Greek Tragedy In Things Fall Apart By Chimamanda Achebe

“ Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity”. Chimamanda Adichie relates how a story can damage, or fix cultural views of a group or an individual, that the world has on them. In Things Fall Apart the ibo culture has a stereotype of being strong that connects them as a whole, but, disconnects them from their own dignity. This stereotype of being strong leads Okonkwo, the protagonist, to make several mistakes throughout his journey. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe incorporates elements of Greek Tragedy, and in doing so, not only conveys the depth of the tragedy of the Ibo people, but also appeals to a wider western audience. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond”(1). …show more content…
These white men are missionaries and soldiers sent to spread the word of God and convert the Ibo people using any means necessary, but if the Ibo people resist the are eradicated. These missionaries reach the village Okonkwo and his family are staying at during his exile and begin preaching the word of God. This catches his son whose “name was Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son”(147) and Nwoye eventually joins the christians which furthers Okonkwo’s emotional self falling apart. In Okonkwo’s eyes Nwoye has joined the enemy and the destroyers of Okonkwo’s beliefs and therefore is also an enemy and so Okonkwo has lost both his adopted son and his eldest real son. The only pieces of him that are still existent are his hope for his home village of Umuofia and that they are warriors and have not changed since he has left and since the white men have …show more content…
And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women.”(183) when he realized that nothing was the same anymore and everything was different he finally had fully fallen apart and the only parts of him left within him is anger and regret that he was not in the village for seven years. Upon all of this he realizes that “ Worthy men are no more” (200) men no longer stand for honor but for cowardice and subjection under the white men. This at its very core destroys any hope within Okonkwo that he still held on to. He thought his people would fight against the white men but instead they listen and work with the white men and are cowards to them. All of his beliefs are gone and he is the shell of his former