Skip to main content

What is the denouement of the novel Things Fall Apart?

A denouement is the final outcome of a story which generally occurs after the climax. Unresolved events and missing pieces of the story are clarified in the denouement. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the climax occurs when Okonkwo beheads one of the white messengers who was sent to stop the Umuofia people from an eventual uprising. The denouement beginswhen Okonkwo realizes that none the villagers support him, and he knows that the...

A denouement is the final outcome of a story which generally occurs after the climax. Unresolved events and missing pieces of the story are clarified in the denouement. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the climax occurs when Okonkwo beheads one of the white messengers who was sent to stop the Umuofia people from an eventual uprising. The denouement begins when Okonkwo realizes that none the villagers support him, and he knows that the people will not go to war against the colonial government. The District Commissioner travels to Okonkwo's compound to arrest him, only to find out that Okonkwo has hung himself. Okonkwo chose to commit suicide rather than be tried in a colonial court. Obierika comments that it is an abomination for a man to take his own life and says that Okonkwo's body is evil. The villagers pay the foreigners to bury Okonkwo's body, and Obierika tells the District Commissioner that he drove Okonkwo to kill himself. Obierika says that Okonkwo will be buried like a dog, and his legacy is tarnished forever. The District Commissioner finds the story about Okonkwo killing the messenger and hanging himself to be interesting. He is writing a book entitled The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger and thinks that he may even dedicate a whole chapter to Okonkwo's story, but then concludes that a mere paragraph would be reasonable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...
Post a Comment
Read more