Masculinity In Things Fall Apart

“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold” (The Second Coming (1)). This is exactly right in “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe. Things do fall apart, and themes have a major role in that. Masculinity, the struggle between change and tradition, and fire are the most significant themes in “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe because of the major roles they play in the book, how they relate to other parts of the book, and how they influence and change Okonkwo. The themes used are a major part of the book because of the roles they play in the village and surrounding areas. Okonkwo values masculinity over pretty much everything else. Okonkwo says “I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, but there is too much of his mother in him” and “If Ezinma had been a boy I would have been happier” (57). Him saying this shows just how important masculinity is to the people in the village. It shows that Okonkwo wishes his son was less like and his …show more content…
Because Okonkwo likes masculinity so much, he wants others to have it too. Okonkwo says “I am worried about Nwoye. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match” (57). He is worried that Nwoye doesn’t have enough masculinity because in Okonkwo’s mind that's what makes a man a man. They call Okonkwo a “Roaring Flame,” and a roaring flame is a fire. In the novel there is a proverb that says “Living fire begets cold, impotent ash” (133). Okonkwo relates himself to the fire and Nwoye to the ash showing that because he is this great fire the ones around him are ash. The struggle between change and tradition primarily shows up again at the end of the book where it is the reason Okonkwo killed himself. The white people “...drove him to kill himself” (179). The struggle between his traditional life and the change the white people brought upon the village made the book end the way it did, with Okonkwo killing himself. The themes point to other places in the