The title of this book, Things Fall Apart, perfectly sums up the plot of this book in three simple words. Throughout the first half of the book you truly come to realize that Okonkwo's life is slowly starting to fall apart. When Okonkwo beat his wife during the peace of the sacred week, it presented Okonkwo with a slight bump in the road, but it was truly when Nwoye's three years were over, that is when things really started falling apart. While reading the book there was a lot to learn about Okonkwo's character.
During the first half of the book it becomes apparent that Okonkwo is very concerned with being masculine and providing a super masculine image. Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was someone that was lazy, quiet, gentle, and slightly a faint-hearted individual. Okonkwo strives to be the exact opposite of his father and to become a masculine figure that his family can look up to and rely on. This motivation to not be like his father and to be extremely masculine is the catalyst for his life beginning to fall apart. When walking Nwoye back to his home village, some of the men from Umuofia begin attacking the boy with machetes. Nwoye runs to Okonkwo for help. However, since Okonkwo doesn't want to look weak and feeble in front of his fellow tribesman he ends up helping the other tribesman take down Nwoye. After returning home, Okonkwo sinks into a depression where he stops eating and sleeping. His concern with being a strong, masculine tribesman ended up back firing on him and putting him into a gloomy period. I firmly believe that Okonkwo's goal of maintaining a masculine image will bring him into more trouble.
Maintaining a masculine image can also be seen in all over the media today. Recently, Ray Rice, a player for the Baltimore Ravens, has been accused of domestic violence towards his fiancee. Several months ago Rice and his fiancee got into a quarrel in an elevator in Atlantic City. Rice punched her in the face, forcing her to the ground, and then drug her out of the elevator, face down. This act of domestic violence has been taking over the media. This act shows Rice's mentality of proving that he is "manly" and is the one in charge. Okonkwo and Rice both share the same mentality and due to that, it has both landed them in a world of hurt. Rice has been kicked off of the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL has suspended him indefinitely.
The theme of maintaining a masculine image is widely prevalent in today's society and in today's popular literature.
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