Gender Roles In Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart Essay: “There should be no distinction between typical masculine and feminine occupations, and the traits of character should not be ascribed once and for all one gender.” said Malgarzata Walsh of krytyka.org. Stereotyping and gender roles have played a prevalent role not only in our modern society but throughout history. Webster’s dictionary defines gender or sex roles as “the behaviors, attitudes, and activities expected or common for males and females”. Gender roles have been defining societal norms for both males and females since the beginning of civilization. We view the “normal” to be submissive, emotional women who are useful for nothing more than cooking, cleaning, and staying home to care for the children; while men are looked upon as the proud, strong, manly, and sole provider for the family. While in recent years, certain people and organizations have been working hard to cease the use of these stereotypical roles, they are still very common throughout television, film, literature, and advertisement. While researching the
In chapter four of the novel; Okonkwo, who one of the most powerful men in his village, beats his wife mercilessly because she was not in her place attending to his every need. This is a pivotal point in the novel because it showcases the concept of how highly Okonkwo regards himself in this time period as opposed to how Okonkwo regards his wives. Once again, even in this work of literature from 1959 we are able to see the submissive woman gender role along with the powerful overbearing male gender role. In the novel on page 30, Achebe describes the event “Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess. His neighbors heard his wife crying and sent voices over the compound walls to ask what the matter