Misogyny in Things Fall Apart is not too different from Conrad and Racism
It is difficult to read Things Fall Apart without being very disgusted with the gender roles and the attitudes towards women in Umuofia. Okwonko’s treatment of his wives as lesser, weaker, stupid beings is unacceptable. His behaviour is very reminiscent of Blanca’s abusive husband in Until the Dawn’s Light. Coming to terms with the misogyny […]
The Palm Oil
I was thinking about the richness of proverbs. “The palm oil with which words are eaten” certainly sounds delicious. There is something not very European or at least not very anglo about this notions. Should language be simple and direct, perhaps more efficient? Or should it be more decorated and fruitful. Certain people would prefer […]
Masculinity in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
Wow, this book is hard to understand. I mean, it’s wonderful to read and imaginative like an old folk story, but when I look back on what I’ve read, it’s insanely complicated. One of the main things I wanted to explore in this blog post was the different representations of gender roles in the novel, […]
Things Fall Apart: Misfortune
Samantha Lee 17 March, 2015 I enjoyed reading the book “Things Fall Apart”. The book allows readers to have a deeper understanding towards the native african culture. The rituals and folk stories are very interesting to me. The book is filled with festive atmosphere yet there is also underlying fear from time to time. To […]
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Ibo Word of the Day: iyi-uwa
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is a novel in which the author writes about his own people to us. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Things Fall Apart and learning about the stories, customs and people of Nigeria. I found it interesting, as mentioned in lecture, that by the end of the novel the narrative voice suddenly transitions […]
Things Fall Apart and Masculinity
When reading this novel one of the first things that really stuck me was the blatant integration of gender roles into the Igbo culture. Whether it’s the crops specific to each gender (coco-yams, beans and cassava vs. yams), or even the characterization of varying crimes, essentially all aspects of daily life are gendered. Additionally, sexist […]
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe’s classic novel Things Fall Apart (1958) is often seen as a riposte to European representations of African life and culture, not least for instance Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, which Achebe memorably described as the work of “a … Continue reading →
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Things Fall Apart, Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now
I know it doesn’t matter whether or not I write any more blogs posts since yesterday was the last lecture and Arts One is for the most part, over. However, I’ll take it upon myself that I admit writing these blogs have been a (bit – not entirely) a chore. However, I find a certain […] Continue reading →
things fell apart
Don’t mind me, just catching up on some blog posts. The amount of puns that can be made with this title is ridiculous. I know very few of them. I read this book in freshman year for a World Lit class. I don’t remember why. I don’t remember much of freshman year, really. I think […] Continue reading →
To get lost is to learn the way
The above is a proverb of African origin, though I don’t know where exactly it’s from. I’m writing this at 4AM after much wrestling with no, that’s an unnecessary aside. I will probably get lost while writing this, and that’s… okay. When I began reading Things Fall Apart, what immediately struck me was the prevalence of […] Continue reading →