Pickle-ing Yourself Ain't the Only Option

Throughout the works of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, the authors choose to archetypally depict defiance through a character's suicide In all three works, things began to fall apart as the conflicts of their worlds that were put against them continued to increase in severity when,  Okonkwo returns to a whitewashed clan, Tommen is betrayed by his own mother, and Juliet is to be married to Paris. In looking at the surface, it can be obviously seen that these events caused a rift in emotional imbalance leading to them ignoring their own instinct of survival, however these characters all share one trait; defiance.

After returning home after seven years of exile, much of the culture of the Igbo people has been compromised from colonization. Okonkwo, ironically benefits from this event; he retains his rich culture. Upon returning the a whitewashed village, he becomes shocked at the events that have transpired. After all, he planned to accomplish his dreams of becoming the head of his people. In his refusal to assimilate to Christian beliefs, he is punished. With his choice to hang himself, however, he enacts his last feat of defiance. He symbolically hangs himself to a tree in the Evil Forest to mark the death of the Igbo culture and his extreme loyalty to it. After all, it is tradition for sinners to die in the Evil Forest.

Tommen, who becomes king after his brother's poisoning, is given more responsibility than he can handle in his raw age. In my opinion, I always viewed him as a very weak character due to his immaturity and inability to make decisions on his own. I however, understand the reason behind this flaw and acknowledge it. As conflicts begin to arise within the Tyrells, with the accusations of lying under oath and being gay, the two Tyrell grandchildren are arrested and eventually killed by the hands of Cersei, Tommen's mother. After realizing that his own mother killed his wife, whom he loved very much, and undermined his rule for her benefit, he kills himself in defiance of accepting the betrayal of his own mother who is ironically is meant to be the one he could seek comfort in (alluding to one of the passages in Things Fall Apart)

In the play Romeo & Juliet it is no secret that the star-crossed lovers end up dying. In their time together, they felt as if the passion they experienced was meant to be for life and so, they devised a plan to secretly get married. Through some miscommunication, Romeo drinks poison after seeing that Juliet is "dead". Juliet, after seeing that Romeo is actually dead, stabs herself. As bluntly as I stated it, it's basically what happens in the play. With their choice to kill themselves, they also illustrate defiance in accepting their fate that was influenced by a feud who's reason was long forgotten.
Star-crossed. Hello? Not meant to be.