The tragic fall in Things Falling Apart and Heart of Darkness In Things Falling Apart and Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the role of Africa is intertwined. It is seen as extremely primitive and the African belief system is belittled. The two heroes of the novels are also very similar, especially in one aspect. Both experience a fall. This is a vital theme in both books. Aristotle would say that it is the fall of two “tragic heroes”. However, even though these two characters share these similar incidents, readers are given different perceptions of the same event. The colonization of Europeans took a heavy toll on Africans and their way of life. Europeans are constantly portrayed as outsiders. Okonkwo also has some familiarity with Africa, but Marlow does not. In his eyes, Africans are seen as outsiders. Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was seen as a very lazy person who made no contribution to society. This caused Okonkwo to hate him and every trait of any kind related to his father's. One way this is shown is that "Okonkwo never openly showed emotion, unless it was the emotion of anger. Showing emotion was a sign of weakness, the only thing worth showing was strength" (Achebe 28). Okonkwo's greatest weakness was fear, but this is a contradiction in its own terms. His fear of fear played such a large role in his adult life that it came back to haunt him. He never wanted to be considered a victim. Yet, ironically, he was only setting himself up for self-destruction and tragedy. Out of fear, it pushes him to pull the machete and strike, killing first Ikemefuna and then the Court Messenger. Ultimately, this pushes him to suffer physical abuse... middle of paper... d, but instead because he could have been so great. Instead, he becomes cruel, callous and greedy. The real tragedy is that Kurtz did not become the great man he could have been. Okonkwo and Kurtz were two men from opposite ends of the spectrum. Their beliefs did not coincide, but they had one thing in common. Both reached the point of a tragic fall. For one reason or another they both had to leave their homes. This is the sign of their fall. As soon as they leave, the downfall begins, and it doesn't stop until there's nothing left to lose. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1959. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988.Daniel, Heart of Darkness by Patsy J. Conrad. Explainer. 54(3):164-165.