace. He wants the village to fight to show how strong and manly they are. That is how Okonkwo views a man as strong and always physically fighting. When Okonkwo finds out that Umuofia did not fight with the christians he is convinced that everyone in the village is weak.
“The greatest obstacle in Umuofia, Okonkwo thought bitterly, is that coward, Egonwanne. His sweet tongue can change fire into cold ash. If they had ignored his womanish wisdom five days ago, we would not have come to this.”(Achebe