Things Fall Apart

     Something that stands out to me in the book is the expectations that men are held to in the Igbo society. In this story, the men are expected to be strong leaders and are looked down on if they show their emotions. Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was a free-spirited musician who lived a life free of stress and ambition. For these actions, Unoka was shamed by the village and labeled as lazy, unmotivated and a worthless waste of space, considering that he did not help out during the harvest. Okonkwo is ashamed of his father and becomes a harsh, stone-faced father and leader of the Igbo who does not express his emotions, except for anger, for fear of being seen as weak or feminine. His fear of being shamed by the people because of laziness and gentleness like his father, he forces himself to hide his feelings and to focus on being an independent, determined, and ambitious provider for the people.
     In this society, men are unable to openly express themselves and must strive to make themselves what the people view as a "perfect man." This is troublesome to me becasue the men in this society restrtain themselves from showing love to their families and from doing or saying what they want. The idea of strong is misinterpreted by this society because they view it as being strict and emotionally unresponsive rather. However, being strong means that even if you are suffering and have become emotionally broken, you are able to find ways to overcome the obstacles that you endure and recover from them. By expecting the men to hide their emotions the Igbo society is essentially forcing the men to have stone-cold, inhuman personalities.