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//**Blog Post 2: **//

//** The ideas of masculinity and femininity are two of the reasons that this novel makes me angry. To the Igbo people, masculinity is based on how violent, mean, or angry a man is. For example, Okwonko thinks that showing emotion is not masculine so he doesn't show any emotion outwardly. When Achebe talks about how Okonkwo feels about something, he always says he felt it "inwardly." I really like Nwoye and I hate how Okonkwo doesn't approve of him because he's not masculine enough. Nwoye likes stories and he cries after Ikemefuna is murdered by Okonkwo. Okonkwo beats Nwoye when he cries and I despise that. I like that Nwoye shows emotion even though Okonkwo doesn't approve. **//

//** I also don't like how women are treated as second-class citizens. As a feminist, I get angry when women are not treated the same as men because of their gender. I don't like how the men and women have different chores based on gender. For example, the women cook or gather firewood while the men chop the firewood or go to war. They do the "manly" and tough jobs while the women stay home and cook. It reminds me of the 1950's and the show "Leave It To Beaver." In both the Igbo culture and 1950s America, the men and women have separate roles based on their gender. The Igbo women stay home and cook while the men go to work, just like how June Cleaver (the mother in "Leave It To Beaver") stays home and cooks while the father goes to work. I find that highly annoying and don't see any reason why women or man can't do a job because of their gender. **//

** This is a picture of June Cleaver cooking dinner. Just like June Cleaver, the Igbo women must cook and clean and do the "woman's work." This, again, makes me angry. **

Blog Post 1 Although this is not the first time I've read Things Fall Apart, this time I feel differently about the novel. So far, I don't really like Okonkwo. I think he's controlling and angry. I hate that he won't show any emotions other than anger; it makes him seem distant and mean. I hate the way he treats Nwoye and thinks he's lazy. I think Nwoye isn't lazy, but he's just a normal boy who likes having fun, which doesn't make him lazy. I think Okonkwo is one reason I don't love this book.

I've noticed a lot of things that are different from our culture. For one thing, Okonkwo has 3 wives and the richest guy in the village has 9 wives. In our culture, it's only acceptable to have one wife. Another difference is the way Okonkwo treats his children. He's really mean to Nwoye, even telling him he's going to break his jaw. In our culture, this would be considered abusive and child services would probably take his children off of him. However, there are a few similarities. One thing that is similar is the way they seem to value wealth. The people with wealth seem to have more status and more respect, which I think is similar to our culture. The more money people have, the more power they seem to have.



The way that the Igbo people live a polygamous life style reminds me of sisterwives, which is a show about a polygamous family in Utah. I think the show is really weird and I find it appalling, however I'll watch it when it's on. It's kind of like a train wreck, you don't want to watch it but you can't help it. When I read about Okonkwo having 3 wives I immediately thought of this show and how messed up it is.