The document outlines the key elements of an Aristotelian tragedy: evoking pity and fear in the audience, having an admired heroic protagonist, the hero's downfall stemming from their own mistake or decision, an anagorisis moment of realization, a hamartia or tragic error, a moment of hubris and feeling of false pride, nemesis as facing consequences for hubris, a peripateia pivotal decision, and catharsis providing resolution and relief for the audience. Two students, Olivia and Mikaela, debate whether Things Fall Apart fits the model of an Aristotelian tragedy, with Olivia arguing it does and Mikaela arguing it does not due to Okonkwo's un

2. Key Elements of Aristotelian Tragedy
• Evokes pity and fear in the audience.
• Hero must be admired and essentially “good.”
• Hero’s downfall comes from his own personal
decision or mistake.
• Anagorisis – The moment in which the Hero
clearly sees the fate and destruction that awaits
him.
• Hamartia – The Hero’s tragic error that causes his
own downfall.
• Hubris – Short lived moment in which the Hero
feels false pride and gets himself into deep shit.
• Nemesis – When the Hero has to pay for his
Hubris.

3. Key Elements Continued
• Peripateia – The decision made by the Hero
that makes the situation go from okay to bad.
• Catharsis – The audience’s feeling of relief and
resolution and the end.

4. Olivia’s Opinion: Things Fall Apart is an
Aristotelian Tragedy. (1/2)
• Things Fall Apart is an Aristotelian tragedy because of the
personal connection I feel with Okonkwo, and the book’s
following of the key elements required for an Aristotelian
tragedy. Throughout the book, I felt fear and pity for all the
characters. The “Hero”, Okonkwo, is admired by his clan, and
is meant to be admired by the reader of the story. For me, he
was seen as essentially “good.” Okonkwo’s downfall in the
story is when his clan begins to convert to Christianity, which
is seen as his own fault because he left for 7 years, and
because he is stubborn.

5. Olivia’s Opinion: Things Fall Apart is an
Aristotelian Tragedy. (2/2)
• The Anagorisis is Okonkwo seeing that it is too late for his clan
to go back to the way things were. His Hamartia would be him
leaving. The Hubris is when Okonkwo kills the
messenger, thinking it is okay, and that the rest of the clan
would agree with his choice, which they didn’t. His Nemesis is
when he kills himself, because he is paying for his mistake of
killing his own pride, by killing himself.

6. Mikaela’s Opinion: Things Fall Apart is
NOT an Aristotelian Tragedy
• The book Things Fall Apart is not an Aristotelian Tragedy for
various reasons. First, the Hero, Okonkwo, is not a
character that the entire audience can find to be “good.” As
a closed minded, wife beating, powerful, and hateful
man, there is no pity or sadness evoked when his life begins
to spiral out of control. The decisions he makes may be
heroic when he tries to save his culture. Yet, he goes about
it in a destructive and ridiculous way, making almost no
progress, so this causes you to feel no pity for him, as he
lacks compromise and logical ways thinking. Not to
mention, majority of the audience this book was written for
are White Christians and Okonkwo’s actions would make
them feel attacked or disrespected. There is no Anagorisis
because Okonkwo is too blinded by his own pride…

7. Mikaela’s Opinion Continued.
• To spot the error of his ways and impending doom.
Also, even as Okonkwo makes his own bad
decisions, not all of his problems arise from himself
alone, but rather the white men and other members of
his own tribe and the traitors who become Christians.
In the end, there is no Catharsis, because instead of
feeling resolved at the end or even sad, the feelings are
almost nonexistent or detached after the death of
Okonkwo. Even though an argument can be made in
favor of Things Fall Apart being an Aristotelian
tragedy, it is weak when placed against the lack of
emotional responses required for that kind of writing. I
do not feel the author’s goal was tragedy, but rather to
show how in a world of change, compromise is
necessary.