Tragedy In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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Whether it be literature, films, plays, music, or other developed forms of media, there have always been meaningful lessons and themes displayed throughout works published to the world. Often times these messages conveyed will vary depending on the genre they’re depicted under and one predominantly memorable genre that many advanced literature authors have developed great works around are tragedies. This includes seminal Greek tragedies written by authors such as Homer, and influential works developed in the Renaissance as by famous playwrights such as Shakespeare. Due to the great milestones tragedy writers have achieved, in today’s modern time it’s quite difficult to look at an original work and determine whether or not it is a tragedy. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is one of those works that provoke thought in the reader, even ending with a scene that brings forth different feelings. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy comes in a considerable length, essentially creating a checklist for readers to compare any work of literature to. While by technicality, Things Fall Apart fits the definition of a tragedy; personally, the story did not seem evoke enough angst nor pity or fear during the …show more content…

The plot of Things Fall Apart is heavy and brings forth many thoughts about cultural collisions that have happened in our history, but whether or not the plot of the protagonist’s life itself was a tragedy is hard to say. This novel has shown the upcoming, growth, and eventual ruin of a powerful character, which matches all the criteria the Greek philosopher Aristotle required in a great tragedy. However, while the novel has shown the undoing of a vital character such as Okonkwo, it also presents a difficult question about cultural norms: if an action or incident is considered a vice in one culture, but a deep misfortune in another, does it really then make it

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