Things fall apart (essay plans) Flashcards
Okonkwo as a character
- he is very hard working and is established as a great man in the clan
he is very representative of Igbo values (sucess through yams and wives) and his strengths - his harsh agression and traditional masculinity as well as his imposement of these values on his wives and children
- Okonkwo has a fear of failure, weakness, being like his father
- he also has a traditional rigidity when he acts leading to his downfall through beating of his wives during peace week, the death of ikemefuna, exile and killed of the messanger due to his inablility to adapt to the european incursion
nwoye as a character (the relationship between nwoye and okonkwo)
- masculinity - his defiance of + resentment for okonkwo’s masculine values (such as agressiveness, violence) and acceptance of maternal values despite his burst of masculinity under the influence of Ikemefuna
- change - challenging and questioning of the Igbo traditions imposed onto him by OKonkwo (sacrificing of Ikemefuna, killing his twins..) and accepting change as a result
- things falling apart - Okonkwo’s rigidity meant he saw Nwoye as feminine for converting to Christianity. His feminity and move away from tradition disrupted Okonkwo’s traditional values and this was one of the many things which fell apart in Okonkwos world and led to his downfall
ikemefuna as a character
- fear and opression - at first he was timid and reserved, and missed his own family. He was intimidated by Okonkwo often which is representative of how OKonkwo rules over his children and wives with fear and authority
- traditional values - highlights Okonkwo’s values as when ikemefuna exhibits masculine traits and makes Nwoye more masculine, Okonkwo starts to like him
- things falling apart - his death, causes by Okonkwo’s fatal flaws and being the first step in his downfall, as it caused thing to fall apart such as Nwoye to change and Okonkwo to start questioning his values, and Okonkwo failed to adapt and accept these changes, leading to his death
Unoka as a character (his relationship between Unoka and Okonkwo)
- comeplete opposit to Okonjwo - lazy and improvident, liking music, lack of respect with clan vs masculine and agressive, but he is respected
- fear - okonkwo’s fear of being like Unoka drove him to be a large part of what he is. he feared his childred would become like Unoka and compared Nwoye to him when they did. This caused his to be emotionless, very masculine and oppressive
- things falling apart - the fear of becoming like his father is what drove him to be ‘a man of action not of words’ and do things such as kill Ikemefuna, leading to his downfall. It also made him rigid as he did not want to appear weak by submitting to the British, therefore was rigid and unaccepting of their values again, leading to his downfall
Ekwefi as a character
- tradition and gender roles - representative of igbo values in women and mothers - wanting to have children above all else, going through and suffering to have children and being beaten by Okonkwo
- mother of enzima - very special relationship, Ekwefi cares for her very much, Enzima challenges Okonkwo’s tradition as she exhibits masculine traits and makes him exhibit masculine traits and makes him exhibit feminine traits (bond of sympathy)
- change - defying tradition by challenging Okonkwo and therefore gender roles - shows typically masculine values
- things falling apart - Challenging of gender roles and tradition, Ekwefi being defiant and Ezinma being a girl yet exhibiting masculine traits. Okonkwo beating Ekwefi is representative of his fear of failure and rigidity. One of the other things which fell apart is the strict expectations surrounding women, such as how the Christians view traditions of Obanjes as ‘evil’. Tradition ‘falling apart’ in Okonkwo’s eyes is one of the things which precipitated his downfall as his rigidity prevented him from adapting to the change
ezinma as a character (her relation with her parents)
Tradition and motherhood - Centre of her mothers world, represented the value in Igbo society for women having children as Ekwefi devoted herself to her after much suffering. So much so that she views her as an equal, further amplifying her maturity
Okonkwo likes and values her - Okonkwo values her as she exhibits masculine traits, so is fond of her and wishes that she was a boy. This is because Nwoye is feminine to Okonkwo, so he wanted a masculine boy. Their strong bond even sees Okonkwo exhibitingfeminine values such as having a ‘strong bond of sympathy’ with Okonkwo
Challenging tradition and things falling apart - She represented a shift in values as she embodied qualities typically valued in male children, as she is intelligent and capable Okonkwo seeing this in a girl rather than his son, Nwoye, contributed to, in his eyes, Igbo tradition ‘falling apart’ especially as Nwoye’s conversion had been caused by the Christians who Umofia was so reluctant to fight, and due to his rigidity, he was unable to adapt, leading to his downfall
Oberika as a character (the relationship between Okonkwo and Oberika)
Friendship - His relationship to Okonkwo is one of deep kinship, the kind of kinship and trust present in Igbo society yet which collapsed upon the arrival of the colonisers
