things fall apart tragedy essay
What is a tragedy? A tragedy, defined by Webster’s dictionary, is a serious drama that typically describes a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror. In things fall apart the tragic hero, Okonkwo, has a major character flaw or hamartia and suffers a downfall to a peripeteia, which eventually leads to his death. His death was indeed a tragedy but it could have been averted, the Europeans are the main reason for Okonkwo’s downfall.
At first everything seemed to be fine. Umuofia had its own culture and its own beliefs. Okonkwo was the strongest man and the best wrestler in all of the lands. Okonkwo was masculine, industrious, respected, and wealthy. All of a sudden the white missionaries began to arrive in Umuofia and they started to change everything and tried to tell the natives that their ways of life were wrong and they needed to change. “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” (?) As all of that was happening Okonkwo began his downfall and so did the rest of Umuofia, it started to segregate between the old culture and the new ways of the missionaries.
As a tragic hero Okonkwo fits the mold for one almost to the tee, he was noble, with outstanding qualities and greatness. He didn't want to end up as his father did before him. Okonkwo used every muscle in his body to be the complete opposite of his father who was lazy, poor, and a disgrace. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness (13). That is what led to his downfall; it is seen as his tragic flaw, his obsession with not becoming his father.
As I already stated in my
At first everything seemed to be fine. Umuofia had its own culture and its own beliefs. Okonkwo was the strongest man and the best wrestler in all of the lands. Okonkwo was masculine, industrious, respected, and wealthy. All of a sudden the white missionaries began to arrive in Umuofia and they started to change everything and tried to tell the natives that their ways of life were wrong and they needed to change. “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” (?) As all of that was happening Okonkwo began his downfall and so did the rest of Umuofia, it started to segregate between the old culture and the new ways of the missionaries.
As a tragic hero Okonkwo fits the mold for one almost to the tee, he was noble, with outstanding qualities and greatness. He didn't want to end up as his father did before him. Okonkwo used every muscle in his body to be the complete opposite of his father who was lazy, poor, and a disgrace. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness (13). That is what led to his downfall; it is seen as his tragic flaw, his obsession with not becoming his father.
As I already stated in my