Catharsis in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

Dlnya Abdalla Mohammed Ali  Ali

doi:10.25098/5.1.5

Authors

Dlnya Abdalla Mohammed Ali Department of English, College of Basic Education, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniya, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25098/5.1.5

Keywords:

Catharsis,, Analytical Study, Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Abstract

Catharsis in literature refers to the point at which the tension that has been built within the reader in the course of reading a work of literature gets released. The novel Things Fall Apart (1958) by Chinua Achebe focuses on a young Nigerian man of great fame who cannot be subject to domination by the white man. As a result, the story is characterized by a series of tense moments when the reader's suspense builds to the brim. Nevertheless, catharsis comes at different points, starting with when Okonkwo can win the wrestling fight against Amalinze the Cat. Beginning with this victory, the reader gets to release tension at various times throughout the story, such as when Okonkwo becomes repentant of his mistakes and pays the fine to the earth goddess, when Ikernefuna arrives in Umuofia, and finally when Okonkwo commits suicide to seal his tragic fate. This analytical discussion of Things Fall Apart aims at identifying the critical points within the story when catharsis occurs, allowing the reader to release the inwardly built-up emotions at different points in the story.

References

Achebe, C. (2013). Things Fall Apart. United Kingdom, UK: Penguin Books Limited.

Adade-Yeboah, A. & Owusu, E. (2013). The tragic hero of the modern period—The African Concept. English Language and Literature Studies, 3(4), 37-44.

Ahmed, A. (2018). "Things Fall Apart" as tragedy. Retrieved from http://www.askliterature.com/novel/things-fall-apart-as-tragedy/

Begam, R. (1997). Achebe's sense of an ending: history and tragedy in "Things Fall Apart". Studies in the Novel, 29(3), 396-411

Câmpu, A. (2014). Irony and tragedy in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. Philology and Cultural Studies, 7 (56), 43-49.

James, N. (2010). Authority vs community: Counter perspectives from Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner, 1-77.

Purwarno & Irawati (2008). Aristotle's concept of tragedy and tragic hero in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart". Julisa, 8 (1), 34-43.

Silue, L. (2019). Tradition versus modernity in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 6 (2), 102-111.

Worth, S. (2000). Aristotle, Thought, and Mimesis: Our Responses to Fiction. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 58(4), 333-339.