Colonized Masculinities: A Connell–fanon Analysis of Okonkwo (Things Fall Apart) and Minke (Bumi Manusia)

This study explored the construction, destabilization, and reconfiguration of masculinity in the context of colonial disruption as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) and Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Bumi Manusia (1980). It utilized qualitative comparative literary analysis and close reading, guided by R.W. Connell's relational theory of masculinity and Frantz Fanon's exploration of colonial subject formation, recognition, and violence. Passages related to themes of masculine authority, hierarchy, fear and shame, violence, relationships, and interactions with colonial institutions were identified and analyzed using an integrated analytical framework. The findings indicated that Okonkwo's authority was rooted in his achievements and the recognition he received within an Igbo communal structure, which was gradually undermined by colonial institutions. His efforts to reestablish authority through violence ultimately failed when the clan ceased to adhere to the old social order. In contrast, Minke established his masculine identity within an already existing colonial racial hierarchy. While education and writing provided him with intellectual agency, colonial law still limited his recognition and hindered his ability to protect those he cared about. The comparison indicated that colonial disruption did not create a uniform path for colonized masculinity. The concepts of anchored masculinity and positioned masculinity were introduced as context-specific terms to describe the differing circumstances in which the two protagonists navigated authority and sought recognition.