Comparison Of Fences And Things Fall Apart

During the early 1800's women were stuck in the Cult of Domesticity. Women had been issued roles as the moral keepers for societies as well as the nonworking house-wives for families. Also, women were considered unequal to their male companions legally and socially. However, women’s efforts during the 1800’s were effective in challenging traditional intellectual, social, economical, and political attitudes about a women’s place in society.

To me, being an AU Eagle means having pride in my school while working towards understanding what my role should be in the community. Being an AU Eagle also means taking action; as a potential student, I am eager to learn how to effectively instigate change by immersing myself in an environment that values learning through service. I am personally interested in helping to minimize the education gap in underserved communities. At AU, I could further my own awareness of how to help under-resourced communities in a socially conscious manner.

The “cult of domesticity” is a social system made up of middle-class American Women in the Nineteenth-century that were confined completely at home. This had privatized women’s roles for work, education, and voicing opinions. This gave women a disadvantage unqualified to participate in the realms of politics, commerce, or public service. Women’s roles were viewed by society as raising children, tend to housekeeping, and providing a home in a state of good health and virtue. Being restricted by the cult of domesticity, this encouraged a lot of women to form communities in their homes, to express their moral bravery separate from men in the communal realm. Women became successful in writing, developing their own personal voices, and opinions

A house is not a home if no one lives there. During the nineteenth century, the same could be said about a woman concerning her role within both society and marriage. The ideology of the Cult of Domesticity, especially prevalent during the late 1800’s, emphasized the notion that a woman’s role falls within the domestic sphere and that females must act in submission to males. One of the expected jobs of a woman included bearing children, despite the fact that new mothers frequently experienced post-partum depression. If a woman were sterile, her purposefulness diminished. While the Cult of Domesticity intended to create obliging and competent wives, women frequently reported feeling trapped or imprisoned within the home and within societal

The way in which the women of the Igbo village are presented, by Achebe, make it seem as if they serve very little purpose to the society. The main character, Okonkwo, is infatuated with making sure he does not turn out to be like his father. By living in a village where manliness was crucial and weakness was not, Okonkwo viewed his father as being a weak and cowardly mean because he could barely support his family. To make sure he did not become an adult that resembled his father, he developed the characteristics of being brave, wealthy and even violent. Since he acquired these traits, it gave him a sense of superiority over his wives and the other women of the village. Perhaps because of Okonkwo’s behavior, the women of the village are treated with less respect. It is portrayed by Achebe that the women of the Igbo village only purpose is looking after the children and helping their husbands when or if it is needed. Although the women of the Igbo village are described as being insignificant, the women are the people that fill in the gaps in the society. For example, the women are the ones that cook, clean, take care of everyone, help harvest and grow food, as well as all the other everyday tasks that are easily overlooked.

In the 1800’s, the women responsibilities were to maintain order in the house, protect and discipline the students. In the 21st century, now women are not just responsible for cleaning, cooking and discipling children, instead women can now work and impose some of those tasks on their husbands. In the story “Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of Refined Society”, as the home is considered the “woman’s kingdom” and that it is the women responsibility to “make the lives of her husband and the dear ones committed to her trust, is the honored task which it is the wife’s province” (Gutenberg 1), most of their time is spent in the home making sure the home is kept under control and ready to serve her husbands and children. In reference to the speech by Emma Watson, she states that “we need to end gender inequality” (Watson 1), which in the 21st century it is coming closer to reality. Women now don’t have to remain at home all day, they can now work just like men and provide for their families the same way men do.

For the longest time, women’s role in society was very narrow and set in stone. Women weren’t given the chance to decide life for their own, and there was a very sharp distinction of gender roles. Women were viewed as inferior, weak, and dependant. They were expected to be responsible for the family and maintainance of the house. But as the 19th century began, so did a drastic change in society. Women started voicing their opinions and seeking change. Trying to break away from this ideology called “cult of domesticity” was a lengthy, burdensome, and demanding struggle.

