Okonkwo’s Distorted Conception of Masculinity in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958)

Abstract

This dissertation aims to investigate about Okonkwo’s conception of masculinity in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958), asserting that his downfall derived from his relentless pursuit of manly characteristics. Following an anthropological reading of the Igbo society, the research depicts the communal values that balance power with wisdom and familial accountability. However, Okonkwo disregarded this stability by associating masculinity with aggression, supremacy, emotional suppression, and social standing, a notion forged by his traumatic experience of his father’s disrepute. His severe treatment towards his family members, his incapacity to endure hardships that threaten his social position, and his refusal to assimilate the cultural change all pictured his contradiction to Igbo ideals of manhood. Thus, this study proved that Okonkwo’s downfall did not stem from the collapse of traditional principles due to the colonial encounter, but rather from his own failure to align with the refined, communal interpretation of masculinity immersed within their culture.