When Things Fall Apart Essay Aristotle believes a tragic hero is “a person who makes a fault in his or her actions that leads to their ultimate downfall”. The novel When Thins s Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe begins as a story about the life of a man named Okonkwo. It tells a story beginning from his childhood and ending with his death. As a child he struggled to be different from his father, who was considered a failure. Although his father was looked upon as a failure in society, in the eyes of the tribe, and by his own son, he contained something that Okonkwo never had: humility and happiness in the smallest things.
And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness (Chapter 2 Pg 3).” This quote shows the truth of how Oknonkwo was not really this cruel, tyrannical man. He lives his life in constant fear of being a failure the same as his dad. Who was very weak and considered lazy by his tribe. Even his father’s death has brought shame to Okonkwo.
He grew up to hate the English rulers of Scotland and this was made worse when his father was killed by an English Knight in Ayrshire in 1291. Later that year when he was visiting his uncle in Dundee he got into a fight with an English soldier who was stabbed to death. From that day William became an outlaw and went into hiding. During the next few years William gathered support and lived like a bandit. He was involved in many raids on the English occupiers and he avenged his father’s death by killing the English knight Fenwick.
For 14-year old Walter, his great uncles’ farm in rural Texas is the last place on earth he wants to spend the summer. Dumped off by his mother, Mae, in the middle of nowhere with two crazy old men and the promise that she’ll come back for him, Walter doesn’t know what to believe in. Eccentric and gruff, Hub and Garth McCaan are rumored to have been bank robbers, mafia hit men and/or war criminals in their younger days. The truth is elusive, although they do seem to have an endless supply of cash. But Walter begins to see a new side to his great uncles when he stumbles on an old photograph of a beautiful woman hidden away in a trunk and asks Garth who she is.
In the realization that his beloved land Umuofia wouldn’t help him in his war, Okonkwo took his life in the most shameful way you could. Suicide. This was the moment all unity was broken for Okonkwo. This was rock bottom. Everything that he had worked so hard for was gone.
The story of Antigone is detailed and known by many. The story tells of two brothers who inherit a kingdom, squabble over power, and end up dead. The city is left to their Uncle Creon, who loses everything dearest to him in his efforts to give unequal burial rights to Polynices, one of the fallen brothers, who brought outsiders to attack the city on his behalf. Antigone, the boys’ sister wants an equal burial for both, but Creon will not allow it. This is where things turn miserable for Creon.
Kameryn Clark Eng. 2 Ms.Castle 4.15.15 Things Fall Apart How can you determine what civilization is? To what extent is too much “too much”? Okonkwo is a self-made, well respected leader of the Umuofia clan who gets exiled for seven years because he accidentally killed a man. Okonkwo’s actions based on the takeover of the Christian group, proves that he is very violent beyond reason.
He has no men, no honor, no loyalty and no love. Instead of having these luxuries of a king, he has an overwhelming guilt – all because he killed Duncan. Macbeth realizes that since he performed many acts of evil, he will not receive good consequences but rather a life of sorrow and depression. On account of understanding what he did was unsound and evil, he accepts that he deserves these and therefore, is considered a classic tragic hero. With the death of Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows an insight of a perfect example of a classic tragic hero.
Any decision they made would be affected by their relationship with the people involved. They also might have a vested interest in the issue. Second and more importantly, some crimes were punished whether they were accidental or not. This is shown in Achebe’s novel when Okwonko accidentally killed a man in his village. According to their religion, Okwonko must live in exile for seven years.
Leeann Kolher/Meier Theme Period 1 13 December 2011 Character Analyst: Okonkwo All people have defining characterizes about themselves. The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe follows Okonkwo, a village leader who one of the most powerful men in Umuofia. Okonkwo’s defining characterizes are that he is diligent, stubborn and narcissistic. Okonkwo shows this though his words and actions in the novel. Okonkwo feels ashamed of his father, Unoka and, fears becoming like him.