In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist, Okonkwo, who is determined not to be like his lazy and indigent father, doesn't understand that he can be kind and yet still be successful as warrior and farmer. ... He was referred to as "agbala" (Pg. 13), one who resembles the weakness of a woman, and has no property. ... You can be a strong warrior and a farmer without being a hostile person. ...
In the Ibo culture, nearly all actions and tasks are given gender, from the yams being a "man's crop," (p.23), to Okonkwo telling his daughter to "Sit like a woman!... Another respected woman is Chielo, "the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves," (p.49) who is so respected by Okonkwo that at one point he trusts her to carry his precious daughter miles away to the hills and caves in the dark of the night to talk with the Gods. ... "(p.175) He is a traditionalist who misses the strong, warlike nature of the clan that was strictly enforced...
He still remembers when many years ago his playmate called his father agbala - woman or man who has taken no titles. ... Responsible, hardworking, successful, dedicated to tribe and its rules, feared wrestler and warrior, trusted and respected member of society Okonkwo is exact opposite of his father. ...
"Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness" - Chinua Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" Things often begin to fall apart when one's future is directly related to the unfortunate events of the past. In this essay, I ...
