Things Fall Apart as a Tragedy
The novel "Things Fall Apart" depicts the life of Igbo people and particularly focuses on the life of Okonkwo, a great warrior and his downfall. It would not be wrong to say that Okonkwo was a Tragic hero whose fall was due to his own recklessness and short-temper.
Even the opening lines of the novels derived from the W.B Yeats's The Second Coming give the impression of the chaos loosened upon the world of Igbo in the form of British imperialists. So the title of the novel Things fall apart tells the negative implications at the end of the novel.
The novel is divided into three parts, the first part provides a description of the life of Igbo people of Africa with an understanding eye of the author, who is an African himself. The second and the third part chronicle the advent of the mighty wave of the Britishers who turned the world of Igbos upside-down. In first and second parts, we vaguely get the omen of future unfortunate happening for both our protagonist and the village of Umuofia.
In the second and the third part, the new religion and administration work in contrary to the Igbos native system. In the beginning, the head of the missionaries, Mr. Brown who was aware of the negative prospects of violent methods, resorts to the soft hegemony. He established hospitals and schools and requested people to admit their children in it. Slowly, this way worked and earned the new religion many new admirers.
But after the taking over of the church by Rev. James Smith, all the reputation built by Brown went in vain. The tussle grew bitter and bitter. Later, the killing of the messengers by Oknonkwo upon their order to stop the meeting and people's indignant attitude towards this act depleted all his morale. Division among Igbo people remained the main cause for our hero's suicide. In fact, if people supported Okonkwo and other warriors who were keen to fight against the imperialists then he hadn't died an undignified death. In the end, the great warrior like him couldn't even get a revered burial by its people because of their belief that committing suicide was an abomination to the earth.
The novel ended with the District Commissioner learning about Okonkwo and wondering if he could add his unusual story in his novel which he named: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.
Hence, we can say that the novel depicts tragedy on the part of our protagonist, Okonkwo died a pitiful death at his own hands.
Even the opening lines of the novels derived from the W.B Yeats's The Second Coming give the impression of the chaos loosened upon the world of Igbo in the form of British imperialists. So the title of the novel Things fall apart tells the negative implications at the end of the novel.
The novel is divided into three parts, the first part provides a description of the life of Igbo people of Africa with an understanding eye of the author, who is an African himself. The second and the third part chronicle the advent of the mighty wave of the Britishers who turned the world of Igbos upside-down. In first and second parts, we vaguely get the omen of future unfortunate happening for both our protagonist and the village of Umuofia.
In the second and the third part, the new religion and administration work in contrary to the Igbos native system. In the beginning, the head of the missionaries, Mr. Brown who was aware of the negative prospects of violent methods, resorts to the soft hegemony. He established hospitals and schools and requested people to admit their children in it. Slowly, this way worked and earned the new religion many new admirers.
But after the taking over of the church by Rev. James Smith, all the reputation built by Brown went in vain. The tussle grew bitter and bitter. Later, the killing of the messengers by Oknonkwo upon their order to stop the meeting and people's indignant attitude towards this act depleted all his morale. Division among Igbo people remained the main cause for our hero's suicide. In fact, if people supported Okonkwo and other warriors who were keen to fight against the imperialists then he hadn't died an undignified death. In the end, the great warrior like him couldn't even get a revered burial by its people because of their belief that committing suicide was an abomination to the earth.
The novel ended with the District Commissioner learning about Okonkwo and wondering if he could add his unusual story in his novel which he named: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.
Hence, we can say that the novel depicts tragedy on the part of our protagonist, Okonkwo died a pitiful death at his own hands.