First and foremost, prior to the 19th century, women lived in a patriarchal system in which their views were constantly ignored and ridiculed. They were denied rights that made it difficult for them to gain any opportunity to perform outside their home. The stereotype in which their gender held at the time made them inferior to men. The “Culture of Domesticity” was the term used to describe a set of beliefs about women and gender roles in America and Great Britain (Cummings 1). The set of beliefs described that since men were busy working, women should be at home. An aspect of the Culture of Domesticity describes the ideal woman. This ideal woman, also called “True Woman”, must uphold “4 main principles: piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity” (Cummings 1). The combination of these principles expected a woman to be supportive

Women have always been treated differently from our male counterpart. As a woman, we are automatically born with a strike on our back, and as an African-American, we are seen at the very bottom of the totem pole. The trials and tribulations that we are put through no man could possibly withstand. In “Homegoing”, many issues that are still prevalent in today’s society is discussed. The author of the novel touch bases on the importance of family, cultural heritage, and gender inequality. Gender inequality is one of the main issues that women today face. In the beginning of the novel, the women of the village were controlled by the men in all aspects of life. Every move they made were scrutinized by their man counterparts. As the book progressed throughout the decades, the women were still facing issues that the women of today face.

Okonkwo victimizes his family due to his sexism. Okonkwo’s actions and thoughts signifies his idea that men and women are not equal. Throughout the plot he berates his daughter, Ezinma, concerning her gender. Since she is not the son he wishes for he continually abuses her into acting more feminine. When Okonkwo summons Ezinma to his hut and as she sits down “‘Sit like a woman!’ Okonkwo [shouts] at her,” (Achebe 44). Okonkwo forces Ezinma to cook and care for him and usually shows no affection towards her. Okonkwo’s victimization causes Ezinma to feel unwanted and unable to make Okonkwo happy. Yelling to Ezinma and trying to teach her what he wants from her conflicts what she hears her father tell Nwoye. Okonkwo tells Nwoye to become stronger and focus on

The book introduced Igbo culture and traditions with meaning and value. Okonkwo didn't want to be shown as weak, as a woman, or as his father. His own version of masculinity was aggression, anger, and never showing any weakness. This was why he didn't think much of his first son, Nwoye, who he saw as a female, weak, and not a real man. What was interesting was how he kept on wishing that Ezinma, his daughter and favourite child, were a boy because she showed qualities that he felt men should possess. This here shows how females can be masculine and have have power. We are also shown alternative forms of masculinity from Okonkwo throughout the novel.

the Hills and the Caves telling him to go home and work like a man is

For most of western history women have been oppressed and restricted in society. In most countries women have had not many economic, legal, or political rights. Women were expected to be submissive to men and were stuck in traditional gender roles, which forced them to remain in the “domestic sphere” of society. “It was assumed that biological and social differences affected the personalities of men and women and their suitability for particular tasks. Men were seen as aggressive, competitive and rational, and therefore fitted for the world of paid work and public activity, whereas women were thought to be emotional, nurturing and passive, traits which made them most suited to care for a family in a domestic setting.

In African villages around the continent and even in other countries around the world women 's roles were always subpar to men. Whether it was in Niger like in the Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart or America in the 20th century women’s role was always below men’s. In fact in some cultures being called feminine or female was an insult. In Things Fall Apart it is difficult to compare the roles of man and woman. It is deeper than just women serve their husbands and cook. The word “female” itself was a symbol for being weak or being inferior to another person. In the ibo culture almost everything is segregated by gender from the plants to the crimes. Women in Umuofia did not have an important role in the eyes of men around the village but yet they affected the lives of people all around.

In most cultures an individual’s gender will influence their characterization. For instance, Ibo tribes in Africa classify people according to their gender. Women are thought as submissive individuals who are to some extent weaker than men. Men on the other hand are thought of as strong beings with much expected from them. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart strongly emphasizes on the categorization of masculinity and femininity in the society of Ibo tribes. Throughout the book, Okonkwo’s idea about masculinity situates him with respect to his community. In his community Okonkwo is greatly praised for his masculine traits. It is Okonkwo integration with masculinity that leads to him becoming an