Obierika is a foil to Okonkwo due to their conflicting values - Okonkwo is very rigid and will act and do the wrong thing (like killing Ikemefuna) due to his fear of failure and weakness while Obierika questions things and is more reasonable
Affected differently by the Christian missionaries as a result of them being the foils of eachother (things falling apart) - Obierika is questioning and malleable, and can see the positives in the missionaries as well as the negatives in tradition, whereas Okonkwo’s rigidity leads to things falling apart
Mr Brown and Reverend Smith
- Mr Brown represented the well rounded colonial presence which much of the clan respected (not Okonkwo) and Achebe wished to also present as an option - Mr Brown is understanding, curious and is able to see the two religions co-existing. He was dedicated to Christianity but did not believe in a frontal attack
- Mr Smith represented the harsh colonial presence which was based upon the ideology of bringing light into darkness - He is unwilling to compromise, he believes the two religions can not co-exist, he was intolerant and ignorant, preached violence
- Things falling apart - Okonkwo rejects both reverends ideologies as they disrupt his rigid and traditional values and identity, but Mr Smith’s actions which precipitated Enoch to remove the mask of the Egwugwu led to the chain of events which defined Okonkwo’s downfall
Relationship between Okonkwo and his wives (Ekwefi)
- Fear - Relationship built on fear and oppression, beatings, shows Okonkwo’s values
- Gender roles - Through this relationship, we learn that in Igbo society women do domestic tasks, while men do the harder tasks and hold more prestige (Okonkwo’s involvement in Egwugwu, him being the farmer, his wives looking after children), similarities to Victorian England (Cult of domesticitiy), Achebe trying to highlight similarities (similarities challenge HoD), polyagmous, shows different ways of living are acceptable too
- Ekwefi - Only named wife, defying tradition and challenging Okonkwo - shows typically masculine values, mother of Ezinma who also shows masculine traits, challenges Okonkwo’s traditional perspective
- Things falling apart - Ekwefi and Ezinma challenge Okonkwo’s traditional perspective, one of the many things in Okonkwo’s world which ‘falls apart’ and he is unable to adapt to, Okonkwo’s fear of weakness and of failure led him to feel obligated to beat his wives, contributing to his downfall as he beat his wife during the week of peace, traditional values surrounding women fall apart with the arrival of the Christians
Relationship between Nwoye and Ikemefuna
- Friendship - Their inseperability shows deep bonds of kinship, the ones which it was believed would challenge the missionaries and their change. Made Ikemefuna less afraid at first
- Masculinity - Ikemefuna made Nwoye more masculine, and Okonkwo’s values are highlighted as he now respects his son more, despite knowing his son’s development was a result of Ikemefuna, he was previously concerned about Nwoye’s femininity
- Things falling apart - Ikemefuna’s death affected Nwoye, not only because they were Things falling apart - Ikemefuna’s death affected Nwoye, not only because they were friends but also because he did not understand why he had to die, which led to him distancing himself from Okonkwo and converting to Christianity, exhibiting feminine traits, which was one of the things which fell apart in Okonkwo’s world, and since his rigidity rendered him unable to adapt, this led to his downfall
Masculinity
- Okonkwo’s portrayal of masculinity - extreme fear of failure and weakness, hard working and willing to sacrifice much to achieve what he wants, emotionless, unreasonable, since he had established himself as a great man, it is clear this was valued
- Men being feminine - Nwoye’s defiance of and resentment for Okonkwo’s masculine values and acceptance of maternal values, and his change as a result of this, Unoka’s femininity and
Okonkwo’s resentment of this - Things falling apart - Changes to the masculinity of the clan as well as his son Nwoye challenge Okonkwo’s traditional perspective and cause things to fall apart in Okonkwo’s world. His fear of failure and weakness which he ties in with his masculinity means he feels obligated to act a certain way and therefore his rigidity renders him unable to adapt, leading to his downfall
Gender roles (roles of women)
- Women hold little authority and status, do basic tasks (unnamed women), men do harder tasks, hold status and authority - dynamic shown through Okonkwo’s relationship with his wives as their relationship is one of fear and he feels obligated to beat them
- Women and mothers wanting to have children above all else, going through suffering to have children, caring for her child, Ezinma being center of her mothers world
- Things falling apart - Changes in gender roles within Okonkwo’s traditional perspective (Ezinma, Ekwefi and Nwoye) are one of the many things which fall apart in Okonkwo’s world. Also, his fear of failure and weakness mean he feels obligated to act a certain way (like beat his wife due to her act of defiance even during the week of peace) and therefore his rigidity renders him unable to adapt, leading to his downfall
