Things Fall Apart Essay
Alizee Natsoulis
Ms Hauskens
BIHS Global Literature, P2
Success is in the Eye of the Beholder
Okonkwo, from Things Fall Apart by Chiuna Achebe, fits perfectly into the tragic hero archetype. His characteristics, initially seen as qualities, help him acheive the status of a titled clansmen and a respected warrior. However, these qualities eventually turn into tragic flaws and end up causing Okonkwo’s downfall. These three tragic flaws are: his pride, his determination to be manly and his narrow mindset.
Initially Okonkwo’s pride serves him well and leads him to become a respected man in Umofia. He uses his pride as a mecanism to avoid showing signs of weakness and maintaining his respected status in Umofia. His personal pride allows him to celebrate his success and seperate himself from the shame of his father: “He had begun even in his father’s lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. It was slow and painful. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (18). By examining this quote, it becomes clear that his motivation in life is to never be associated with his father’s failure. It’s almost as if he feels he must carry the weight of both him and his father. His success is a compensation for his father’s failures. His hard work is motivated by his “fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (13). As successful man Okonkwo has reason to be proud, however he often gets carried away by his lack of patience and respect for those less fortunate than him and ends up offending others. This causes him to alienate himself from his fellow clansmen. For example during a town meeting a man of no titles contradicts Okonkwo. He retaliates by insulting this man in a very passive agressive way: “This is a meeting for men”
Ms Hauskens
BIHS Global Literature, P2
Success is in the Eye of the Beholder
Okonkwo, from Things Fall Apart by Chiuna Achebe, fits perfectly into the tragic hero archetype. His characteristics, initially seen as qualities, help him acheive the status of a titled clansmen and a respected warrior. However, these qualities eventually turn into tragic flaws and end up causing Okonkwo’s downfall. These three tragic flaws are: his pride, his determination to be manly and his narrow mindset.
Initially Okonkwo’s pride serves him well and leads him to become a respected man in Umofia. He uses his pride as a mecanism to avoid showing signs of weakness and maintaining his respected status in Umofia. His personal pride allows him to celebrate his success and seperate himself from the shame of his father: “He had begun even in his father’s lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. It was slow and painful. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (18). By examining this quote, it becomes clear that his motivation in life is to never be associated with his father’s failure. It’s almost as if he feels he must carry the weight of both him and his father. His success is a compensation for his father’s failures. His hard work is motivated by his “fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (13). As successful man Okonkwo has reason to be proud, however he often gets carried away by his lack of patience and respect for those less fortunate than him and ends up offending others. This causes him to alienate himself from his fellow clansmen. For example during a town meeting a man of no titles contradicts Okonkwo. He retaliates by insulting this man in a very passive agressive way: “This is a meeting for men”