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Byronic Hero In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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“Life can only be understood backwards; it must be lived forwards “ -Soren Kierkegaard In the novel Things Fall Apart,by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is driven by his past.Specifically his relationship with his father, Unoka who was a failure in village standards; he was poor, owed a lot of debt, and was too lazy to do anything about it. Okonkwo saw this as weakness and swore that he would live his life as a stark contrast from his father. Okonkwo’s motivations, interactions, and development of his character and his society suggest that he is a Byronic hero. Okonkwo’s accumulation of wives, yams, and children show his social dominance. In the article titled (“Byronic Hero”) the writer lists the traits of a Byronic hero,one including “Social dominance”. …show more content…

In the article titled “Byronic hero” the author States one of the traits of a Byronic hero “ an Exile an outcast or an outlaw”.Achebe explains, “ the only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan”(110). This quotation from chapter thirteen demonstrates that Okonkwo, when he killed another clan member was exiled because of it. He would lose everything except the things he would bring with him. The trait is supported by the crime against the Earth goddess that Okonkwo committed which is very contrasted from society. In conclusion Okonkwo committing this crime wish throws him into exile shows that he was outcasted by

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