English Written Task Essay

Prescribed question How and wherefore is a social group represented in a contingent way? Title of the text for analysis Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe Part of the incline to which the task refers Part 3 Literature text and context depict Points Define maleness in Okonkwos viewpoint Explore how Okonkwo neer plants his emotions because of fear Describe the vie of Okonkwos strength Discuss the enormousness of Okonkwos reputation of Umuofia Explain why Okonkwo emphasized on his masculinityCritical ResponseIn Chinua Achebes novel, Things Fall Apart, interpretations of masculinity were challenged. maleness commonly means the characteristics related to men. Okonkwo, a heavy wrestler and leader, had his induce attributes of what universeliness was. According to Okonkwos description of masculinity, men were presented as strong. Anything that did non demonstrate strength was considered as anemic, which was not in his definition of masculinity. opus masculinity meant having qualities of a man, Okonkwo was represented to show how he perceived a man truly defined through the factor of fear and why he displayed manliness in this approach. Okonkwo was cowardly of display emotions, because revealing every sentiments showed flaws. Okonkwo give cared Ikemefuna and tr play outed him as if he was his own son.However, Okonkwo did not show all emotions towards Ikemefuna. He public opinion showing affection was a mutual opposition of weakness. Due to his fear of imperfection, Okonkwo felt the emotions inwardly. The only real emotion he ever brought to life was anger. The only thing worth demonstrating was strength. (Achebe, 1994, p. 28) Showing emotions such as happiness or sadness was a portrayal of tenderness, which Okonkwo hated. If Okonkwo showed any emotion at all, it would be evidence that he was weak. In starness scenario, Okonkwo had to choose his reputation of a strong male authority or his devotion to Ikemefuna, the one he thought of to be his s on. This huge struggle to prove Okonkwos strength was questioned when he was forced to kill Ikemefuna. Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna when Ogbuefi Ezeudu arranged him to not touch the boy. (Achebe, 1994, p. 57) The man cle ard his throat, drew up and increase his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow.He heard Ikemefuna cry my experience, they have killed me as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak. (Achebe, 1994, p. 61) Okonkwo was afraid people would think that if he did not kill Ikemefuna, whom he love, he would seem weak. His character to show others that he was not weak was a greater importance than his attachment for the boy. He wanted to be brave and keep his reputation as a wrestler and a leader of Umuofia. There was one instance that Okonkwo went against his definition of being manly. This showed the vulnerability of Okonkwo, which showed why he was afraid of being weak.Okonkwo became dispi rited after the finish of Ikemefuna. He did not sleep and did not eat any food. (Achebe, 1994, p. 63) Okonkwo was compared to a shivering old fair sex, (Achebe, 1994, p. 65) showing that only woman showed their emotions. If a man could not get over the death of mortal he loves, he was nothing more than a woman, who was generally the one that mourned the death of another. Being depressed over a death was a sign of gentleness, which Okonkwo did not desire. Shivering implies weakness because when people shiver, they shake, are unstable, and are not usually strong enough to hold themselves together. So, Okonkwo could not enclose himself in this situation.It also showed fear and a loss of composure, two things that a man should never express. The use of the word old also showed how weak he was becoming in this instance. It was a similar theme when Okonkwo thought he was old because old people in general were weak as people get older, their heart and muscles were degenerated, so the quality was not durable. There was a reason why Okonkwo emphasized his masculinity. Okonkwos father, Unoka, was poor, weak, lazy, a failure and a coward. Unoka was in a lot of debt. He loved gentleness and idleness. He did not like the sight of blood. (Achebe, 1994, p. 6) In contrast, Okonkwo entered upon to be strong and large(p)working, not wanting to be gentle or idle. The strong wrestler was not scared of blood at any moment, showing he was a strong individual that can deal with death of others. (Achebe, 1994, p. 67)From then on, Okonkwo wanted to show Umuofia that he was not similar to his father in any way he wanted to be correct than his father because he did not want to be known as a son of a borrower who did not give money posterior to the lender. As a result, Okonkwo worked to not be a failure like his father. He changed how he behaved as a man to be successful. (Achebe, 1994, p. 4) Okonkwo worked hard to have a title in Umuofia and to supply money for his family. masc ulinity was shown in the fear of weakness because Okonkwo represented masculinity through his behavior. maleness was depicted in Okwonkos fear of weakness. In some part of this novel, Achebe showed the reader the wrong ways to be a man by showing what was weak, causing the readers to believe the complete opposite of how a man should truly act. Okonkwo was afraid of being weak because it would directly contradict his idea of how he should act as a man. He strived for strength and power. By showing his aversion of weakness to the readers, it gave Okonkwos definition of masculinity. Okonkwo viewed masculinity as strength, bravery, successful, and feelings of anger.Works CitedAchebe, C. (1994). Things fall apart. New York Anchor Books.