Things Fall Apart 2
Throughout history, from the beginning of time to today, women have frequently been viewed of as inferior, men's possessions whose sole purpose was to satisfy the men's needs. Way back in ancient civilizations, women were thought of as homemakers and nurturers. All day, they were to stay at home, care for the children, and prepare meals for the family. In many places today, women are still not treated as equals, and have almost no rights. In addition to being treated unfairly, women have also been treated harshly. They have been harassed, beaten, raped and taken advantage of throughout the course of history. Many authors have included or written about this aspect in their novels or stories. As history passed, the roles of women began to gain importance and women began to gain rights. Chinua Achebe shows these unequal roles of women as part of the Ibo culture, a Nigerian tribe, in his novel, Things Fall Apart. Through the life of Okonkwo, the main character of Things Fall Apart, the reader is presented with the roles of women through various events that take place in the village of Umuofia. It is important to note the Ibo's social view on males and females. The Ibo believe that women are weak in every aspect of life, wh
ile men are strong and determined. They classify crimes and deaths as male or female. Murders and beatings being named masculine, and accidental crimes, stealing, or other small crimes are considered feminine. (Brians 1) Ikemefuna, Okonkwo's son, was brought into the forest to be killed by Okonkwo and another man. Okonkwo had been a fatherly figure to Ikemefuna, since Ikemefuna had been separated from his tribe. As the other man swung his machete at Ikemefuna, Ikemefuna turned, causing the blow to be ineffective. The boy, still alive, came running to Okonkwo screaming, "My father, they have killed me!"(Achebe 61) Okonkwo did not want to be considered weak, so he drew his machete and finished off Ikemefuna. After returning home from killing Ikemefuna, Okonkwo did not eat for two days. He had already finished all his work for that week, which left him with time only to relax. "When did you become a shivering old woman,' Okonkwo asked himself, "You who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed."(Achebe 65) He feels that he has become a woman because he is feeling remorse and sorrow over Ikemefuna's death. Chinua Achebe describes two instances of wife beating in Things Fall Apart. The first instance is when Okonkwo beats his wife, Ojiugo, and another involves a tribesman, Uzowulu. Okonkwo beats his wife first as a punishment for not having dinner prepared for him, for "plaiting" her hair instead of cooking diner for him and his children. Any other time, people would not have come over to see why a woman was screaming, but this was during the Week of Peace, and to beat someone during the Week of Peace was unheard of. Okonkwo did not care though. He thought that she needed to be punished anyway. Later, the priest called Okonkwo, and explained to him that he had greatly upset the gods, and in order to prevent them from pouring their wrath on the village, he had to bring many things to the Shrine of Ani. Uzowulu had been accused by his sister-in-law of beating his wife too much. Once, he beat her while she was pregnant and she miscarried. This tr
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Approximate Word count = 1509
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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