How do Okonkwo and Pecola respond to tragedy in their novels?

Introduction:

Definition: Tragedy comes through various forms in the novels explored in class. A tragedy may be an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe. However, in the novels, it is more a story dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

Topic: The main characters Okonkwo, Blanche, Pecola and Esther all deal with tragedy in their life, but each of their responses to it differs from the other.

Thesis: How do Okonkwo and Pecola respond to tragedy in their novels?

Paragraph 1:

Point: First of all, the title of the novel Things Fall Apart foreshadows the tragedy based plot of the story. In this novel, Okonkwo is considered to be a tragic hero because he commits suicide at the end of the story, because of the impact the christian community had on him.

Quote: « “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog... ”, he could not say anymore. His voice trembled and choked his words. »

Analyse: The tragedy in this extract is seen through the action of taking oneselfs life. Okonkwo, considered as an example and one of the strongest and worthiest men in Umuofia has succumbed to the pressure of the colons, and as he is held in high regards by his society, his death is known of all and considered as a terrible loss. Furthermore, the fact the Okonkwo, aka the main character, was the one who commited suicide, reflects upon the fact that the village is also falling apart and succumbing to the influence of the christians. In this extract we can see that Okonkwo's final reaction to tragedy is the escape door that suicide proved to be for him. Finally, Okonkwo’s death is evermore emblematic and relevant when the narrator says : « One could almost write a whole chapter on him », because it shows that even though the christians and the local population have different beliefs, ways of life and cultures, both realised that Okonkwo was the key to keeping peace in the village and stop the christians from overthrowing the africans.

Paragraph 2:

Point: At the beginning of the novel the reader is informed that Okonkwo’s childhood was nothing close to desirable, and the main character has always held his father in shame and disgust. Okonkwo is a man of action and a perfectionist character, who has built his traits from the loathing of his father and his desperate need to get away from his old life.

Quote: « And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death. »

Analyse: Firstly, the hyperbole « possessed by fear » is used to emphasise Okonkwo’s phobia of falling into the steps of his worthless father. Indeed, Okonkwo’s loathing of his father is then put forth with the narrator’s use of the adjectives « contemptible » and « shameful » that describe the life and death of Unoka. Okonkwo fights throughout the whole novel to break free from the image of his disgraceful parent, and proves his determination by being the villages best fighter and legend (seen in the episode with the fight with the Cat), marrying 9 wives and having numerous, as well as exceeding in any other way his father would have failed. However, Okonkwo’s biggest pride is his yam farm that he built from scratch during the harshest year ever in the village. These factors reveal how Things Fall Apart

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