Things Fall Apart As A Tragedy Analysis

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Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” is a novel of tragedy which basically portrays a conflict between white colonial government and culture of Ibo society in Nigeria. According to Aristotle, “tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.” Tragedy depicts the downfall of a basically good person through some fatal error or misjudgment, producing suffering and insight on the part of the protagonist and arousing pity and fear on the part of the audience. However, “Things Fall Apart” can be portrait as a tragedy through some elements such as plot - an arrangement of incidents, character, diction, thought, melody/song and spectacle in hierarchal order.

Tragedy can be portrayed through plot as a supreme element, which is basically a construction of actions through a character. According to Aristotle in his Poetics, the tragic hero is an intermediate person who is filled with tragic flaw (hubris /hamartia) (Butcher, 2000). Okonkwo in “Things Fall Apart” commits a crime due to his hubris or …show more content…

A great warrior Okonkwo have gone through great trouble in the story and influenced the reader through his fear and weakness. Nandhini (2014) claims that, “No individual or civilization can either remain static or evolve forever towards a more inclusive perfection.” Therefore, at the end everything has fallen apart for Okonkwo and the centre cannot hold. Hence, the novel involves a reversal of fortune brought about by his tragic flaw that leads the audience to feel pity and fear for this

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