The research’s concern here is on women oppression in the Igbo society and with its impact on the societal destruction. When carrying the research, the forms of women oppression were investigated in this Achebe’s Things Fall Apart whereby inequality, inheritance deprivation for female gender, women beating and other abuses against femininity were mainly based on in this research to investigate the reasons of Igbo societal destruction. Okonkwo who ruled his wives and children with a heavy hand was both a woman hater and oppressor. Hence, this behavior and belief have to be searched on for the purpose of finding out how it might lead his society to get destroyed.
This research bears the following objectives: To identify the forms of oppression in Things Fall Apart, to examine in which ways the society gets destroyed due to women oppression and to emphasize what women can do so as to get equal chances to their counterparts. Referring to the objectives mentioned above, the researcher wanted to answer these questions: the first question was how has the Igbo society demonstrated the forms of women oppression in „Things Fall Apart?“ The forms of oppression were based on women beating, deprivation of inheritance for female gender and different abuse against women. The second one is, where did the society get destroyed in the Igbo society in „Things Fall Apart?“ It is identified that women role is limited to households and children bearing not in economic and political whereby the women are not able to possess anything like men. The third is how the women oppression contributed to the societal destruction?
The protagonist of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, a woman hater and oppressor led his society to destruction whereby his son Nwoye abused by him to behave like women became one of the people who got converted into Christianity unlike traditional and other hatred and violence against the femininity contributed much to the society destruction. The findings identified that the Igbo society practiced different women oppression such as inequality, lack of inheritance for girls’ children, and women beating. It was also noticed here that women were socially and economically undermined by men through their patriarchal culture and society. The violence against the femininity pushed Okonkwo to hung himself so that he could not be called a weak or woman for handing himself in white men’s hands after killing the white man messenger.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
General Introduction
1.1. Introduction to the study
1.2. Background to the study
1.3. Statement of the problem
1.5. Definition of terms
1.6. Purpose of the study
1.7. Objectives of the study
1.7.1. General objective
1.8. Research questions
1.9. Significance of the Study
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Ibo’s Society
2.3. Oppression
2.4. Women
2.5. Women oppression
2.6. Forms of women oppression
2.6.1. Patriarchy
2.6.2. The plight of women in Igbo society
2.6.3. Gender-based discrimination
2.6.4. Inequality
2.6.5. Violence against women
2.7. Gender
2.7.1. Gender difference in Igbo society
2.7.2. Gender sensitivity in traditional Igbo society according to Achebe
2.7.3. Gender education
2.7.4. Gendering the Economy
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Research Design
3.3. Data sources
3.4. Data collection
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1. Analysis of women oppression in Igbo society
4.2. Forms of women oppression in Igbo society
4.2.1. The relationship between men and women in Igbo society
4.2.2. Women beating in Igbo society
4.2.3. Women marginalization in Igbo society
4.2.4. Patriarchal Igbo society
4.2.5. Women mistreatment in Igbo society
4.3. Ways Igbo society gets destroyed
4.3.1. Male dominance and women suppression
4.3.2. Undermining women’s rights
4.3.3. The effects of conflict between Okonkwo and his son, Nwoye
4.3.4. Violence against women in the special days
4.4. The Women of Umuofia and the Women of Today
4.5. Limited Role of women in the ancient Igbo society
4.6. Igbo society under white men’s occupation due to Okonkwo’s brutality and death
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Summary of findings
5.3. Conclusion
5.4. Recommendations based on research findings
5.5. Recommendations for further research
Objectives and Scope of the Research
This study investigates the systemic oppression of women within Igbo society as depicted in Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" and analyzes how this marginalization contributes to the overall destruction of the Igbo social structure.
- Identifying specific forms of oppression against women in traditional Igbo culture.
- Examining the correlation between the suppression of women and the disintegration of societal unity.
- Analyzing the impact of patriarchal structures on the lives and rights of women.
- Evaluating the transition of women's roles and agency from pre-colonial to post-colonial contexts.
Excerpt from the Book
The relationship between men and women in Igbo society
According to Amy F. (2011, English 12) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was originally written in 1958 to illustrate the colonization of the African lands by Britain. However, throughout the novel Achebe shows how there were struggles between gender, identity and class. The main struggle that the Igbo people witnessed everyday of their lives was the relationship between the men and women in the African culture. In most ways the Igbo view of the relationships between men and women is very different to the Western view of the relationships between men and women. Achebe shows us that even though women in Umofia and other tribes do not have much freedom and do not play big roles, they do, however, make up the Igbo society and hold it together.
From the beginning of the novel, Achebe has given Okonkwo, the protagonist (being male), all the importance and manly actions as that of a leader. This has directly put the women (mainly his wives) on a lower level than him. In Chapter two, Achebe gives Okonkwo the chance to explain his character by telling the reader about his father. He associates his father with a woman because women, according to him and his culture are weak. “Even as a little boy he has presented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate has told him that his father was an agbala”(Things Fall Apart, p.13). Agbala literally means “woman”. If a man is called an “agbala” it means that he is weak and that he has not taken a title.
Summary of Chapters
CHAPTER ONE: Provides an introduction to the research, including the statement of the problem, research objectives, and the significance of studying women's oppression in the context of the novel.
CHAPTER TWO: Reviews literature regarding Igbo society, the definition of oppression, and the various forms of discrimination women face, including patriarchal structures and gender-based violence.
CHAPTER THREE: Details the research methodology, focusing on the qualitative and analytical approach used to examine the text for evidence of gender inequality.
CHAPTER FOUR: Presents the primary analysis and interpretation of women's roles, the impact of Okonkwo’s actions on his family, and how gender inequality leads to societal collapse.
CHAPTER FIVE: Summarizes the research findings, concludes the study, and offers recommendations for future research on gender equality and women's rights in Nigeria.
Keywords
Igbo society, Women oppression, Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Patriarchy, Gender-based discrimination, Societal destruction, Masculinity, Feminism, Inequality, Domestic violence, Umuofia, Gender roles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this dissertation?
The research focuses on the impact of women's oppression in Igbo society as portrayed in Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" and its role in the destruction of the Igbo social order.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include patriarchal domination, gender inequality, the impact of colonial influence on traditional gender roles, domestic violence, and the link between societal stability and the treatment of women.
What is the primary research goal?
The primary goal is to investigate how the systemic oppression of women in Igbo society contributed to the eventual societal decline witnessed in the novel.
What research methodology is employed?
The study employs a qualitative, analytical approach, using literary criticism to examine the themes of gender, power, and identity within the narrative of the novel.
What does the main body of the research cover?
The main body examines the specific forms of women's oppression, such as wife-beating and lack of inheritance, and analyzes how these behaviors fueled internal disunity and accelerated the society's collapse under colonial influence.
Which keywords characterize this research?
Key terms include Igbo society, Patriarchy, Gender discrimination, Societal destruction, Masculinity, and Feminism.
How does the author define the role of Okonkwo in societal destruction?
Okonkwo is viewed as a representation of hyper-masculine, patriarchal aggression whose refusal to value feminine contributions or adapt to changing societal pressures ultimately leads to his own suicide and the collapse of the Umuofia clan's traditional structure.
Does the research discuss the differences between pre-colonial and colonial Igbo society?
Yes, the research highlights how the British colonial system exacerbated patriarchal tendencies and excluded women from economic power, rendering many traditional, women-driven industries insignificant.
- Quote paper
- Jean Damascene Ngendahayo (Author), 2014, The Impact of women oppression on the societal destruction. A case study of Chinua Achebe’s "Things Fall Apart", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/412367
