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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 2.5 page paper which examines the Western perception that African women were docile, submissive, oppressed and voiceless while the men were chauvinistic and oppressive, and how this notion has been confirmed throughout African literature. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
2 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGafwom.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
A huge country comprised largely of patriarchal tribal villages, a collective Western perception has emerged (particularly among feminists) that African men are chauvinistic and oppressive while their female counterparts "have
long been perceived as docile, bound to home and hearth, submissive to male authority, and even politically inert or passive" (Ekechi 235). They lack neither status nor voice.
This perception is based largely on texts that been written predominantly by men. There is no book that looms larger on the African literary bookshelf than Chinua Achebes 1959
masterwork, Things Fall Apart. An historical novel, Things Fall Apart describes the time-honored rituals of the Umuofia village, where Achebes native Ibo (or Igbo) culture reigns supreme.
As presented in Things Fall Apart, the rules of the Ibo culture are simple: The men preside over law and order at home and within society. Wives (of
which there were many for each man) do as they are told, and their status differs little from the children, who the patriarchy dictates should be seen and not heard.
An Ibo man desires to achieve heroic status within the clan, believing this will bring good fortune to himself and his family. He rejects anything feminine and never
displays anything remotely resembling passivity. This contention is reflected in the novels protagonist Okonkwo, a proud and tradition-bound man who rejects any characteristic that could be construed as feminine
(such as crying), for that is condemned by the male-dominated culture as a sign of weakness. As did the other tribal villagers, Okonkwo had not one but several wives,
and these women were regarded as chattel or male property, with the first wife the only one given anything remotely resembling a position of respect. However, this is only
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