Stereotypical
From the time civilizations were formed humans have created stereotypes of other groups from an outside perspective. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, he humanizes the cultural and traditional based Igbo peoples as he tells the story of a tragic hero named Okonkwo and his family dealing with struggles that Africans faced in the 1890’s. Achebe works to counter the Imperialist stereotypes of African people especially the Igbo by explaining their traditions in depth with the meaning behind them and, showing not only the good side but also the bad.
Traditions are passed down through time and often do not stand the the test of time. Throughout the novel the traditions are made very apparent of the Umuofian people, the traditions …show more content…
Throughout the novel Okonkwo is seen as the villain in the eyes of many, although he is the main character. During the Week of Peace Okonkwo “committed a great evil” by beating his wife and “could have ruined the whole clan” (Achebe 30). Knowing the rules of the ceremonial week and even after being begged to stop by his wife’s Okonkwo still beats his 3rd wife vigorously in fear of no one not even a God. The traditional week could have been told by only giving why it was celebrated and what was done for it but instead Okonkwo not only is seen as the villain but put to shame and threatened to be dragged across the street in order to maintain an unbiased opinion. The women of Umuofia are treated with no respect, have no self worth, and no affection is given towards them. Ekwefi Okonkwo’s second wife makes a remark about her husband’s shooting skills after just being beaten, Okonkwo has no regard for his wife and violently shoots his gun at her, “nearly missing her face” (Achebe 39). If women were seen with respect they would not be beaten by their husbands for behaving badly, let alone shot at for making a sarcastic comment under their breath. If Okonkwo had respect not only towards his wife but his child’s mother he would
From the time civilizations were formed humans have created stereotypes of other groups from an outside perspective. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, he humanizes the cultural and traditional based Igbo peoples as he tells the story of a tragic hero named Okonkwo and his family dealing with struggles that Africans faced in the 1890’s. Achebe works to counter the Imperialist stereotypes of African people especially the Igbo by explaining their traditions in depth with the meaning behind them and, showing not only the good side but also the bad.
Traditions are passed down through time and often do not stand the the test of time. Throughout the novel the traditions are made very apparent of the Umuofian people, the traditions …show more content…
Throughout the novel Okonkwo is seen as the villain in the eyes of many, although he is the main character. During the Week of Peace Okonkwo “committed a great evil” by beating his wife and “could have ruined the whole clan” (Achebe 30). Knowing the rules of the ceremonial week and even after being begged to stop by his wife’s Okonkwo still beats his 3rd wife vigorously in fear of no one not even a God. The traditional week could have been told by only giving why it was celebrated and what was done for it but instead Okonkwo not only is seen as the villain but put to shame and threatened to be dragged across the street in order to maintain an unbiased opinion. The women of Umuofia are treated with no respect, have no self worth, and no affection is given towards them. Ekwefi Okonkwo’s second wife makes a remark about her husband’s shooting skills after just being beaten, Okonkwo has no regard for his wife and violently shoots his gun at her, “nearly missing her face” (Achebe 39). If women were seen with respect they would not be beaten by their husbands for behaving badly, let alone shot at for making a sarcastic comment under their breath. If Okonkwo had respect not only towards his wife but his child’s mother he would