Masculinity and male relationship: Things Fall Apart, Who Will Stop The Dark
Masculinity and Male Relationships Masculinity can be defined as a set of qualities or characteristics that is found generally in men, although some women may acquire this trait in certain conditions. Some qualities that attribute to masculinity are strength, boldness, wisdom, honor, and courage. The traits of masculinity are often passed down from father to son, but in some cases fathers may not possess this trait and the son will either acquire it on his own or from another paternal figure. Two literary works that portray the theme of masculinity is “Things Fall Apart”, a novel by Chinua Achebe, and “Who Will Stop the Dark” a short story by Charles Mungoshi. Achebe uses the theme of masculinity to describe Okonkwo’s characteristics and actions. Mungoshi also uses the same theme to describe Zakeo. The father and son relation plays in important role in both stories because that is what develops their character. Chinua Achebe uses the theme of masculinity to describe the rise of Okonkwo’s social standing. In the novel, Okonkwo is very obsessed with masculinity, and he defines quite scarcely. According to him any kind of sensitivity is a sign of weakness. Okonkwo believes in authority and brute force. His pride and masculinity is very correlated. According to Okonkwo his father lacks ambition, is lazy, weak, and feminine. In the novel its states that “Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title.”1 Growing up Okonkwo did everything possible not to resemble his father because his father resembled a woman with no title.
Another example of how masculinity is depicted in the novel is the society’s view on farming. In the third chapter it says, “His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they
Another example of how masculinity is depicted in the novel is the society’s view on farming. In the third chapter it says, “His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they