'"'Novelists have a less or more sympathetic interest in the contradictions of human behavior.'"' In what ways, and by what means, are such contradictions presented in the works you have read? Novelists Achebe and Goethe realize that people are not constants, reasoning that although people certainly have flaws, they can still be admired and achieve greatness. Authors show that contradictions are not necessarily the marks of an irrational person. In each of the …
showed first 75 words of 1382 total

showed last 75 words of 1382 total
…coffin. No clergyman attended.'"' (p. 167). Achebe and Goethe present a deeply flawed protagonist and have convinced audiences to feel sympathy, thinking, "Oh, cruel fate! He was only human!" Novels such as Things Fall Apart and The Sorrows of Young Werther arouse sympathy because of the protagonist's greatness: the tragedy of the death. The sympathy induced by the tragic elements manages to overthrow a flaw that is so heavy-handed that it leads to suicide.