After our discussion in class the other day about Ezinma, I
began to wonder if Achebe put her in the novel for a greater purpose then just
being another daughter of Okonkwo. We have
said that Ezinma does not act like the typical woman and for this Okonkwo
favors her. She acts very manly and does
not waste time with what he would call “feminine” things. She does not question Okonkwo and does what
he tells her to do like bringing him food.
Okonkwo even wishes his other son would be like her. He even wishes Ezinma could have been born a
boy. Anyway, Ezinma definitely does not
seem to be the stereotypical woman in Things
Fall Apart. In my opinion, I think
she almost acts as a foil to her mother, Ekwefi. Ekwefi is often doing things that Okonkwo
thinks are typical waste of time things that women do. However, Ezinma is the
opposite and does as she is told while possessing a strong spirit. It seems kind of ironic that a mother and
daughter could be so different.
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1 comment:
I think that Enzima is there to show that even a girl can be as strong and valuable as a boy. Igbo society seems to be extremely sexist with a general male dominance, but Enzima serves as a strong individual, even though she is only a young girl. She is also one of the sources of Okonkwo'a humanity as he shows his feelings for her, even if it is extremely slight. I believe that Enzima is one of the most powerful people in the book, especially because of all the mysticism surrounding her. I don't know if she is necessarily a foil for Ekwefi, however she most certainly shares the bond that Ekwefi has with Okonkwo.
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