Essay Comparing Macbeth And Things Fall Apart

1291 Words3 Pages

In works of literature, characters are driven towards their defeat by an uncontrollable force, typical a higher power.. Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a historical fiction novel that takes place in Umuofia, in Nigeria, during the 1900s. In this written work, the protagonist, Okonkwo, is a well respected warrior of his Umuofia clan. He fears of becoming like his cowardly father, Unoka. Okonkwo is haunted by the actions of his father who died in disrepute, leaving village debts unsettled. Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic play that takes place in Scotland in the 1100s. In this play, the protagonist, Macbeth, receives a prophecy from the three witches. The prophecy is that one day he will become king of Scotland. Macbeth soon murders King Duncan and a line of others to take the throne for himself. Then, Macbeth ends up being murdered himself leaving him defeated in the hands of a once friend. In both texts, Things Fall Apart and Macbeth, both mean are brought to their defeat from hubris actions. Their excessive pride guides them towards great …show more content…

Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action. He discerned fright in that tumult. He heard voices asking: “Why did he do it?” (Achebe 205).
This is significant because when Okonkwo was faced by his enemies, he let his pride get in the way and murders the messenger. He kills the messenger in order for Umuofia to go to war, but instead that does not occur because Okonkwo no longer had power. Since Okonkwo’s pride made him take negative actions again, he decided to come up with the decision of committing suicide. Committing suicide was seen as a cowardly act to do, but since Okonkwo had already lost his power due to his pride, he figured the only other option was to hang

Open Document