Okonkwo Gender Roles

In the book, Things Fall Apart , gender plays a big role in the traditional Igbo culture. In the Igbo tribe, the women are the weaker sex, and are controlled by the males . The dominant role for the women is to make a bride for a man, second, to be a submissive wife, and third, to have many children. The role for the men is to provide for his family, it is understood that “no matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children, he was not really a man.”(Achebe 37) . Okonkwo is the main character that is a very gender-role oriented male, he is a well-respected member of the clan and his greatest fear is to become like his father, Unoka. Unoka, was unable to support his family and he was very cowardly “ was very …show more content…
Okonkwo doesn’t want to become like his father Unoka. Okonkwo has considered that many of his dad’s characteristics to be feminine. Okonkwo wants to be the total opposite of his father, so he attempts to work hard and provide for his family, and tries to become more of a man each day. Okonkwo succeeds in doing this, but his actions to succeed in being more masculine are unnecessary and destructive.
Adamson 1 During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo was being brutal towards one of his wives and it was considered a crime against the gods. “But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (Achebe 198). This made Okonkwo unpopular with the villagers, it was believed that his sin could ruin the whole village. Okonkwo was very stern on the outside, “Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, except the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength” (Achebe 20), but Okonkwo had a soft spot for his children on the inside. The manliness and power of Okonkwo’s was visible to everyone. On the inside, he held fatherly love, “Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy inwardly