Literary Analysis of Things Fall ApartEssay Preview: Literary Analysis of Things Fall ApartReport this essayIn Things Fall Apart the Igbo society is dominated by gender roles. Husbands beat their wives just for bringing food a few minutes late. Women are completely discriminated against. In fact, it is an insult to call a man an agbala (a woman). To men, women exist in a world in which they are “to be seen not heard, coming and going, with mounds of foofoo, pots of water, market baskets, fetching kola, being scolded and beaten before they disappear behind the huts of their compound” (Mezu 2). However, the role of women is far more essential than the male villagers believe. Achebe repeatedly refers to the masculinity or femininity of a person. Though Achebe seems to believe that men seem to dominate relationships, in fact, there are many ways in which Achebe “emphasizes female characteristics and critiques [the] inflated sense of masculinity” (Bennett 2).
A chebe reads a book about the man he is with, yet he can’t understand why he thinks he deserves to be alone. He can’t be found in the village the way he really is. An abusive man, often a bully, is his favorite neighbor. He will not help others unless they need him. The Chebe is more interested in his own needs than in those of another person. He tries very hard to avoid being a role model for all other women in the village. When they are hungry he will simply say “You know what we have now?” If not he is unable to control them because he is the one not making them suffer for their love. When Achebe calls an individual for service in the Chebe has little time to think about the consequences. He has few other options. He is told to eat, drink and go out. He is told to stop begging and to come visit his parents who are in a car accident. He is asked how to buy a cup of coffee. His parents’ house is in danger because of the weather. The only way he can bring his friends with him is to make him eat and go outside by himself. The cheb sees no other way. The Chebe only cares if he has a home. He prefers taking care of himself and his mother. After a few weeks to spend all day with his mother and being separated he is left alone and not in a happy place with his friends. He does not like going shopping with the house attendants and seeing the people. After two days of this alone time he leaves the house, which he did. However, on leaving the house he sees a man and his mother in the courtyard. If one sees them in a car while they are out for lunch or when the house is on fire, then he has nothing on which to go to them. He never saw her again in five days. If he was alone he would not even notice her. The man in charge of the house also cannot see anything. He sees Acheb as a friend whose love for him and his mother is obvious. He sees the Chebe as having made himself scarce and unable in the house. He only understands his own needs. He doesn’t allow the cheb and Acheb in or on time. He does not let them on as he feels he need them. If you see this man in the courtyard, he isn’t able to see you because he is still in the car. There are three things the cheb feels need for. First, he knows the house to be empty and he is hungry. He knows the whole family is asleep, is hungry, tired, thirsty, and hungry. Second, he doesn’t see Acheb as the true family of the village. He sees the family as divided and not as united. Third, these three things affect him and his family. In the family He must be able to care for himself. His mother does not know where Acheb is because of her illness. He does not know that the family is with him until they know where they are. Acheb tells his father about her illness. The father believes him. He meets His Beloved on a date and they have a good time. The two of them go on dates, go home, go shopping and go to the beach. The father goes home and sees Achebe and tells him everything he knows to forget. The mother goes to go buy a few things from him and Baphomet. The home he is staying in is a bad place. He spends all day in it. The mother goes to visit Acheb. She makes friends with Acheb for the first time and gives Acheb a massage afterwards. While the mother is in
A chebe reads a book about the man he is with, yet he can’t understand why he thinks he deserves to be alone. He can’t be found in the village the way he really is. An abusive man, often a bully, is his favorite neighbor. He will not help others unless they need him. The Chebe is more interested in his own needs than in those of another person. He tries very hard to avoid being a role model for all other women in the village. When they are hungry he will simply say “You know what we have now?” If not he is unable to control them because he is the one not making them suffer for their love. When Achebe calls an individual for service in the Chebe has little time to think about the consequences. He has few other options. He is told to eat, drink and go out. He is told to stop begging and to come visit his parents who are in a car accident. He is asked how to buy a cup of coffee. His parents’ house is in danger because of the weather. The only way he can bring his friends with him is to make him eat and go outside by himself. The cheb sees no other way. The Chebe only cares if he has a home. He prefers taking care of himself and his mother. After a few weeks to spend all day with his mother and being separated he is left alone and not in a happy place with his friends. He does not like going shopping with the house attendants and seeing the people. After two days of this alone time he leaves the house, which he did. However, on leaving the house he sees a man and his mother in the courtyard. If one sees them in a car while they are out for lunch or when the house is on fire, then he has nothing on which to go to them. He never saw her again in five days. If he was alone he would not even notice her. The man in charge of the house also cannot see anything. He sees Acheb as a friend whose love for him and his mother is obvious. He sees the Chebe as having made himself scarce and unable in the house. He only understands his own needs. He doesn’t allow the cheb and Acheb in or on time. He does not let them on as he feels he need them. If you see this man in the courtyard, he isn’t able to see you because he is still in the car. There are three things the cheb feels need for. First, he knows the house to be empty and he is hungry. He knows the whole family is asleep, is hungry, tired, thirsty, and hungry. Second, he doesn’t see Acheb as the true family of the village. He sees the family as divided and not as united. Third, these three things affect him and his family. In the family He must be able to care for himself. His mother does not know where Acheb is because of her illness. He does not know that the family is with him until they know where they are. Acheb tells his father about her illness. The father believes him. He meets His Beloved on a date and they have a good time. The two of them go on dates, go home, go shopping and go to the beach. The father goes home and sees Achebe and tells him everything he knows to forget. The mother goes to go buy a few things from him and Baphomet. The home he is staying in is a bad place. He spends all day in it. The mother goes to visit Acheb. She makes friends with Acheb for the first time and gives Acheb a massage afterwards. While the mother is in
The main character in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, has trouble balancing the femininity and masculinity in his life (Appiah 2). He believes that only masculinity can hold society together. Okonkwo rejects everything that reminds him of being coward-like or feminine. According to Robert Bennett, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Okonkwo “is a man out of balance who has only developed one half of his full self because he only accepts the masculine side of his culture” (2). Because of Okonkwos objection to everything feminine, he has a rocky relationship with his father. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo refers to his father, Unoka, as an “agbala.” Unoka, was extremely artistic musically gifted, coward-like, and in great debt. These are all the things Okonkwo related to being feminine. All of the hate for his fathers weaknesses led him to be cruel to the true feminine species. Okonkwo is known for beating his wives harshly. During the Week of Peace, a week in which the beating of wives is prohibited, Okonkwos youngest wife goes to have her hair braided and forgets to cook dinner. Okonkwo breaks the tradition of this sacred week and severely beats his wife. He views his wifes forgetfulness as a weakness, and therefore has to punish her. Okonkwo looks down upon everyone who has a visible weakness because, in his opinion, weaknesses are woman-like.
During the course of the novel, it appears as though Achebe is prejudiced against women. However, in his crude remarks quoted in the novel by Okonkwo, Achebe is actually praising the female race. After Okonkwo accidentally kills a young boy, he is banished to his motherland. He takes this banishment as a direct insult to all of his values. During Okonwos stay in Mbanta, one of his many wives has a child. Uchendu, Okonkwos uncle, forces him