Compassion In Things Fall Apart

Compassion, an intension to understand one’s suffering and show sympathy about it. Origin in Latin which means ‘to suffer with’, an action and acknowledge towards the others suffering. Compassion could be presented through two approaches which are masculine and feminine preference, and these two perspectives hold opposite manner on solving problems. For example, masculine approach usually focuses on the solution whereas feminine approach more towards the emotional understanding. Throughout this semester we have read about different male figures with suffering, and each of them also result in a similar way as a loss of identity. In this essay I would argue that compassion in characters could be divided into two parts, which are the intellectual …show more content…
Okonkwo is a strong male figure who always avoids feminine approach, in which he is proud to maintain his fame in Umuofa. He has been a tough character throughout the story until the death of Ikemefuna. This incident reveals the compassion of Okonkwo, how he struggles to overcome the emotional charge. I believe the display of sadness means weakness to Okonkwo, especially when he is an experienced warrior who always witness death. To a certain extent, I would even argue that the show of pain/loss towards Ikmefuna also jeopardizes his sense of masculinity. Therefore, Okonkwo has a hard time to overcome his feelings. Okonkwo spends two days to soften the feeling of loss, a time when he does nothing but trying to clear his mind from this feminine trait. While the expression of pain/loss is common in our society for both genders, this practice will not be accepted for Okonkwo because of their masculine dominated custom. Just because of this reason, male figures like Okonkwo will never admit their feminine traits. For example, after couple conflicts between the foreign ministers and people in Umuofa, the clan have a meeting to discuss over this issue. While Okonkwo perceives the manner of negotiation as a feminine approach, he kills a massager to express his musicality and commits suicide afterward. Despite the moral issue over suicide, this is an escape from his intellectual confusion and …show more content…
Just like Okonkwo, Daniel Quinn from Paul Auster’s City of Glass also shares the same feeling. Since the story begins with him recovers from the tragic of losing his wife and his son, there is not a significant evidence to understand his personality before this incident. However, the text shows us that Quinn wishes to be dead before. With the idea of withdrawing himself from the world, it suggests that Quinn struggles to overcome the sense of loneliness/pain. In my opinion, the death of his family members lead him to a place of transformation, in which this lonely man has the opportunity to change himself over time. Thus, Quinn shows the compassion of understanding his priority in life, and finally overcomes this emotional struggle after five years. In my opinion, overcome does not mean the ignorance of past memories, but rather to use it as a source of motivation. Although Quinn does not showcase a strong sense of masculine traits in his character, the courage of him to accept a new challenge is remarkable. The mission to protect Peter Stillman junior means more than a challenge to him, in which it also works as the redemption of his past. To a certain extent, Quinn offers the same compassion towards this helpless young man. Since he takes on the responsibility like a father to his son, he simply projects his past into the mission. Ironically, Quinn has been placed into a similar situation like Okonkwo, where