Essay on An Analysis of Sexism and Its Effects on Igbo...

An Analysis of Sexism and Its Effects on Igbo Society There are a lot of things in the world that people take for granted. That is, until those things start to damage them. And slowly, but surely, the damaging starts to turn to destruction. By the time they realize their mistake it is too late. Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart takes place in Igbo Nigeria before and during its colonization by the white man. It centers around Okonkwo, a Nigerian man from the clan of Umuofia, who holds power and prestige and whose life is constantly dominated by anger and fear of being weak. Throughout the novel, one of the recurring themes is that of women and fairness in gender. Men and masculinity overall†¦show more content†¦The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves telling him to go home and work like a man is concrete evidence of the Umuofian superstition that masculinity is the preferred way of living. When the Oracle, the very religion of Umuofia, states that it is unmanly to be lazy and weak, it implies without statement that hard work and success are traits relative to masculinity. Such traits are generally agreed upon as very respectable and important in the eyes of most prosperous societies. Furthermore, when Okonkwo is farming yams with his eldest son Nwoye, he constantly faults Nwoyes efforts, because he believes that, Yam stood for manlinessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him (32). Okonkwo thinks Nwoye is lazy just due to the fact that he is not a farmer of the masculine yam crop. His thoughts are proof that the Umuofians believe in superiority of masculinity and preference of masculine traits. The belief is so ground into the people that it is evident in several aspects of Umuofian life, including the agricultural economy that feeds the mouths of the clan, and even family. While manliness is considered a virtue, women and agbala are for the most part delegated to being subordinate to men, showing onceShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesLandscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD Allen Hunter, ed., Rethinking the Cold War Eric Foner, ed., The New American