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 had one wife. As a child and adolescent, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father and considered him lazy and feminine. Unoka was a debtor, and always borrowed from others and could never repay them.: "Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. But Unoka was such a man that he always succeeded in borrowing more, and piling up his debts" (Achebe, 5). Okonkwo's strength came from the fear of becoming like his father; because of his fear of failure, Okonkwo discouraged laziness among his family. After Unoka had died a p
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