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“The greatest obstacle in Umuofia,” Okonkwo thought bitterly, “is that coward, Egonwanne. His sweet tongue can change fire into cold ash. When he speaks he moves our men to impotence. If they had ignored his womanish wisdom five days ago, we would not have come to this.”

Okonkwo believes it is Egonwanne’s fault for Umuofia’s failures, when truly it is Okonkwo’s for setting masculinity as such a high requirement in the culture. It effected his way of thinking of other people in Umuofia, and if they are womanly it is automatically their fault.

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Throughout the book, men are given the stereotype that they must be leaders, show no emotion, and they must constantly show their manhood. Women are seen as the ones that are controlled by men and do what they are told. When other cultures threaten this culture’s belief, Okonkwo refuses to let them be persuasive and pretends to be the man and leader he is supposed to be, even though inside he feels regret. This video represents the stereotypes of men and women both that relate to how the culture is expected to be.

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Gender Stereotypes | Masculinity vs Femininity | What is a Man? What is a Woman?

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“Worthy men are no more,” Okonkwo sighed as he remembered those days. “Isike will never forget how we slaughtered them in that war. We killed twelve of their men and they killed only two of ours. Before the end of the fourth market week they were suing for peace. Those were days when men were men.”

In this quote, Okonkwo is angry that the men of Umuofia refuse to fight against the Christians. He says they are womanly for that circumstance. His views on masculinity separates him from the reality that the men are good fighters, they simply just do not want to kill innocent people.

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This image relates to how Okonkwo believes men should not show their emotions for it is seen as a sign of femininity. This separates him from the truth that men can feel emotions, and that they are allowed to feel however they feel.

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“Okonkwo was deeply grieved. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women.”

The clan was so focused on masculinity that they were separated from the reality that their clan was falling. In this quote it is proven that Okonkwo still believes in the power of masculinity, and that the men had become “soft” because they failed.

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This video relates to how in chapter 17, the book talked about how Nneka was not able to bear children, and she was looked down upon. Nneka ended up leaving to join the Christians and her culture did not care. Therefore, the unity in the culture is disrupted because they believe women that cannot have children are not considered apart of their culture because she cannot provide what they expect a woman to provide.

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Childless: why is society so frightened of women without children?

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“You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people. If any one of you prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him.”

Okonkwo considers Nwoye as “unworthy” because he leaves his culture to go to the Christian side. This separates Okonkwo from the truth that Nwoye is still his son, even if he went against his father’s morals.

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' “Let us not reason like cowards,” said Okonkwo. “If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do I shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head. That is what a man does. These people are daily pouring filth over us, and Okeke says we should pretend not to see.” Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust. This was a womanly clan, he thought. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland, Umuofia."

Okonkwo calls the Mbanta tribe womanly because of their resistance to fight against the Christians, which in Okonkwo's eyes, is considered cowardly. This is an example of how interpretation of masculinity and negatively affect unity with other cultures, because their opinion on masculinity is so overpowering and dominant in their culture.

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“No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man.”

This quote then later leads to Okonkwo beating his second wife, because of this aspect of being “controlling.” This represents how the morals of the culture in the subject of masculinity lead to distance from unity in marriage, as a marriage should be a man and a woman working together, not a man controlling a woman.

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This image represents how women have to put in much more effort than men do to reach a goal. This is represented in Uchendu’s speech when he talks about how the culture is completely ignoring women’s efforts and hard work  they put into for their husband. This is an example of being distanced from reality.

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“Can you tell me, Okonkwo, why it is that one of the commonest names we give our children is Nneka, or ‘Mother is Supreme?’ We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. And yet we say Nneka – ‘Mother is Supreme.’ Why is that?”

“I do not know the answer,” Okonkwo replied.

“Then listen to me. It’s true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother’s hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme.”

In this scene, Uchendu confronts Okonkwo about his and his culture’s interpretation of gender. He explains how women are important in the society and how Okonkwo is losing knowledge of the truth based on the inequality of men and women. He proves it by asking Okonkwo why they say “Mother is Supreme,” and Okonkwo does not know the answer.

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This image represents how women should be seen as equal to men, which does not occur in this chapter. The book explains how women cannot attend hearings or meetings, because they aren’t men. This distances this culture from the truth that women can handle more than they think.

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This image represents how men are stereotyped. In chapter 7, Okonkwo judges Ikemefuna as unmanly because he is not authoritative and controlling over Nwoye. This is considered womanly and not right according to the culture, which can cause distance from one's reality that women can also be independent.

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' “It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind,” said Obierika. “I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. He could not do anything without telling her.”
“I did not know that,” said Okonkwo. “I thought he was a strong man in his youth.”
“He was indeed,” said Ofoedu. Okonkwo shook his head doubtfully."

Okonkwo believes that if a man depends or shows affection towards his wife in any way, it is considered unmanly and not right. This shows how there is a lack of unity in marriage when the man is expected to show little to no affection towards his wife and is not allowed to convey his emotions towards her.

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In this scene from Beauty and the Beast, the enchantress acts like a poor old woman whom offers a single rose to a prince in exchange for shelter from the cold, but the prince ignores her, and then the woman transforms into a beautiful enchantress. This appears in chapter 6 when it is explained that Chielo, the enchantress, is an ordinary woman in the market. However, when she becomes the enchantress is the only time she is respected by men.

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xiᴍᴀɢiɴᴀʀʏʀᴏsᴇ ❤

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Disney Beauty & The Beast Prologue (1080 HD)

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In chapter 5, Ekwefi explains how she left her husband to come live with Okonkwo after she had seen his capability of beating the Cat. After it is too late, she realizes that although Okonkwo is strong, he is not a good husband. This is an example of how power can distance oneself from the truth.

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"As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. Okonkwo’s second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food, and she said so. Without further argument, Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative, “It is enough, Okonkwo,” pleaded from a reasonable distance."

Okonkwo beat his wife out of anger, even though he was not angry about the banana tree but rather about Ekwefi standing up to his masculinity. This is an example of how masculinity effects one's distance from the truth and reality.

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"Okonkwo was not afraid of war. He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head."

This quote shows how to be a man, according to Okonkwo, you must be unafraid of murder and you must not hesitate when told to kill someone. This goes to represent how killing someone with no remorse or hesitation can distance themselves from unity within the culture, and would rather cause harm and segregation among the culture.