The Poisonwood Bible and Things Fall Apart both include male characters who behave very sexist ways. Patriarchs Nathan and Okonkwo share many similarities in their views on and treatment of women. The two men have very different backgrounds, cultural, and religious views, but their misogynistic views of women could unite them.
Okonkwo is the protagonist of his story. The narrative primarily follows him and his thoughts, which gives the audience a chance to get a pretty good idea of his misogynistic views, and makes it seem like Achebe at least partially agrees with Okonkwo. He has three wives and several daughters, all of whom he mistreats. He views his daughters as pawns for his getting ahead, and beats and abuses his wives. He believes that women should not be educated and firmly holds the belief that women are weak and inferior.
Nathan Price would certainly look down upon Okonkwo as a savage heathen, but it would probably surprise him to learn that he has more in common with him than he might realize. Nathan didn't want his daughters to be educated and compared the education of women to pouring water into shoes. He didn't know which was worse, wasting the water or wrecking the shoes. However, since the story is told from the perspective of Nathan's wife and daughter's, it is clear that they disagree with their father's sexist views. The bible itself is fairly misogynistic, so it isn't surprising that Nathan views women as inferior.
Nathan and Okonkwo would likely despise each other if they were to meet. Okonkwo loathes white missionaries, and Nathan is disgusted by those who have many wives and refuse to conform to his religion. However, their mutual hatred of women and all things feminine make them eerily similar.
Your introduction is great, it clearly shows what your post will discuss. Your paragraphs are clear and the post is well organized. I like how you give each man his own paragraph. I think you could contrast a little more and go more into depth about why Nathan thinks of women as wrong. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou do a great job discussing the ways in which Okonkwo and Nathan are misogynistic, but there isn' a lot of close analysis as to why they hate women and femininity so much. This post could also benefit from some analysis of the other aspects of Nathan and Okonkwo that are similar, like their need for control, or different. Their backgrounds and cultures are mentioned, but you could definitely expand upon those points. This is a great start!
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