Perception of Gender Roles
A common question concerns what male and female roles in society are and if there is an in-between. In Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe explains the many challenges Okonkwo, a very honorable member from the Umuofia clan, faces with himself about cognitive dissonance. This Nigerian clan constantly revolves life around a deliberate gender role system. Okonkwo dedicates his life to always being masculine due to the fear of becoming a failure like his father Unoka, who did not hold responsibilities in life, and in the process oversteps cultural, traditional, and religious boundaries. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo is constantly being challenged on his perspective of gender roles, and how he prevents himself from becoming …show more content…
During the Week of Peace, the honoring of the earth goddess before the planting of new crops, Okonkwo allows Nwoye, his son, and Ikemefuna, a fifteen year old boy sentenced to live with the family, to help prepare yam seeds for the new planting season. Sometimes he allows them to plant some, but always find a fault in their work, beating them after. In support of this, Achebe writes, “Yams [stand] for manliness, and he who [can] feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed. Okonkwo [wants] his son to be a great farmer and a great man” (33). As a child, his father was regarded as being agbala or feminine, with no achievements and Unoka had to build up his position in society himself without a foundation. Not only are his father’s parenting skills to blame for his views on gender roles, but also the society he was brought up in. Men are judged in Umuofian society by the way they can provide for their families. According to Bloom’s Literature (as cited in Salamone, 2009) “...masculinity [is] the glue that [holds] the Igbo together...reinforced in him because he had no inheritance...Igbo belief in the value of hard work as a means for advancement was reinforced. He had to advance on his own or not at all” (2). Achebe use of yams, a hard crop to grow, as a …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Achebe uses symbolism to depict the importance of the yam as a symbol of masculinity and wealth in the Umuofia society. Also, how it depicts the way that Okonkwo feels about gender roles. Another symbolism used is fire to compare Okonkwo to a roaring flame due to his masculinity and flashing temper. Characterization was also used to show the imbalance of gender roles when Okonkwo is describing the different people in his life. Another use of characterization used by Achebe is to explain the results of an imbalance of masculine and feminine traits can do to one's own well being. This throws Okonkwo is a deep situation of inner-struggle that will later lead him to end his own life due to his gender role
A common question concerns what male and female roles in society are and if there is an in-between. In Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe explains the many challenges Okonkwo, a very honorable member from the Umuofia clan, faces with himself about cognitive dissonance. This Nigerian clan constantly revolves life around a deliberate gender role system. Okonkwo dedicates his life to always being masculine due to the fear of becoming a failure like his father Unoka, who did not hold responsibilities in life, and in the process oversteps cultural, traditional, and religious boundaries. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo is constantly being challenged on his perspective of gender roles, and how he prevents himself from becoming …show more content…
During the Week of Peace, the honoring of the earth goddess before the planting of new crops, Okonkwo allows Nwoye, his son, and Ikemefuna, a fifteen year old boy sentenced to live with the family, to help prepare yam seeds for the new planting season. Sometimes he allows them to plant some, but always find a fault in their work, beating them after. In support of this, Achebe writes, “Yams [stand] for manliness, and he who [can] feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed. Okonkwo [wants] his son to be a great farmer and a great man” (33). As a child, his father was regarded as being agbala or feminine, with no achievements and Unoka had to build up his position in society himself without a foundation. Not only are his father’s parenting skills to blame for his views on gender roles, but also the society he was brought up in. Men are judged in Umuofian society by the way they can provide for their families. According to Bloom’s Literature (as cited in Salamone, 2009) “...masculinity [is] the glue that [holds] the Igbo together...reinforced in him because he had no inheritance...Igbo belief in the value of hard work as a means for advancement was reinforced. He had to advance on his own or not at all” (2). Achebe use of yams, a hard crop to grow, as a …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Achebe uses symbolism to depict the importance of the yam as a symbol of masculinity and wealth in the Umuofia society. Also, how it depicts the way that Okonkwo feels about gender roles. Another symbolism used is fire to compare Okonkwo to a roaring flame due to his masculinity and flashing temper. Characterization was also used to show the imbalance of gender roles when Okonkwo is describing the different people in his life. Another use of characterization used by Achebe is to explain the results of an imbalance of masculine and feminine traits can do to one's own well being. This throws Okonkwo is a deep situation of inner-struggle that will later lead him to end his own life due to his gender role