Things Fall Apart Research Paper

Topic Question

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" Women were treated disrespectfully by men their men. For example: "Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper..." pg. 13

Woman's place in Igbo society, though vulnerable, is not unappreciated.

Igbo woman, in at least a limited capacity, are respected and protected. There is an interest in justice and fairness.

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "The elders, or ndichie, met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission. At the end they decided, as everybody knew they would, that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. As for the boy, he belonged to the clan as a whole, and there was no hurry to decide his fate." This quote implies that women are essentially all the same and therefore interchangeable. pg. 12

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title." This quote shows us that to Okonkwo, women were weak, which is why when his father was called agbala (which means woman) in the past, he was ashamed and resented his father for it. pg.13

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" Okonkwo treats his wife like a servant, demanding that she does whatever he commands her with no questions asked. Women, as demonstrated by Okonkwo's eldest wife here, are taught to be silent and obedient. In fact, women count for so little in Igbo society that they are often not even addressed by their given names, but referred to by their relationship with men. Throughout the entire novel, the narrator rarely calls Okonkwo's first wife by her name, she is almost always identified in relation to her husband or son, Nwoye. For example, "He belongs to the clan," he told her [Okonkwo's eldest wife]. "So look after him." "Is he staying long with us?" she asked. "Do what you are told, woman," Okonkwo thundered, and stammered. "When did you become one of the ndichie of Umuofia?" And so Nwoye's mother took Ikemefuna to her hut and asked no more questions. pg. 14

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women's crops, like coco-yams, beans and cassava. Yam, the king of crops, was a man's crop." Even crops in this society are gendered. pg. 22-23

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said. "This meeting is for men." The man who had contradicted him had no titles. That was why he had called him a woman. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man's spirit." Being called a woman is clearly an insult that has the ability to "kill a man's spirit." Therefore, we can infer that women aren't highly valued in Umuofia. pg. 26

The importance of woman's role appears when Okonkwo is exiled to his motherland. His uncle, Uchendu, noticing Okonkwo's distress, eloquently explains how Okonkwo should view his exile: "A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland." A man has both joy and sorrow in his life and when the bad times come his "mother" is always there to comfort him. Thus comes the saying "Mother is Supreme".

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "Without further argument, Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative, "It is enough, Okonkwo," pleaded from a reasonable distance." Okonkwo is plain old irrationally angry and takes it out on his wife, beating her for something that isn't her fault. Part of what makes Okonkwo so mad is probably that his second wife, Ekwefi, stands up to him and tells him that it wasn't her fault. Okonkwo couldn't handle a woman contradicting him, nor did he respect her enough to even let her explain, so instead he just beat her "without further argument." pg. 38

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drums. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue. It was like the desire for woman." Okonkwo compares his desire to wrestle as a desire for women. However this also gives us an idea of how he views women: as objects to "conquer" and "subdue." Clearly, Okonkwo doesn't see women as his equals. pg.42

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "And after a pause she said: "Can I bring your chair for you?" "No, that is a boy's job." Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma." Okonkwo very strictly abides to the norms of male and female action ascribed by Igbo culture. He does not allow Ezinma to do something as simple as carrying a chair to the festival for him because he considers it a boy's task. pg. 44

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" Chielo is an example of a powerful woman - the lone priestess of major god - who leads a dual life. In the market, she is an ordinary woman and a good friend, but when the god takes possession of her, she changes drastically and becomes a figure to be reckoned with. It is only when a woman has supernatural power behind her that she is respected by men.

Achebe shows that the Ibo nonetheless assign important roles to women. For instance, women painted the houses of the egwugwu (84). Furthermore, the first wife of a man in the Ibo society is paid some respect. This deference is illustrated by the palm wine ceremony at Nwakibie's obi . Anasi, Nwakibie's first wife, had not yet arrived and "the others [other wives] could not drink before her" (22).

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "When did you become a shivering old woman," Okonkwo asked himself, "you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed." Okonkwo's guilt over killing his adopted son haunts him. Okonkwo thinks that feeling compassion and guilt for the boy is a sign of weakness and femininity - two characteristics that he hates. He sees valor and compassion as incompatible, one being a masculine value, and the other being feminine. pg. 65

"It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind," said Obierika. "I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. He could not do anything without telling her." "I did not know that," said Okonkwo. "I thought he was a strong man in his youth." Okonkwo considers any sign of affection and dependence between husband and wife as a reflection of the husband's weakness and womanliness. He thinks that strong loving relationships must be avoided to reach his ultimate goal of complete manliness. pg. 68

Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" "It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. He titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin." Women are largely excluded from participating in the traditional "judicial" hearings, as can be seen by their position in the audience - on the outskirts. Only men may speak and judge at these trials, even when a woman is the one with a complaint to pose. pg. 87

"...They allowed wife beating. The novel describes two instances when Okonkwo beats his second wife, once when she did not come home to make his meal. He beat her severely and was punished but only because he beat her during the Week of Peace. He beat her again when she referred to him as one of those "guns that never shot." When a severe case of wife beating comes before the egwugwu, hefound in favor of the wife., but at the end of the trial a man wondered "why such a trifle should come before the egwugwu."

His works mainly projected the subordination of the feminine figures. They were only sexual figures considered to be voiceless and invisible in the mainstream. "It was clear from the way that the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders." (page 85) Achebe presents women as beings who are supposed to look after the children and pick yams. He represents women as creatures who could be treated just like any other animal and be beaten just as cruelly. The three of Okonkwo's wives are the best examples of such subordinated women.

In the Igbo society, men were everything and women on the other hand, were considered as nothing. Okonkwo marries more than one woman because of his yearning for power. It is believed that more wives give more power.

Okonkwo's disrespectful comment to his wife, "Do what you are told woman" (page 18), gives us the idea of how the men in the society behaved to their female counterparts. Being the head of the clan, he gave no respect to his wives. Considering this aspect, it is clearly understood how inhumanly other members of the clan would have behaved to women.

he only female character who gets a positive image in the novel is Okonkwo's daughter Ezinma, who had some manly qualities. Okonkwo loves her just because of this reason and he hates his son Nwoye, who was neither manly enough nor powerful.