After reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, I really like how the author includes important topics in the story and not only colonialism. He includes the role of men and women in society, masculinity, folklores, cultures and their destruction.
In this book, there are a lot of references to the role of men and women in their society. It caught to my attention how the author refers to that topic by adding it to descriptions of their culture. The author shows a gap between the role of men and the role of women. In the clans, men’s role is more important than women’s role, however, it shows contrast as the one in charge of the Oracle is a woman. It also shows contrast in the power of some goddesses. There are some expressions and cultural practices that show this gap. For example, the bride price for a man to show care for the bride, yams are for men to grow and the other crops are for women to grow, ceremonies being classified if it is for men or women by the way the crowd stood or sat, and crimes having two kinds, male and female, where female crimes are inadvertent.
The author includes masculinity as part of the characterization of Okonkwo, who is willing to be the ideal men in his clan. The author expresses this idea with Okonkwo’s thoughts in the story like, having the fear of failure and weakness, to show affection is a sign of weakness, a true man control his women and children. Including this idea in the story with the main character raises the question if Okonkwo is a tragic hero? Understanding the story, we can see that Okonkwo is one of the few who thinks that war, titles and strength are the most important. Although he is one of the strongest men in his clan, his ideas takes him to kill himself because no one thinks the same. Does this makes him a tragic hero?
I think that folklores in this story is very important as it creates a clearer understanding of their society and culture before colonialism. Folklores shows how colonialism affect the clan and their believes. This topic makes me raise the question; to what extent do folklores influence our actions?
Finally, I like how this book makes you reflect on the real meaning of globalization after all the colonialism around the world and the different ways it affected a lot of cultures.