Portrayal of Masculinity in Chinua Achebe‟s Things Fall Apart

The paper investigates the construction and representation of masculinity in Chinua Achebe‟s Things Fall Apart. The study digs underneath the structure and tradition of Igbo culture which celebrates the customs centered on male dominance. The protagonist, Okonkwo turns to be the major focus of study who tries to maintain all the traits of masculinity with strict application. His extreme „macho man‟ life rejects any practice which might associate him with his father. The text offers the motives behind Okonkwo‟s sheer concern regarding preservation of male dominance. Achebe‟s narrative of Okonkwo‟s character associating description of physical power, wealth, authority and violence portrays the masculinity in Things Fall Apart. The description of wrestling, battles, yam feasts or Clan meeting upholds the supremacy of males sending all other ideals to the periphery.

DOI: https://doi.org/10. 24113/ijellh.v8i1.10378 www.ijellh.com 12 Chinua Achebe"s Things Fall Apartportrays Igbo society which worships idea of heroism and masculinity. As the consequence, the protagonist Okonkwo is spotted to be directed by the fear of failure and pressure of establishment throughout his life. To get rid of weakness, he sheds any kind of sensivity which might lure him to surrender to soft feeling or affection. As showing any sign of emotion is considered to be feminine, display of sheer strength is the true construction of masculinity. If a male digress from the stereotyped masculine features, he will be labelled as effeminate like Okonkwo"s father Unoka.
Gloverand Kaplan point out, "the differences between men and women had to besharply emphasized and feminine traits had to be kept firmly in their proper place in men,they were a sign of weakness" (60-61).
The paper studies construction and representation of masculinity in Igbo society.
Okonkwo is convinced by the concept of masculinity which is strong, dominant, competitive, egoistic and violent full of "macho personality". Power and authority are associated with masculinity in the novel. Okonkwo"s character is the manifestation of this concept where he is on the run for achievements, recognition and control. The wrestling match against Amalinze the Cat has brought all the recognition which he craves for as,"Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan" (3). Celebration of male domination is evident in many occasions in Things Fall Apart. Raymond Williams finds that ruling culture yearn for "an active and continuous selection and reselection" and "a projected reality, with which we have to come to terms on its terms, even though those terms are always and must be the valuations, the selections and omissions" of "men" (16).

Display of male domination is constructed and displayed around Okonkwo in Things
Fall Apart which serves as his best defense against any critical situation. To mask his insecurity and fear to be recognized as effeminate he is always on his toe to execute the conventional masculinity. It is his shield in progress and maintenance of clan life where he is In portrayal of macho personality, Okonkwo"s strong physical appearance comes first in sight in the novel. Achebe has drawn image of a man with full of appreciation for his muscle power and ability which is associated with his manliness in the clan. "He was tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him a very severe look. He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe" (4).
The minute detail of big body, eyebrows and big nose are the standout features of Okonkwo"s physic. Because of special attraction of wrestling in Igbo culture, he is celebrated with deep respect and recognition all of which come because of his bodily features. Achebe draws comparison with women to illustrate the significance of such feature which vividly portrays importance of bodily strength in masculinity of Igbo culture. The text describes, "He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. But his wives and young children were not as strong, and so they suffered. (P.15) Bravery is always celebrated as one of the integral parts in the projection of manhood.
While describing Okonkwo"s character, his intrepid actions are glorified throughout the novel. He is the first person in Umofia who brings a human head from war. In tribal fight he likes to lead from the front and wants everyone to aggressive in winning. Against white people, he stands like the one man army to initiate assault. Though whole clan stays quiet, he process he distorts both the ""masculine"" and the ""feminine"", by keeping them rigidly apart and by the ferocity of his war on the ""feminine""" (851). To run away from the shadow of his father, he engages in the murder of Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna is like a son to him and Okonkwoalso feels in that way. Though the wise clan person suggests him not to join in killing, he does not refrain. He fears that he will be judged as coward. He uses his own machete to cut him down though he feels depressed for that for a long time. "Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna" (55). His concept of masculinity forces him to join in killing.
Possession of wealth is a major indicator in estimation of manliness in Igbo society.
Without enough prosperity, a person is face ridicule from neighbors. Okonkwo"s father has faced this embarrassment throughout his life. : "Unoka was, of course, a debtor, and he owed every neighbor some money, froma few cowries to quite substantial amounts." (4) Not only wealth but also number of wives, children and barns contribute in construction of masculinity in the society. As a result, males are always driven by the motives to build their material profile according to the requirement of the society. Achebe describes a person"s status associating with his acquisition of wealth which is well acknowledged in the Igbo society.
With Igbo society"s submission to the concept of maleness and femaleness, journey of each man seems to be pre decided. From the childhood Okonkwo sees what is celebrated around him and he clearly knows what he will have to achieve to acquire recognition from the society. The ideals limit him to a reduced version of human being who is convinced to repress himself in expressing emotion. He hides whatever is regarded as feminine. So he represses his spontaneous flow of feeling and emotion which might portray him as an effeminate person in the society. After achieving prestige in the clan, he becomes hyper sensitive in choice of emotional expression. He is dozed to maintain the format of masculinity by any means. Okonkwo is so much conditioned by masculinity that he categorizes food item in gender. Submitting to his clansmen, he accepts that the belief that yam is the king of all crops. When his mother and sister were working so hard to provide for the family, he is obsessed with type of yam they are producing. This phallocentric ideals clouds his mind as he considers coco-yams, beans and cassava to be female type of crops. As there is no men to help in the field, the women failed to produce yam, which reflects manliness among food items.
Challenge to masculinity is totally unacceptable to Okonkwo. He does not even know how to handle that without violence. At the time of New Yam Festival, his second wife passes some relax time because that is the day of feasting when everyone celebrates. But Okonkwo finds that a sign of laziness. He brings up the topic of cutting down a banana tree and makes the excuse to beat him. When his daughter, Ezinma fell sick, he refuses to listen to Ekwefi because that will be listening to a woman. He lets the situation flow without any interruption of oracle.
Okonkwo"s belief in masculinity brings down his own life. When the messengers come, he takes the authority to draw first attack without consulting others. He is so blind with pride and authority that he does not find the necessity to discuss any further with the clansmen. After killing a messenger he finds that his clansmen have taken no action against Okonkwo takes the standards to extreme of his lifestyle being always conscious of its maintenance which brings downfall of his life eventually.