The Role of Women in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay

More than those of any other African writer, Chinua Achebe’s writings have helped to develop what is known as African literature today. And the single book which has helped him to launch his revolution is the classic, Things Fall Apart. The focus of this essay includes: 1) Achebes portraiture of women in his fictional universe, the existing sociocultural situation of the period he is depicting, and the factors in it that condition male attitudes towards women; 2) the consequences of the absence of a moderating female principle in his fictions; 3) Achebes progressively changing attitude towards women s roles; and 4) feminist prospects for African women. In the context of this study, the Igbo people whom Achebe describes will†¦show more content†¦Things Fall Apart is significant because it began the vogue of African novels of cultural contact and conflict. It has been translated into over twenty major world languages. Commensurate with its popularity, images of women r eceive attention. In a style that is expository rather than prescriptive, Achebe s novel mirrors the sociocultural organization existing in the Africa of the era he describes. Like Zora Neale Hurstons Janie Mae Crawford (when married to Jody Starks), Achebes women are voiceless. But where even Janie is highly visible, his women are virtually inconsequential. In Of Woman Born (1977), Adrienne Rich unwittingly captures all the nuances of the African traditional social milieu when she describes patriarchy as: the power of the fathers: a familial, social, ideological, and political system in which, by direct pressure -- or through tradition, law and language, customs, etiquette, education, and division of labor -- men determineShow MoreRelated Essay on the Role of Women in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1827 Words   |  8 PagesThe Role of Women in Things Fall Apart      Ã‚  Ã‚   Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart explores the struggle between old traditions within the Igbo community as well as Christianity and the second coming it brings forth. While on the surface, it appears the novel narrows its focus to a single character, Okonkno and his inner battles, one can read deeper into the text and find an array of assorted conflicts in the realm on human vs. human, human vs. nature, human vs. society, and society vs. societyRead MoreEssay about Role of Women in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe1453 Words   |  6 Pages The role of women in society has grown and changed tremendously with the development of the world. Within the American culture, women’s rights have expanded to the extent of being able to vote for who runs our country or even possibly being the person that does run our country. Although the American culture has somewhat promoted the growth of a woman’s role in society, does not mean women receive the same resp ect in other cultures around world. 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Things Fall Apa rt is the story of Okonkwo’s struggles in society, and his search for power throughout his life. During his exile, cultures clash and chaos erupts in the Igbo village. Okonkwo’s father, his exile in Mbanta, and the roles of men in society urgedRead MoreAchebe1599 Words   |  7 Pages Achebe’s Defense of The Ibo People in Things Fall Apart Option 1 The late Chinua Achebe is considered to be one of the most important voices in African literature. Born in colonial Nigeria in the 1930’s, Achebe joined the first wave of African writers who were determined to represent their country in a way that would truthfully depict the past and present. Before the arrival of the first wave writers, the history of pre-colonial Africa was portrayed as a place of barbarous activity. EuropeanRead MoreChinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: Exploring the Ibo Culture1743 Words   |  7 Pagesmarginalization of women. 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