Essay On Gender Roles In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, all of the male and female characters experience extreme pressure to abide by their society's strict gender roles to avoid low social rank and to “fit in” with the other clan members. The main character, Okonkwo, stands out as someone who consistently lets these expectations dictate his decisions. In colonial Nigeria, gender roles have a large impact on both males and females, and Okonkwo allows these standards to get the best of him throughout the novel and ultimately lead to his downfall. Possibly one of the most substantial influences on Okonkwo’s “manly” actions is his father, Unoka. Unoka spent most of his life in debt. He found ways to swindle other clan members and, by the time he died, he owed thousands of cowries to his neighbors and friends. Unoka was also a lazy man who did not have successful crops. He would have bad growing seasons because he was not willing to put in the work and effort that other men in the Umuofia did. Finally, Ukona was a musician, which was not honorable in the eyes of the igbo people. When describing Unoka, Achebe wrote, “He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid it back. But Unoka was such a man that
he succeeded in borrowing more, and piling up his debts” (5). After Unoka’s shameful death, and even before, Okonkwo decided that he did not want to be anything like his father. He believed that being the antipode of Unoka meant being a respectable, hardworking, and virtually emotionless man. What he failed to realize was that his efforts to become the perfect image of a Umuofian man were actually worsening his bond with his family and other clan members. Okonkwo’s first step towards the image he desired was working extremely hard to yield large amounts of yams. As a result, he became quite wealthy and was able to provide for his family. Okonkwo also did everything he could to gain titles in the clan, because those showed superiority. This is so because the clan is a patriarchy, or “a society in which men hold all or most of the power. Usually, a patriarchy gives men power by promoting traditional gender roles” (Learning for a Diverse World, 86). Okonkwo believes that his titles will cause others to view him as a dominant figure in Umuofia. Finally, Okonkwo marries three wives. The number of wives a man has is viewed as a symbol of status in the clan , and Okonkwo even plans on marrying two more women later on in the novel. All of the decisions Okonkwo made throughout his life to be different from his father are evidence that he has given into the behavioral expectations of the society. Another way that Okonkwo lets gender roles take control of his life is by frequently belittling his wives. Men in the clan are allowed to beat their wives, and Okonkwo takes advantage of this often. He will not hesitate to threaten and punish his wives if they are not doing “what women are supposed to do”. Okonkwo once harshly beat one of his wives for not being home to make him lunch one afternoon (Achebe 29). As their “superior”, he has also been known to blame his wives for things that are not their fault or that they have no control over. Okonkwo lets his pride and manliness dominate his conversations with his wives. One night, his second wife, Ekwefi, wandered out into the dark night to follow after her daughter because she was taken away by a priestess. Okonkwo follows after her and when he finds her, he demands her to go home and sleep (Achebe 108). This is because he does not think it is appropriate for women to be out so late and he thinks he is more capable of the task than any female would be. Okonkwo believes that a man is superior to his wives and, to prove that, he verbally and physically attacks his wives to “show them who’s the boss”. This causes his wives to fear him instead of respect him, which will take a toll on his happiness. Finally, Okonkwo refuses to express any emotions that he may be feeling, because being emotional is considered feminine. In an article entitled “How to Crack the Code of Men’s Feelings”, the author explains that, “Men may express their emotions only in places where they feel safe, and where the expression of feelings is considered acceptable” (Markway n.pg.). Okonkwo provides evidence for this after he kills Ikemefuna, who was like a son to him. In front of his peers, he acts tough, as though the slaughtering of this boy did not affect him. In private, however, Okonkwo gets drunk and has difficulty falling asleep because of all of his guilt. In addition, Okonkwo suppresses his affection towards his family members, especially towards one of his daughters, Ezinma. Although Okonkwo is very proud of his daughter and even wishes that she were a boy because he thinks she would make a good son, he does not make his feelings towards her obvious. By hiding his emotions from Ezinma, Okonkwo is missing out on an opportunity to form a bond with his daughter and let her know that he respects her. Had he vocalized his feelings, he would certainly have a better relationship with his daughter and be more happy in general. Okonkwo lives his life everyday making decisions that he strongly believes a tough, well respected Igbo man would make, and he avoids anything that may be viewed as feminine. As a result of his ways, Okonkwo eventually experiences the karma that he deserves. He gets banished from Umuofia for seven years, and when he returns he does not have the respect from the clan members that he once had. He also wants to act much more violently than the other titled men in the clan towards the colonizers, which results in him lashing out and none of his peers join him. Finally, Okonkwo’s poor decision making lead him to his death, which was a suicide. In summation, Okonkwo cared more about the gender rolls of Umuofia than he did about his family and friends, which lead to a lower social ranking and ultimately to his death.
Okonkwo’s shameful father played a large part in Okonkwo’s initial desire to be a flawless male clan member, but it gradually snowballed into the unhealthy obsession he had by the end of the novel. To prove his superiority, Okonkwo would put down and beat his wives. He also avoided anything that may be seen as feminine, such as showing his emotions. All of these actions display how behavioral expectations got the best of Okonkwo, and other characters, throughout the
novel.