Heroism In Things Fall Apart

The idea of a tragic hero is far from being just an idea within literature. The tragic hero is found all throughout the modern day; seen in sport injuries and wrongful jail sentences. In these situations, a person makes a decision which eventually leads to their downfall. Things Fall Apart, is a novel written by Chinua Achebe, which takes place in Africa. Inside Africa are the people of the Ibo tribe, where Achebe thoroughly describes the complexity of the customs and traditions. His novel focuses on the story of a man named Okonkwo, and his determination to save the culture he loves. The whole novel is a response to Joseph Conrad’s critically acclaimed novel, Heart of Darkness, where Conrad’s main perspective of the African people is that they are largely uncivilized. …show more content…
In addition to Things Fall Apart, “Butterfly”, another work of Chinua Achebe in which it describes the violent interaction between nature and the human world. Also relating to Achebe’s works,“The Second Coming” by William Yeats details a mythical creature bringing about an armageddon. Both poems relate to Things Fall Apart in their interactions between worlds. These clashing of worlds, such as Christianity and Ibo culture, cause tragedy. Relating back to Things Fall Apart, this clashing of Christianity and Ibo culture prompts Okonkwo to try and save Ibo culture. Despite his efforts to save Ibo culture, all his endeavors fail, and Okonkwo ends up as a tragic hero. His fear of failure and his fiery, hot headed personality causes his resistance from the influence of the Christian religion causing his demise, and reflects the disunity within the Ibo people because they both fall by the Christian