Things fall apart : the role of men and women

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart explores the struggle between old traditions within the Igbo community as well as Christianity and "the second coming" it brings forth. While on the surface, it appears the novel narrows its' focus to a single character, Okonkno and his inner battles, one can read deeper into the text and find an array of assorted conflicts in the realm on human vs. human, human vs. nature, human vs. society, and society …

…eaders face instances of cruelty, inequality, subservience all which can not be written off simply because of a few minor instances where women are even treated as humans instead of animals or slaves. All in all the women of Things Fall Apart are treated with such enormous disrespect and disgust and the reader cannot help but be sickened and saddened by not only the reality of women in Africa but of Achebe's portrayal of it.