Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a story based on the traditional beliefs and customs of the Ibo tribe. Achebe portrays a realistic view of Africans, particularly the Ibo tribe, which opposes the view that a reader may have formed after reading other works, such as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Although Achebe describes the fact that the tribe does not primarily consist of savages, the reader still needs to keep an open mind about the ideas that are presented. The reader may at first be appalled at some of the beliefs, but it should be brought into consideration that they are lead chiefly by traditions and customs. Many of these traditions and customs derive from their ideas on certain events, being patriarchal, and religion.

The Ibo culture involves a number of celebrated events. The Week of Peace comes at the end of the relaxed season and before the harvest and planting season. This is a time where all members of this society shall live in
This is where the reader may begin to feel repelled as Achebe describes man as being venerated as leader and describes women as gentle, weak and obedient to their men. The women's job was in the house cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. The men's job was out hunting, fighting, and raising difficult crops such as yam. The men were also allowed to beat their wives, who in return could not defend themselves. A prime example of this masculine dominance is the main character, Okonkwo. Okonkwo defies any sign of weakness, including the female race. The Ibo society defines a man who is weak or acts feminine as agbala, which means "woman". "But [Okonkwo's] wives and young children were not as strong, and so they suffered. But they dared not complain openly"(13). This quote reinforces Achebe's idea of masculinity. Although the Ibo culture may express dominance in the male race, their power does not exceed that which is given to the many gods they