Compare and contrast the tragedy of Kurtz to Okonkwo

A detailed Summary of Compare and contrast the tragedy of Kurtz to Okonkwo


In "Heart of Darkness" and "Things Fall Apart" two characters faced a tragic ending. Kurtz in "Heart of Darkness" and Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart". Both started with respect and a sense of nobility but yet both had a tragic ending. The tales comes from two views but remotely the same conclusion. In both novels white people came into their land and disrupted their society. The white people in both books looked at the blacks as inferior and full of sin. In both stories it appears that the natives were living without real problems and the white people came in and caused complete confusion and mayhem. The purpose of this essay is to tell about the stories and what was different, tell about Kurtz, tell about Okonkwo, and give a comparison of their tragic ending.

When the white people came into each town in Africa they assumed they had the right to be there. The natives did not speak the white people's language nor did they understand their politics or customs. Thus, the natives were unable to understand he white peoples purpose until it was too late. In Heart of Darkness the effect of the white people was clearly more wretched than


This essay tells what was tragic with these characters and explains their scenarios. Kurtz and Okonkwo were very much different but both witnessed the same fate. Both realizing that the two cultures could not mix and the teachings of the Europeans were too different from African culture to tamper with.

Kurtz is in charge of the most productive ivory station in the Congo. Hailed universally for his genius and eloquence, Kurtz becomes the focus of Marlow's journey into Africa. He is the unique victim of colonization; the wilderness captures him and he turns his back on all people and customs that were a part of him and the wilderness ultimately hands him his demise. The natives do not want Kurtz to leave because he has expanded their minds and was seen as a god because of what he knew his customs, and what he brought them. Kurtz does not want to leave because he has essentially become part of the tribe and he knows that he has to take care of what he created because there was no place for them because they would not be accepted.

The death of these characters are nothing less than tragic. Each one worked hard for something with l

Some common words found in the essay are:
Congo Hailed, Fall Apart, Heart Darkness, white people, Kurtz Okonkwo, heart darkness, Europeans African, fall apart, natives living, kurtz leave, african culture,

Approximate Word count = 768
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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