Things Fall Apart
Tragedies are the basis for drama in the Western society. A tragedy is a dramatic narrative where a series of actions turn into disaster for the protagonist, or tragic hero. Aristotelian tragedies give the audience a feeling of catharsis--or a cleansed, happy feeling--in the conclusion. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, derives from the Western tragedy instead of the Aristotelian tragedy because of the hopeless fall of Okonkwo and the Ibo culture. A tragic hero is the main character, or protagonist, in the tragic story or play. This character is a strong and important leader in their society and usually is born of high or noble status. In this novel, Okonkwo plays the role of the tragic hero that modeled the fall of the Ibo culture. Okonkwo differs from most tragic heroes. Tragic heroes are usually born to supremacy, to parents that are noble--gods, kings, or immoral figures in their society. However, Okonkwo is born the son of Unoka, who was the furthest from being a noble person. The Ibo culture is based on rank, or the number of titles a person has taken. The more titles or wives a person possessed, the more successful and wealthy they were. Unoka, Okonkwo's father, hadn't taken a major title and only
Amalinze the Cat was the most famous wrestler throughout the villages at that time, but when matched up with Okonkwo, whose fear was non-existent, there was little doubt in Okonkwo's mind that he would win. Okonkwo's fall derives from the tragic hero of the Western tragedy because of its hopeless and unsatisfying end. Okonkwo wanted to start a war with the white men to save the Ibo from being changed. Okonkwo was a strong man who was unable to change and viewed it as a sign of weakness. Slowly, one by one, many people of the Ibo culture started attending the white man's church and following the beliefs. Throwing Amalinze the Cat immediately gave Okonkwo the hard earned respect that he had deserved. The white men brought the beliefs of the Western society to the people in Okonkwo's village and tried to convince them their religion was fake: " 'All the gods you have named are not gods at all. He started by providing a base for his house, which includes a hut and a barn for the Ibo's most abundant crop: yams. There is only one true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us'" (Achebe, 146). Having wives is a symbol of strong manhood in the Ibo culture; Okonkwo had 3 wives, which represented his high rank in social status. In this novel, Okonkwo's tragic flaw of fearing weakness and change is the reason why he is considered to be a model of a tragic hero in the Western Society. He threatened to beat his son, Nwoye, but he left and never came back. Unoka was a debtor, and always borrowed from others and could never repay them. The reader is left angry and questioning the white men's culture and its domination over another culture's beliefs. The fear of being seen as weak is the one tragic flaw that Okonkwo possessed.
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