Tragedy In Things Fall Apart

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The novel Things Fall Apart (1958) tells a story about a traditional African whose name is Okonkwo. By describe his tragic life the author Chinua Achebe reflects the conflicts between the traditional folklore and the colonial culture, barbarism and civilization, deity and humanity, tradition and modernity, foreign culture and native culture in Africa. The tragedy of Okonkwo is actually reflects the tragedy of its time, society, and state than the one of an individual. The death of Okonkwo symbolizes the end of the primitive folkloric culture, and imply the beginning of a whole new civilization. Okonkwo, as the protagonists of this book, “was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond” because he was the greatest wrestler among the villages. When he was eighteen, he defeated Amalinze who was unbeaten for seven years. Okonkwo had many wives and children, which is a really normal social phenomenon in Africa states. He is not a nice person, he does not have patience, and he pounce people very often, even his wives. Unlike his poor father Unoka, Okonkwo was a wealthy farmer. He also fought in two inter-tribal wars, and ate with kings and elders. “Okonkwo was still young, he was already one of the greatest men of his time.” His era was full of drastic changes: it was the time that Africa been colonized by white people. However, Okonkwo did not follow the changes. Instead of going along with the historical trend, he decided to be a protector of traditional folk culture, resisted the new culture by colonists. In a funeral held by his tribe, Okonkwo accidentally fired a gun and killed one of his own people. According to his tribal traditions, he was sent to exile for seven years. As a folk hero, he did not give up, he wanted ... ... middle of paper ... ...nflicts of old and new culture. Through waging long, difficult struggles, the new culture started to develop and the old culture fell apart. This is unavoidable. At the end of story, the death of “one of the greatest men in his time”, implied the end of a savage folk culture and a start of a new civilization. In the end of this book, the huge conflicts between two cultures still struggling, in fact, it is still happening nowadays. Although the sound of globalization has spread all over the world, modern civilization has become majority, in Africa, ethnic conflict is still existing. Sometimes it even cause bloodshed. From this view, the fall of Umuofia is not end at all. Even though new culture is unavoidable, Africans can change their old culture and try to blend in the new culture, therefore they can create their own new culture that appropriate for African people.

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