Things Fall Apart And Homosexuality Essay, Research Paper

In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, 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.

First, we should examine what is meant by the term “latent homosexual.” The meaning of homosexual in this context is obvious: Okonkwo is sexually attracted to other men. The adjective “latent,” however, is vitally significant: literally, it means that Okonkwo’s homosexuality is hidden, not just from the world but also from himself. In other words, Okonkwo is strongly driven towards men as sexual objects, but he is not conscious of those feelings, and denies them. Indeed, if anyone tried to tell Okonkwo that he is gay, he would be offended (and probably beat them up).

According to the psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, a key aspect of male homosexuality is hostility towards women. It is clear from the novel that Okonkwo has no affection for women. He treats 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.

But Okonkwo is not simply indifferent to women. As we know from early in the book, he also abuses his wives physically. He beats one of them severely during the week of peace, and he tries to kill Ekwefi with his gun. The narrator tells us that his wives “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.

Another component of Freud’s theory of homosexuality is its causes in childhood experiences. Generally, homosexual men are close to their mothers in childhood, and distant or hostile to their fathers. Okonkwo, we are told, is ashamed of his father, and the reason for his shame is important. His father has been called an “agbala” – that is, a woman. Because he does not love violence, and has taken no titles, he is considered effeminate, and unmanly. It could be argued that Unoka, too, is a homosexual. For one thing, he has only one wife, whereas most men have multiple wives. But he also does not conform to his society’s ideal of a good male.

In response, Okonkwo is determined not to be like his father. 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 hider 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.

With this fact in mind, it is easier to understand Okonkwo’s attitude towards his own children. He thinks of Nwoye as “unmanly,” even though there is nothing to suggest that Nwoye’s sexual orientation is anything other than heterosexual. And there is a special irony is Okonkwo’s pleasure in Nwoye’s relationship with Ikemefuna. He feels that his son can become more manly by becoming close to another boy. He has a similar attitude towards is daughter Ezinma. Again and again, he wishes that she were a boy. This shows his hatred of women, and his repulsion with female sexuality. He would like her to be another male, and a part of his homosexual world.

Okonkwo’s sexuality also explains his favorite criticism of Ibo society. When members of his tribe convert to Christianity, he considers them “unmanly.” When the tribe does not take forceful action to expel the Christians, Okonkwo condemns them as effeminate. In psychological terms, he wants the tribe to do what he has done himself: to suppress homosexual impulses. His rage stems from the fact that he has done this himself, at a considerable cost, but they will not do the same. (Of course, Christianity is not evidence of homosexuality; Okonkwo is “projecting” his fears onto the community.)

In the end, then, Things Fall Apart may seem like a straightforward condemnation of imperialism and exploitation., It is, however, far more complex than that: it is an examination of the impossibility of normal homosexual functioning in a conservative and homophobic tribal society.