What Are The Unequals Between Men And Women In Things Fall Apart

In a tribe based off of structural gender responsibilities, lived a man named Okonkwo, who had to build himself up from his childhood. In the book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is known as a wealthy man as well as a strong warrior. He grew up in a poor household, and had to build his fortune himself, giving himself a name in his village. His father was very shameful, and Okonkwo tries hard not be like him, so he is the man of the household, often beating the women and children to keep them in line. In the Igbo society, men and women are unequals with different family expectations, social customs, and cultural customs, showing that the women do most of the work, while the men get to have fun.
The women have different family expectations
The entire family plants the yams during the rainy season, and “the women planted maize, melons, and beans” (Achebe 33). The women do the “gentle, women-like” things, while the men receive help to plant the things that are most valuable, as the amount of yams a man has measures his wealth. As well, the women are courted by the men, who must pay a price to their family, while the men end up drinking the gifts brought by the courting family. This shows the power men have, as they can pay for a women, and the other men drink their gift, yet the woman is left in the dust. The men make the big decisions, as the men are the ones who arrange the marriage. Women are treated as laborers, as shown by both of
When Obierika has a celebration at his house to turn his daughter over to her suitor, the men were expected to “slaughter the two goats with which the soup was made” , while the women prepared and cooked the food (Achebe 113). While the women who doing hard work all day, the men had one job, and they were most likely only doing it because it was “a man’s job.” They are both expected to do different things, instead of all helping out. At social gatherings at the village ilo, “it was clear...that the ceremony was for men,” as the women stood outside the circle of men, attempting to peep in on what was happening (Achebe 87). This shows the higher platform that they put men on, as they are allowed to stand front and center. The men are given more rights, and are allowed to have more fun, while women must work, putting them lower on the list, and making them less important. Both of these accounts showed the hard work, and neglect the women