Things Fall Apart Tragic Hero Essay
The role of a tragic hero within a story line is essential in a dramatic film or written work. The hero has the standards of becoming a great character that can take charge of the story through courageous action and bold dialogue. However, since the character is deemed a “tragic” hero, his flaws will ultimately be his downfall, usually leading to the characters own demise. Nowhere is this ideal of a tragic hero more relevant that in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart.
The story is set in late nineteenth-century in a small village in Nigeria. The tragic hero in this case is a young man named Okonkwo. He is a dynamic growing character but is doomed from the beginning of the story with two major flaws that in the end will destroy his character. Okonkwo cannot physically display any of his emotions because he thinks it is a sure sign of weakness. His second flaw is that if and when he does show any emotion, it is an uncontrollable rage. Both of these flaws will get Okonkwo into trouble that he cannot handle.
Okonkwo has been taught from a very young age that showing his emotions is a feminine …show more content…
If his ideals were prevalent in someone during this day and age in the United States, it would be quite interesting. It is almost shocking to say, but someone with those characteristics would be very successful in the competitive and fast-pace market of the United States. They could take charge of their business career as well as not buckling under pressure due to the lack of physical emotions. Okonkwo’s manners are instinctual in most humans, no matter how primitive or modern. Wall Street brokers and fast-talking businessmen can be compared to primitive African men whose attitudes have “been masculine-based even before the advent of the white man” (Mezu 1). In a country based on the powerful business ethic of “only the strong survive,” there is no doubt Okonkwo could make it
The story is set in late nineteenth-century in a small village in Nigeria. The tragic hero in this case is a young man named Okonkwo. He is a dynamic growing character but is doomed from the beginning of the story with two major flaws that in the end will destroy his character. Okonkwo cannot physically display any of his emotions because he thinks it is a sure sign of weakness. His second flaw is that if and when he does show any emotion, it is an uncontrollable rage. Both of these flaws will get Okonkwo into trouble that he cannot handle.
Okonkwo has been taught from a very young age that showing his emotions is a feminine …show more content…
If his ideals were prevalent in someone during this day and age in the United States, it would be quite interesting. It is almost shocking to say, but someone with those characteristics would be very successful in the competitive and fast-pace market of the United States. They could take charge of their business career as well as not buckling under pressure due to the lack of physical emotions. Okonkwo’s manners are instinctual in most humans, no matter how primitive or modern. Wall Street brokers and fast-talking businessmen can be compared to primitive African men whose attitudes have “been masculine-based even before the advent of the white man” (Mezu 1). In a country based on the powerful business ethic of “only the strong survive,” there is no doubt Okonkwo could make it