Igbo and American Culture

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, I noticed that the Igbo society is completely different from America’s society today. In the novel, men are always in charge of households and polygyny is often seen in homes. There are many more ideas in Igbo culture that are different from American culture.

In American homes, Sometimes men are in charge of their households but, sometimes the women are the ones who call the shots. In Igbo society, it is out of line for a wife to not follow through their husbands instructions  “Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his youngest wife, who went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal.” After not being home early enough to cook lunch, Okonkwo beat his wife severely. In America, men would be sent to jail for committing such crime. Okonkwo was only punished because he disturbed the week of peace.

In Igbo culture, many homes are raised around polygyny. Polygyny is when a man is married to multiple women. In Igbo culture usually successful men have many wives. This displays how they can support a big family and still be financially stable. In America,  polygamy is illegal and is seen to be wrong. Polygyny cases are hardly seen in America.

All in all, the differences in Igbo culture and American culture is very clear. Polygyny and the role of men in Igbo homes are two examples of differences from the two cultures. There are also many other differences between the American and Igbo culture. Some of the head-turning differences are the wife being the head of the house instead of the man, or that a husband is common to have multiple wives.