My Question and Literature

In Man’s Search for Meaning, the key to survival was keeping a sound mentality. In the concentration camps, if you began to doubt or hope, you were doomed. Viktor Frankl described his experience through an attempt to teach us what had to be done in order to outlast the war. He described indifference as important aspect of life. During the war, anger would only lead to misery and since there was nothing that any of the prisoners could do to change anything from the position they were in. Thus, a feeling of anger or hatred would cause a feeling of worthlessness. This could evolve to become depression or other mental disorders. Additionally, this could lead to a decrease in productivity, which, in the Nazi’s concentration camps, could very well mean the gas chambers, where prisoners breathed their last toxic breaths.
In Things Fall Apart, the focus is on the same issue, though from a completely opposing perspective. Instead of teaching how to survive by acting in a peaceful manner, this shows how death and destruction can follow anger and aggression. This is Okonkwo’s greatest flaw, and prevents him from achieving all that he possibly can. While he is a powerful member of his village of Umuofia, his inability to control his anger haunts him throughout the story. All he wants is to be seen as a great, strong, and powerful human being. However, his actions lead many to question him, therefore scarring his reputation. One specific example comes when Okonkwo beats his wife during the Week of Peace. This is considered a sin, and other than paying a hefty fine of yams, people look at him differently and he is permanently barred from becoming the people’s leader from that point forward.


One often meets his destiny on the path to avoid it.

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