Aristotle's Poetic In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

Answer: In Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo is a tragic hero. Aristotle’s Poetics defines a Tragic Hero as a good man of high status who displays a tragic flaw ‘hamartia’ and experiences a dramatic reversal ‘peripeteia’, as well as an intense moment of recognition ‘anagnorisis’. Okonkwo is a leader and hardworking member of the Igbo community of Umuofia whose tragic flaw is his great fear of weakness and failure. Okonkwo’s fall from grace in the Igbo community and eventual suicide, makes Okonkwo a tragic hero by Aristotle’s definition.

A tragic hero is a character that performs courageous actions but develops a tragic flaw as they move on with their lives. The effects of the flaw begin to increase and the character usually makes unwise choices. It often leads to his downfall or even death. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is depicted as a tragic hero. He lived a life full of contradiction. He desired to be successful and achieve everything he wanted but he ended up committing suicide. The author develops a story in which Okonkwo has to make a lot of decisions and sometimes he makes the wrong choices without himself knowing, which eventually causes his own death. He is a tragic hero in the story for the sacrifices

Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary

A tragic hero, determined by Aristotle, must show a nobility and virtue of a certain magnitude however, their path to happiness should be ceased by their destructive vice (Harmartia- the flaw that eventually leads to their downfall). Peripeteia, the point where the character’s fortune changes, must evoke a state of pity and fear amongst the audience, and give above all, a didactic message. The outcome of this characteristic should result in a complex but sole instigation of both the hero’s

In literature, a tragedy is defined as a drama where the main character in the end suffers extreme sorrow because of their mistakes or poor judgment. The characters that are fated to suffer the extreme sorrow, the tragedy, are (called) tragic characters. These tragic characters, however, must follow Aristotle’s principles which include:

Aristotle presents that there is a complex relationship between tragedy and emotions. For him, it is expressed through pity and fear. Konstan argues:

In the Poetics, Aristotle provides an outline of how the artist is to portray or represent the perfect Tragedy. A Tragedy, of course, was nothing more than a drama, in which the characters appeared "better" than in real life (in a comedy, they appeared "worse," according to Aristotle). Aristotle's Poetics makes several references to other dramatic works to illustrate his points, but he most commonly calls upon The Odyssey to support his argument for how a dramatic structure should be designed. However, along with the Odyssey, Aristotle extensively references Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Both poetic works were enormously popular in their time (the former had been passed down orally for generations, and the latter won the top prizes at the dramatic festivals). Therefore, Aristotle is comfortable using both to support his viewpoint concerning Tragedy and the Tragic Hero. This paper will analyze the standards that Aristotle sets out concerning the definition of the Tragic Hero and show how Sophocles' Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle's definition of a Tragic Hero.

“...a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart. A proud heart can survive general failure because such failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone”(21). In Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo can be considered a tragic hero because he follows Aristotle's criteria of being a tragic hero, he was a respected and successful leader until his fatal flaw.

What is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary, noble character who makes a judgment mistake that eventually leads to his/her downfall. In the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is our tragic hero. His leadership and eventual nobility, big reversal as a character, and his tragic flaws that lead to his downfall, are classic examples why Okonkwo is a tragic hero.

The book Things Fall Apart, has a main character named Okonkwo who fulfills Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. In the book, Okonkwo is born into a family that is not known for doing anything to set themselves apart in the Umuofia clan, a lower Nigerian tribe, consisting of 9 connected villages. In fact, when he grows up he makes a promise to himself that he wants to be the complete opposite of his father who died leaving many village debts unsettled. When Okonkwo grew up he became a well respected warrior,

Tragedy as an element of the human experience has been the subject of many of the great works of literature written in the Western tradition. For some, tragedy embodies the highest form of humanity. It is through suffering that we are able to reveal ourselves most completely. Others see tragedy as an element of morality where we are to learn well the lessons of those who tempt the gods. The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, outlined a theory of tragedy as archetypal drama in his classic work, the Poetics. He uses the play by Sophocles, Oedipus the King (hereafter "Oedipus"), as the standard model by which all other tragedies are measured. In Aristotle's view, a perfect

Okonkwo, a man coming from a past of failure left on his name by his father, forced to overcome his father's disappointment by prevailing over troubled times and cultural cullisons receiving the label of a “tragic hero.” The meaning of tragic hero can be diverse in many ways depending on the person and the situation. Which in this case, a tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle a character who is noble in nature, has a tragic flaw and discovers his own fate by his own actions. In Things fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo could be known as a tragic hero since he is adequate for all of Aristotle’s criteria for being a tragic hero and being a well respected leader in Umuofia, having a serious tragic flaw which then drove him to discover his fate

In life no one can do anything perfectly or even be perfect. Well, a character, Okonkwo, in the novel Things Fall Apart strived to be perfect and to become successful in his village in Nigeria. However, this fame came with a flaw that slowly ate him apart and lead to his downfall. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Okonkwo proves himself to be a tragic hero, in which his flaws lead to his downfall. At first, Okonkwo is fabulously wealthy with yams, wives, and his titles but then his anger lets loose and brings him down.

In the book Things Fall apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a high status ruler in the village of Umuofia. Although he is very respected throughout the village, he has many flaws that make him a tragic hero. A tragic hero is described as a character who is a high ruler of a society. They are not thoroughly good or bad, but in a sense are better than everyone. Tragic heroes usually have a tragic flaw that they realize when it is already too late. Okonkwo has many of these characteristics. He is a high ruler of society who thinks he is better than everyone, and has a tragic flaw of being afraid of weakness, which he realizes when it is too late.

Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, portrays the significant characteristics of a powerful leader who has yet made some decisions that lead him to his inevitable self- destruction. Okonkwo, the protagonist of the story, ended up losing everything that ever mattered him. He saw no need to keep living an empty life which was once full of joy, wealth, and family. Through his leadership, fear, and exile Okonkwo is portrayed as the stereotypical Tragic Hero.