Once again I have pursued an outside reading, this time choosing to reread Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart. A fictional novel detailing the hardships of one African tribe as it faces colonization. It is immediately evident to the reader that Okonkwo, the hero of the story, is obsessed with manliness. His concern manifests itself in almost every chapter. The story begins with an account of his success as a wrestler - a "manly" competition - and ends with his murder of the court messenger, another "manly" act. In every action and every choice he makes, Okonkwo is determined to show that he is masculine. It is powerful irony, then, that the evidence of the novel shows that Okonkwo is actually a latent homosexual. I found this to be very interesting and had to share my analysis of the character. “Latent homosexual" means one’s homosexuality id not only hidden from others but is subconsciously hidden from oneself. After reading a bit of research by psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, I learned a key aspect of male homosexuality is hostility towards women. Okonkwo has treated his wives like servants, and there is no suggestion that he is attracted to them romantically or sexually. There is only one direct reference to sex in the book, when at the end of Chapter Eleven, Ekwefi remembers her first sexual encounter with Okonkwo, when he "just carried her into the his bed and in the darkness began to feel around her waist for the loose end of her cloth." (Achebe, 109) It is significant that this action is initiated by Ekwefi, not by Okonkwo himself. Okonkwo’s indifference is not exactly peaceful either as he has been known to be violent with his lovers, who "lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper." (Achebe, 13) So there is clear evidence of his hostility towards women. He thinks of them as inferior, and shows that in his words and his actions. Okonkwo is determined not to be like his father, whois said to be "agbala" - that is, a woman. He is ashamed of his father's sexuality, and decides that he must be the opposite. It is clear, however, that he overreacts to this situation. Okonkwo is not going to be just an ordinary male; he is going to be a supermodel of masculinity. The intensity of his reaction indicates that he is determined to hinder something. He is not just repudiating his father; he is condemning his own homosexual impulses. So this is the irony, and the paradox, of his situation. His obsessive determination with being a male - with being heterosexual - is clear evidence that he is actually homosexual.
Once again I have pursued an outside reading, this time choosing to reread Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart. A fictional novel detailing the hardships of one African tribe as it faces colonization. It is immediately evident to the reader that Okonkwo, the hero of the story, is obsessed with manliness. His concern manifests itself in almost every chapter. The story begins with an account of his success as a wrestler - a "manly" competition - and ends with his murder of the court messenger, another "manly" act. In every action and every choice he makes, Okonkwo is determined to show that he is masculine. It is powerful irony, then, that the evidence of the novel shows that Okonkwo is actually a latent homosexual. I found this to be very interesting and had to share my analysis of the character. “Latent homosexual" means one’s homosexuality id not only hidden from others but is subconsciously hidden from oneself. After reading a bit of research by psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, I learned a key aspect of male homosexuality is hostility towards women. Okonkwo has treated his wives like servants, and there is no suggestion that he is attracted to them romantically or sexually. There is only one direct reference to sex in the book, when at the end of Chapter Eleven, Ekwefi remembers her first sexual encounter with Okonkwo, when he "just carried her into the his bed and in the darkness began to feel around her waist for the loose end of her cloth." (Achebe, 109) It is significant that this action is initiated by Ekwefi, not by Okonkwo himself. Okonkwo’s indifference is not exactly peaceful either as he has been known to be violent with his lovers, who "lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper." (Achebe, 13) So there is clear evidence of his hostility towards women. He thinks of them as inferior, and shows that in his words and his actions. Okonkwo is determined not to be like his father, whois said to be "agbala" - that is, a woman. He is ashamed of his father's sexuality, and decides that he must be the opposite. It is clear, however, that he overreacts to this situation. Okonkwo is not going to be just an ordinary male; he is going to be a supermodel of masculinity. The intensity of his reaction indicates that he is determined to hinder something. He is not just repudiating his father; he is condemning his own homosexual impulses. So this is the irony, and the paradox, of his situation. His obsessive determination with being a male - with being heterosexual - is clear evidence that he is actually homosexual.
