From the very first pages of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is characterised as a hard-working, courageous, aggressive man. ‘He [has] a slight stammer and whenever he [is] angry and [can] not get his words out quickly enough, he [will] use his fists.’ He has over time become ‘well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rest[s] on solid personal achievements.’ Not only is he known for his qualities as a wrestler, he has also ‘taken two titles and [has] shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars.’ Moreover, he has become a wealthy farmer, who has just married his third wife. As for his appearance, ‘he is tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose [give] him a very severe look.’ In other words, not only does he look manly with his tall, muscular built, it seems like he lives the values that are perceived as manly by Ibo society. ‘Military virtues such as aggression, strength, courage and endurance have repeatedly been defined as the natural and inherent qualities of manhood.’ And his eminence as a warrior is exactly one of the ways in which Okonkwo asserts his manhood. Throughout the novel, readers are reminded of his bravery. It is him who finally throws Amalinze the Cat, a wrestler unbeaten for seven years. He is also the first one to bring home a human head won in a fight in an inter-tribal war. Furthermore, he is, at the end of the novel, not afraid to take on ‘the white man’ singularly, if the clan fails to go to battle with him. Bravery for him is a quality so undeniably and inextricably linked to masculinity and the condition of manhood t hat ‘he mourn[s] for the warlike men of Umuofia, who ha[ve] so unaccountably become soft like women’ during the time of his exile. It becomes clear in this quotation that Okonkwo affirms his manhood, not only by exercising activities which in his eyes are manly, but also by hierarchically placing himself above women. Ibo society, very much like Western society in pre-feminist times, organises its social practice through gendered binaries. Thus, courage, bravery, aggression, activity, are all deemed to be ‘masculine’ features, whereas, in direct opposition, weakness, gentleness, passivity, and submissiveness are regarded as ‘feminine’ attributes.
Table of Contents
1. Representations of Masculinity in Things Fall Apart and Wide Sargasso Sea
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how the characters Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Mr. Rochester in Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea perform and assert their masculinity within their respective cultural and colonial contexts, ultimately investigating the constraints and failures they encounter in maintaining these identities.
- Social construction of masculinity and gendered binaries.
- Okonkwo's assertion of manhood through aggression and the rejection of "feminine" qualities.
- Mr. Rochester's struggle to affirm his masculinity and authority in the Caribbean.
- The role of colonialism and cultural displacement in shaping masculine identity.
- Comparison of "white" versus "black" masculinity in postcolonial settings.
Excerpt from the Book
Representations of Masculinity in Things Fall Apart and Wide Sargasso Sea
While jotting down some notes in preparation for my essay, I caught myself faltering at the sentence ‘Okonkwo is the epitome of manliness’. Was my intention not to write about masculinity in Things Fall Apart and Wide Sargasso Sea? Unable to overcome the confusion over the terms ‘manliness’ and ‘masculinity’ without expert help, I swiftly consulted the Oxford English Dictionary in hope of assistance. Interestingly, though, the entries for these terms read practically identically. One reads ‘having the qualities or physical features that are admired or expected in a man’, the other ‘having the qualities or appearance typical of men’. But what exactly is typical of men, and does everyone expect the same of them? Both of the above definitions are normative, asserting what men ought to be. But, ‘what is normative about a norm hardly anyone meets?’ What this question implies is very unambiguous, namely, that masculinity, just as femininity and gender in general, are social constructions. Neither of these categories ‘exist organically’, they are ‘a way of structuring social practice’, fabricated by humans. And just as humans are different from one person to the next, so are their cultures and their social conceptions of masculinity. In other words, there are multiple masculinities. ‘‘Masculinity’ is not a coherent object about which a generalising science can be produced.’ Moreover, it is important to notice at this point, that the different concepts of masculinity are always tightly interweaved with other social constructs and the respective expectations thereof, such as race, gender, class, age, religion, and so forth. Hence, in order to have a look at representations of masculinity in the above mentioned novels, a close reading of the texts will be necessary. While doing so, I shall try to analyse the ways in which Okonkwo and Mr Rochester live their masculinity, how they try to assert it and the constraints they encounter while trying to do so.
Summary of Chapters
1. Representations of Masculinity in Things Fall Apart and Wide Sargasso Sea: The introduction establishes the theoretical framework by defining masculinity as a social construction and sets the stage for comparing how the protagonists in two canonical novels navigate and perform their masculine identities under pressure.
Keywords
Masculinity, Manliness, Social Construction, Gender, Things Fall Apart, Wide Sargasso Sea, Okonkwo, Mr. Rochester, Colonialism, Postcolonialism, Gender Binaries, Identity, Performance, Patriarchy, Literary Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this academic work?
The work explores how masculinity is constructed, performed, and challenged in the novels Things Fall Apart and Wide Sargasso Sea through the characters of Okonkwo and Mr. Rochester.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
Key themes include the social construction of gender, the impact of colonialism on identity, the performance of patriarchal values, and the psychological effects of displacement.
What is the core objective or research question?
The objective is to analyze the ways Okonkwo and Mr. Rochester assert their masculinity and to examine the specific constraints—social, cultural, and colonial—that lead to their ultimate breakdown.
Which scientific or analytical method is employed?
The author employs a close reading of the literary texts, supported by postcolonial theory and sociological insights into masculinity (e.g., R.W. Connell).
What aspects are covered in the main body?
The analysis covers Okonkwo's fear of appearing weak and his reliance on gendered violence, as well as Mr. Rochester's struggles with his own identity and his colonial authority in the Caribbean.
Which keywords define the scope of this study?
Key terms include masculinity, social construction, postcolonialism, gender binaries, and the specific literary protagonists studied.
How does the father-son relationship influence Okonkwo’s behavior?
Okonkwo’s masculinity is defined by a reactionary rejection of his father Unoka's traits, which he perceives as weak and feminine, driving his obsession with strength and title-taking.
Why does Mr. Rochester feel alienated in the Caribbean?
Rochester struggles with the "wild" environment and his inability to establish a traditional English domestic order, leading him to attempt to force his wife into a submissive, renamed role.
What role does the "white man" play in Okonkwo's downfall?
The arrival of the white man acts as a catalyst, but the true cause of Okonkwo’s downfall is his inability to reconcile his rigid, militant view of masculinity with the changing social reality of his clan.
How does the author compare the narrative techniques regarding the two men?
The author notes that while Okonkwo is analyzed through a more objective, omniscient narrative, Rochester’s identity is mediated by his own subjective, stream-of-consciousness perspective, which complicates the reader's view of his actions.
- Quote paper
- Jenny Roch (Author), 2005, Representations of Masculinity in Things Fall Apart and Wide Sargasso Sea, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/49144
