Things Fall Apart and Exile
Final Essay Outline
I. Introduction
A. Exile can be the self-imposed banishment from one’s home or given as a form of punishment. Exile results in solitude; leaving people only time to reflect upon their self.
B. The main characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Tempest, and Things Fall Apart all encounter exile due to their actions.
C. (THESIS) – The protagonists, Gilgamesh, Prospero, and Okonkwo all have experiences of exile which alienate them from their homeland, but as hurtful as it is for them to go through; their experience alienates them causing them to overcome trials and enriches their lives in a way that reveals their true character.
D. Each character has a different experience of exile, but it causes them all to face the consequences it brings; revealing their true inner self.
II. First Protagonist’s Exile – Gilgamesh
A. Gilgamesh’s exile experience is one that is brought upon by his own free will and is a spiritual and emotional experience.
1. He is a king who is selfish, has no compassion for other people, and only wants to use his power to take from others. “Gilgamesh was a tyrant to his people” (Mason 15).
2. Through friendship, Gilgamesh learns that he can care for someone other than himself. He learns companionship can make him stronger and more confident. “Gilgamesh was certain with his friend beside him” (Mason 31).
B. His experience of exile leaves him alone with grievance as his only companion.
1. Gilgamesh is “overcome with pain” and chooses to go into solitude after the death of his best friend, Enkidu. (Mason 60).
2. He abandons the world he loves which is full of desire, wealth, power, and pleasure and begins a journey to seek eternal life, hoping to change the fate of his own death.
C. Gilgamesh’s experience of exile is enriching because it brings him to be more human-like; capable of feeling emotion (love, grief, remorse, sadness).
1. His best friend
I. Introduction
A. Exile can be the self-imposed banishment from one’s home or given as a form of punishment. Exile results in solitude; leaving people only time to reflect upon their self.
B. The main characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Tempest, and Things Fall Apart all encounter exile due to their actions.
C. (THESIS) – The protagonists, Gilgamesh, Prospero, and Okonkwo all have experiences of exile which alienate them from their homeland, but as hurtful as it is for them to go through; their experience alienates them causing them to overcome trials and enriches their lives in a way that reveals their true character.
D. Each character has a different experience of exile, but it causes them all to face the consequences it brings; revealing their true inner self.
II. First Protagonist’s Exile – Gilgamesh
A. Gilgamesh’s exile experience is one that is brought upon by his own free will and is a spiritual and emotional experience.
1. He is a king who is selfish, has no compassion for other people, and only wants to use his power to take from others. “Gilgamesh was a tyrant to his people” (Mason 15).
2. Through friendship, Gilgamesh learns that he can care for someone other than himself. He learns companionship can make him stronger and more confident. “Gilgamesh was certain with his friend beside him” (Mason 31).
B. His experience of exile leaves him alone with grievance as his only companion.
1. Gilgamesh is “overcome with pain” and chooses to go into solitude after the death of his best friend, Enkidu. (Mason 60).
2. He abandons the world he loves which is full of desire, wealth, power, and pleasure and begins a journey to seek eternal life, hoping to change the fate of his own death.
C. Gilgamesh’s experience of exile is enriching because it brings him to be more human-like; capable of feeling emotion (love, grief, remorse, sadness).
1. His best friend
Cited: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: First Anchor Books Edition, 1994. Print. Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh A Verse Narrative. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Print. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat & Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1994. Print Sutton, Brian. “Virtue Rather Than Vengeance”: Genesis and Shakespeare’s The Tempest” Explicator. 66.4 (2008): 224-229. Print.