Things Fall Apart Analysis
American poet Henry David Thoreau once said, “Men are born to succeed, not to fail.” These words perfectly describe the mindset and values of Okonkwo, the main character in Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart. To Okonkwo, in order to be a man he must always show strength and never reveal his true emotions. In Things Fall Apart, yams symbolize the ideals of masculinity and power, as well as the pain and sorrow that can accompany denying one’s limitations and weaknesses. In Igbo culture, men were judged critically by their bravery in battle, the number of wives and children they had, and their ability to grow yams and provide for their families. The yam was considered to be the “king of crops” because only men grew it and “it demanded
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If a man could not grow yams, he was looked down upon as a failure and a weak man. This standard contributed to the anger that Okonkwo felt for his father, Unoka, a gentle and kind man who did not wish to spend his days farming yams, but rather preferred to play his flute. Once, after visiting the Oracle, Agbala, Unoka was told he, “was known in all the clan for the weakness of [his] hoe,” and to, “go home and work like a man” (17-18). Unoka may not have been the strongest or toughest man, but he possessed a quality that Okonkwo lacked – humanity. The definition of what it meant to be “manly” was so rigidly defined in the Igbo culture and carried with it so many implications that when men failed, sometimes they were incapable of living with themselves. After a particularly terrible year of heavy rains that swept away the yams, “the harvest was sad, like a funeral…one man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself” (24). This drastic response demonstrates the narrow confines of society and the pressure that men faced to be tough and live up to preconceived ideals of masculinity. Okonkwo understood that, “Yam stood for manliness and he who could feed his family on yams…was a very great man indeed” (33). In Okonkwo’s limited understanding of what it took to be a man, it was inexcusable for his eldest son, Nwoye, not to be a talented and hardworking farmer. Nwoye’s sensitivity and inability to be tough were great failings in Okonkwo’s eyes, and contributed to their unhealthy father-son relationship. The power and symbolism of the yam in Igbo culture was the cause of great celebration, as well as great
If a man could not grow yams, he was looked down upon as a failure and a weak man. This standard contributed to the anger that Okonkwo felt for his father, Unoka, a gentle and kind man who did not wish to spend his days farming yams, but rather preferred to play his flute. Once, after visiting the Oracle, Agbala, Unoka was told he, “was known in all the clan for the weakness of [his] hoe,” and to, “go home and work like a man” (17-18). Unoka may not have been the strongest or toughest man, but he possessed a quality that Okonkwo lacked – humanity. The definition of what it meant to be “manly” was so rigidly defined in the Igbo culture and carried with it so many implications that when men failed, sometimes they were incapable of living with themselves. After a particularly terrible year of heavy rains that swept away the yams, “the harvest was sad, like a funeral…one man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself” (24). This drastic response demonstrates the narrow confines of society and the pressure that men faced to be tough and live up to preconceived ideals of masculinity. Okonkwo understood that, “Yam stood for manliness and he who could feed his family on yams…was a very great man indeed” (33). In Okonkwo’s limited understanding of what it took to be a man, it was inexcusable for his eldest son, Nwoye, not to be a talented and hardworking farmer. Nwoye’s sensitivity and inability to be tough were great failings in Okonkwo’s eyes, and contributed to their unhealthy father-son relationship. The power and symbolism of the yam in Igbo culture was the cause of great celebration, as well as great