Abstract
The African people have varying behaviours, mannerisms, beliefs, thought patterns and way of interaction and all of these differences formed their culture and impacted their way of life. However, with the coming of the Europeans to Africa came cultural infiltration, pollution as well as alteration. This research analyses Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) from the angle of masculinity and culture clash (traditional vs. western) as brought about by westernisation. The method of investigation is analytical and descriptive, using the formalist approach: that is looking at the actions, events, sentences and interactions of the characters in order to identify and discuss how males are portrayed, paying attention to issues of cultural realism, behaviours, actions and statements of the characters. The findings of the research confirmed that African viewpoint of masculinity and culture tends to be opposed to that of the Europeans, as the actions and behaviours appropriate to a man in each society tend to differ. This led to different clashes from religious, cultural, ideological, to social beliefs. The research reached the conclusion that cultural clashes exist in the work and contributed to the final play-out of the story, where the traditional belief system had to make way for western ones; making things (cultural beliefs) fall apart. The research reveals that the male characters have both cultural and individual masculine idiosyncrasies and that the complexities of male roles confirm the pluralistic and slippery nature of masculinity. Key words: Masculinity, gender discourse, hegemony, sexuality, Nigerian novel
Highlights
The theme of clash of culture in Achebe‟s Things Fall Apart (1958) is not new as several scholars have written severally on the topic, what is new is the treatment of Masculinity and how it affects or contributes to Culture clash in the text
The research reviews the discourse of masculinity and culture clash by gendering the two societies in focus – western culture and African Traditional culture to ascertain which is masculine and which is feminine
The plot in Things Fall Apart suggests that colonial conquest helped undermined the authority and power base of senior men in the African/Nigerian community as colonial officers, labour recruiters and young men challenge titled chiefs and fathers, attacking the dominant idea of masculinity
Summary
This research analyses Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) from the angle of masculinity and culture clash (traditional vs western) as brought about by westernisation. The findings of the research confirmed that African viewpoint of masculinity and culture tends to be opposed to that of the Europeans, as the actions and behaviours appropriate to a man in each society tend to differ. This led to different clashes from religious, cultural, ideological, to social beliefs. The research reached the conclusion that cultural clashes exist in the work and contributed to the final playout of the story, where the traditional belief system had to make way for western ones; making things (cultural beliefs) fall apart. The research reveals that the male characters have both cultural and individual masculine idiosyncrasies and that the complexities of male roles confirm the pluralistic and slippery nature of masculinity
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