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In times of trouble and cultural breakdown dominant figures often seek out the most vulnerable of members to rail against and yet Achebe does not give evidence to this effect. He does not depict women or other marginalized members of the society as receiving punishment or objectification, outside ordinary levels, and yet the objectification and violence is extreme. If this inclusion had been made the filter of the work could be broadened to demonstrate that the breakdown of the culture included the demonstrative objectification of women, as the marginalized and therefore abused group, yet it does not. The Igbo culture is depicted as wholly patriarchal as objectification of women and violence against women is supported by Achebe's depiction of...
Gender is clearly defined by the novel as wholly patriarchal, in both the colonial as well as the Igbo cultures.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996.
Mohan, Rajeswari. "Dodging the Crossfire: Questions for Postcolonial Pedagogy." College Literature 20.1 (1993): 28-44.
Osei-Nyame, Kwadwo. "Chinua Achebe Writing Culture: Representations of Gender and Tradition in Things Fall Apart." Research in African Literatures a.2 (1999): 148-164.
Stratton, Florence. Contemporary African Literature and the Politics of Gender. New York: Routledge, 1994.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996.
Mohan, Rajeswari. "Dodging the Crossfire: Questions for Postcolonial Pedagogy." College Literature 20.1 (1993): 28-44.
Osei-Nyame, Kwadwo. "Chinua Achebe Writing Culture: Representations of Gender and Tradition in Things Fall Apart." Research in African Literatures a.2 (1999): 148-164.
Stratton, Florence. Contemporary African Literature and the Politics of Gender. New York: Routledge, 1994.
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Chinua Achebe’s classic novel Things Fall Apart describes a critical juncture in Igbo society: the first point of contact with missionaries. Even prior to their arrival, the protagonist of the story, Okonkwo, contends with both personal and collective crises in his community. Okonkwo “was well known throughout the nine villages and beyond,” an introduction to a man whose power and prestige have become the cornerstones of his identity (Achebe, 1958,
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