TFA - Gender Paragraph
Discuss how an appreciation of gender influences the reader’s understanding of Okonkwo’s character:
In Chinua Achebe’s African Literature Novel "Things Fall Apart''; it is demonstrated t leaders that much of the Igbo culture is gendered, from the men who crop and the women who grow. It is a fact that women are seen to be the weaker sex in Things Fall Apart, but they are also blessed with qualities that make them worthy of worship because they are the ones who raise and give birth to children. Furthermore, Okonkwo is very masculine and dislikes anything that is feminine to him, he does not like feminine qualities due to his father's traits, who is called an “Agabala,” or another name for a woman, a man with no titles. This motivates Okonkwo into becoming the fearless man he is, to hate everything his father loved, such as being gentle and idle. We can see an example of gender roles in TFA when Nwoye’s mother is told to take Ikemefuna to her hut, “Do what you are told, woman,” Okonkwo thundered, and stammered. “When did you become one of the ndichie (elders)of Umuofia?” - This example from Chapter 2 of the story shows us that Okonkwo treats his wife and wives like servants, demanding that they do whatever he commands with no questions - his wives are taught to be obedient to their husband, Okonkwo. We can also see how weak the female gender is in Achebe’s novel when the narrator rarely calls Okonkwo’s three wives by their names. The stories narrator, always identifying them by their relation to their husband (labeling them as first, second and third wife) or their children labeling them such as Nwoye’s mother or Ezinma's mother. Things Fall Apart demonstrates how gendered the Igbo culture is, and Okonkwo is an intense imagery of the Igbo culture in the novel he portrays in.
In Chinua Achebe’s African Literature Novel "Things Fall Apart''; it is demonstrated t leaders that much of the Igbo culture is gendered, from the men who crop and the women who grow. It is a fact that women are seen to be the weaker sex in Things Fall Apart, but they are also blessed with qualities that make them worthy of worship because they are the ones who raise and give birth to children. Furthermore, Okonkwo is very masculine and dislikes anything that is feminine to him, he does not like feminine qualities due to his father's traits, who is called an “Agabala,” or another name for a woman, a man with no titles. This motivates Okonkwo into becoming the fearless man he is, to hate everything his father loved, such as being gentle and idle. We can see an example of gender roles in TFA when Nwoye’s mother is told to take Ikemefuna to her hut, “Do what you are told, woman,” Okonkwo thundered, and stammered. “When did you become one of the ndichie (elders)of Umuofia?” - This example from Chapter 2 of the story shows us that Okonkwo treats his wife and wives like servants, demanding that they do whatever he commands with no questions - his wives are taught to be obedient to their husband, Okonkwo. We can also see how weak the female gender is in Achebe’s novel when the narrator rarely calls Okonkwo’s three wives by their names. The stories narrator, always identifying them by their relation to their husband (labeling them as first, second and third wife) or their children labeling them such as Nwoye’s mother or Ezinma's mother. Things Fall Apart demonstrates how gendered the Igbo culture is, and Okonkwo is an intense imagery of the Igbo culture in the novel he portrays in.
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