Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Authors Avatar

IS THINGS FALL APART A TRAGEDY?

The word "tragedy" refers primarily to a literary composition in which a central character called a tragic protagonist or hero suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental, but in that the misfortune is logically connected with the hero's actions. [1] When we read this definition of tragedy, it gives us a feeling that it is indeed Onkonkwo’s life summarized in a few lines, as in Things Fall Apart, he, being the protagonist has a complete reversal of fortune and in the end, all that he stood for, all his strengths bring him to his downfall. This ideal of a tragedy is very relevant in this novel. The title itself reinstates the fact that ‘things fall apart’ in this novel and therefore, tragedy strikes.

For a work to be called a tragedy, the characters in it must possess certain traits [2]. Hence, to verify that “Things Fall Apart’ is a tragedy; we may analyze the character of the protagonist in this novel, who is Onkonkwo and get an overview of his qualities and traits. Firstly, the hero in the tragedy must be doomed from start, but bear no responsibility for possessing his flaw. In this novel, Onkonkwo since the beginning wished to be different from his effeminate, unsuccessful and lazy father, Unoka. As a result, he adopted his own ideals and values and gained will power, strength and determination. These qualities enabled him to become a great wrestler, strong warrior, wealthy farmer, and a highly respected member of his community. However, as he achieved more in life, his self confidence became his pride and his manliness turned into authoritativeness. Eventually, his strengths became his weaknesses. However, at the same time, Onkonkwo was forced into developing all these traits in him, because he had a fear of weakness due to having a father like Unoka.

Join now!

Another trait of a tragic hero is the fact the he should be a leader, so that his people experience his fall with him. Onkonkwo was indeed an important leader in his village. However, as he became more successful, he became vain and impatient with unsuccessful men. He openly flouted the many customs and traditions of the Ibo due to his unruly and violent behavior. He exhibited his anger unreasonably by beating up his wives and children, as he did in the week of peace which was considered sacred. Onkonkwo, however, committed his worst mistake when he participated in ...

This is a preview of the whole essay