Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart - 1756 Words

The story of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart takes place in Umuofia, a set of villages, where the Nigerian tribe and Ibo people settle. A tribesman and the protagonist named Okonkwo is the famous leader in Umuofia. Okonkwo is very brave, but he stands solo when it comes to deciding to fight. He is afraid of how people will view on him through his actions towards the society because men play big roles in their culture. With his victory against Amalinze the Cat, Okonkwo brought more fame towards his position in the Ibo society. Although his braveness and courageousness in fighting is strong, Okonkwo is afraid to be emotional and thought of weak like his father, Unoka. Unoka is a talented musician, yet he is lazy and irresponsible. He had†¦show more content†¦As he brings the people of Umuofia together to battle, everyone has been played in mind games from the missionaries and causes Okonkwo to lead to frustration and later on to his death. Through what Okonkwo has experienced, Okonkwo plays the role of a tragic hero in literature. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy (Dictionary.com). Okonkwo is a tragic hero by appearing as a hero figure towards the people of Umuofia with a surprising resolution of committing suicide due to his fear of being his father. A tragic hero is not just a famous person dying, but a person with a minor flawed trait in his character or personality. Okonkwo falls from his dignity in the Ibo society and into suicide making him a tragic hero. His tragic flaw, experiences in the setback of his society, and the recognition of what had happened to the Ibo society defines the characteristics of a tragic hero. How we read these characteristics is what helps us determine whether he is really a tragic hero or not. In the course of a successfully tragic work, Aristotle says that the audience should be moved by the actions of the hero to experience the emotions of pity and fear (study.com). Aristotle suggests that a hero of a tragedy must evoke