Thing's Fall Apart Gender Roles Essay

In Achebe’s bestselling novel Thing’s Fall Apart, women are depicted as objects rather than actual human beings in Ibo culture. Women are depicted as utterly powerless and are beaten quite frequently if they do not listen to their husbands. Although unethical in most modern-day societies, this story takes place in Nigeria around the turn of the nineteenth century and it was normal for these things to occur in this particular setting. As the plot advances, it becomes clear that women and men are not equals in the society. Throughout the novel, there are many instances in which the term woman has a negative connotation behind it. The word is used primarily as an adjective to describe cowardice or weakness as opposed to being used to classify one’s gender. There are certain things that are seen as belonging to women as they are
The crops that are seen as women’s crops are “coco-yams, beans and cassava” while “Yam, the king of crops, [is] a man’s crop.”. (pg. 19) This classification although seeming innocent has slight negative undertones. The women’s crops are considered much simpler to grow and harvest meaning you would not have to be as strong to do so therefore, calling it a women’s crop implies that said gender is weaker than the other. Another time this classification system is used is when Okonkwo kills a boy by accident. This is called a female crime making it less severe and therefore his punishment is less severe and he can return after seven years. (pg. 110) This suggests that the clan does not expect someone who is female to be capable of killing someone on purpose as they label each crime based on its severity. In this society, calling someone a woman is very offensive. It is used by Okonkwo to describe his clan when