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SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEED GOHOME ABOUT ME ACADEMICS ENGLISHFRENCHCREATIVE WRITINGSERVICE LEARNING INSIDE OF SCHOOLOUTSIDE OF SCHOOLFAMILY, FRIENDS, AND FUTURE

Question: Analyze the relationship between men and women in the African culture as Achebe presents it. Explain how this relationship is similar or dissimilar to the Western view of the relationships between men and women. Focus on both positive and negative aspects of the relationship. What comment is Achebe trying to make about the dynamics of the relationship in his culture.In Things Fall Apart Achebe shows us how the relationship between men and women in the African culture is defined. Achebe illustrates the similarities and the differences between the genders. However, one has to keep in mind that the society Achebe portrays is not a modern Nigerian society and therefore it would be unfair to compare the gender roles of his society to the gender roles in a modern Western society. Nevertheless, it is clear that women do not play a big role in the society, the men always take control over their wives and do not treat their wives as equals. But there are events in the story that indicate that this role may be changing just as much as the Ibo society as a whole is beginning to undergo changes.To a modern reader the portrayal of women in Achebe’s novel may come as a shock. As harsh as life appears to be for society as a whole, for men, life is that much harder. Women live under the man’s rules and appear like his property, because the men have total control over them; farm work is considered women’s work, and at any rate, there are no other jobs available to them. None of the women have their own property, they cannot get a divorce, even though the husbands can easily get rid of their wives when they do not want them anymore. Women could also be mistreated by the husbands without being able to go to the police or to court. However, their culture is not without its own rules, and in fact, although Okonkwo is

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