Okonkwo A Tragic Hero Analysis

Answer: In Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo is a tragic hero. Aristotle’s Poetics defines a Tragic Hero as a good man of high status who displays a tragic flaw ‘hamartia’ and experiences a dramatic reversal ‘peripeteia’, as well as an intense moment of recognition ‘anagnorisis’. Okonkwo is a leader and hardworking member of the Igbo community of Umuofia whose tragic flaw is his great fear of weakness and failure. Okonkwo’s fall from grace in the Igbo community and eventual suicide, makes Okonkwo a tragic hero by Aristotle’s definition.

The destruction of Okonkwo was revealed slowly throughout the books. He started to make some poor decisions, which became the beginning of his downfall. He killed Ikemefuna just because he didn’t want to be thought weak. He made unwise decisions to only appear to be strong and manly to others in the village. He did not realize how he lost so much from living that way. When, Okonkwo kills Ogbuefi Ezedu’s son, the real tragedy begins. Other tragic heroes usually have a steadier downfall, but Okonkwo had a direct fall in society due to this event. This puts his family into exile for seven years. After a short period of time, white missionaries arrive to Umuofia. When “The

Okonkwo, in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was faced with many hardships in his life. When growing up he had to deal with a lazy father, then when he was older he had to kill a boy that called him father, and he also accidentally killed a young boy from his village. These events played a very tragic role in Okonkwos life.

Okonkwo is portrayed as a respected individual in many ways. He was a well known person through out the 9 villages and beyond. His successes were based wholly on his personal achievements. For example, he was a warrior and wrestler who gained respect through his athletics. Manliness was a

Tragic heroes are literary characters whose actions and judgment errors inescapably lead to their own self-destruction. In the book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, our tragic hero is Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a man whose biggest fear is being like his father, meaning to be a failure. His actions usually consist of an aggressive, turbulent temper. Even though he appears to be a bad man (personality wise), we can say he’s pretty hardworking and determined. His biggest judgment error in this book, led to his own self-destruction, was killing Ikemefuna, a boy from another village who was sent to Umuofia in the result of a crime that was committed. Even though the killing of Ikemefuna was an accident, this part of the story was the first step to take us

The ancient Greek Philosopher known as Aristotle, defined a tragic hero as someone who has heroic traits that earn them the sympathy of the audience. But, they have possess flaws or make mistakes that lead to their downfall. Aristotle also described several characteristics that portray a tragic hero. Although, there are five main important qualities that he talked about include hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, nemesis, and catharsis. The main character in the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, exhibits these five traits throughout the entire story.

In this novel, Okonkwo fits the traits of being a tragic hero and Achebe does a good job showing tragic hero characteristic throughout the story. Okonkwo is described as a man with high honor, who possess great respect in his tribe. He is a

In the Novel Things Fall Apart the main character Okonkwo is portrayed to be the bad guy in this story. Okonkwo doesn’t just represent being the bad guy, but also portrays being a tragic hero. Okonkwo represents the characteristics of being strict, having pride, and fear which make him a tragic hero. Okonkwo grew up in the same village he lives in, but Okonkwo’s father was a completely different person. His father was a non-respected drunk who showed many signs of weakness.

First, Okonkwo starts off as a poor child, as shown when the book states, “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had, he did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” showing that Okonkwo and his family were penurious, compared to others in the Igbo tribe (Achebe 16). Eventually, through his hard work and effort, he became a noble leader, which emphasizes his role as a tragic hero. Throughout the story Okonkwo goes through many challenges, but “In the face of futility, however, he maintains his nobility of character”(Gaydosik).

Okonkwo is considered a man of high status. He was looked at as a fierce warrior in the clan of Umofia. According to Achebe, “He was a man of action, a man of war.” (10). He was a hard worker throughout his community which had landed him the position as a wealthy farmer. His hard work had obtained him a high ranking throughout the nine villages. Okonkwo 's tragic flaw was simply his fear of weakness or failing, which all had stemmed

Things Fall Apart is a tragic story about a man who comes into conflict against himself to prove himself worthy of his tribe. A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that normally makes a mistake and ends up defeated. The four main criteria for a story to have a tragic hero would be that the main character has a flaw but has some goodness, he is the protagonist of the story, he is noble or exhibits wisdom, and he suffers a reversal of fortune in the end because of his tragic flaw. A tragic flaw of a character is the flaw of the main character that will eventually bring him down. The main character, Okonkwo, meets each of the four criteria to be a tragic hero. His flaw would be that he is violent but he does have some good. He cares for his family; he wants his son Nwoye, to be tough and hardworking like him. Moreover, he wanted his daughter, Ezinma, to be safe. He is a protagonist of the story because he is the main character, he is a hero, and in addition, he is tough. Okonkwo also exhibits wisdom because he is a leader. He is a great warrior and everyone looks up to him to keep them safe. In the end, Okonkwo's flaw of violence and overconfidence got out of control. He became too violent when the church took over. The people of his tribe turned to the church instead of following him so he decided to take action and kill a messenger. The commissioner of the church came after him but he had already hanged himself. Therefore, Okonkwo, meeting every rule, is a tragic

In the book things fall apart okonkwo is a tragic hero because everyone loved him but he also had bad judgement on some things. He was not brought up in a wealthy family and his father was a drunk so he had to make himself loved by the person he had to become. The way he became rich was by wrestling. He had to be the best because he felt like he had to prove himself.The tragic hero's prefers death to purdance. “The comedian prefers playing tricks to winning. Only the villain really plays to win-mason cooley”.

In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the main character, Okonkwo, serves as a tragic hero. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a great character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her’s own downfall. By the end of the novel, Okonkwo’s downfall can be seen when he ends up taking his own life. On one hand, some may argue that Okonkwo was merely a victim of fate. On the other hand, others may also argue that Okonkwo was responsible for his own downfall. I believe that Okonkwo, like all tragic heroes, was ultimately responsible for his own death.

The protagonist of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is also considered a tragic hero. A tragic hero holds a position of power and prestige, chooses his course of action, possesses a tragic flaw, and gains awareness of

In his poetic, a tragic hero cannot be an eminently good man. The suffering of such a man will be shocking. The tragic hero neither can be a bad man nor a villain. According to Aristotle, “The tragic hero is a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is bought about not by voice, but by the some error of judgement” (Aristotle, 1978). The misfortune of such a man will lead to downfall. In Things fall Apart, the main protagonist Okonkwo is considered as tragic hero and he has the all the noble characters. Oknokwo was very successful and renowned in his community. He was the leader of Ibo society and he was also a famous wrestler and successful farmer. With these characters of successful in many ways, he was very wealthy man, hold a high position in the community, he had three wives, and is also best wrestler and worrier. He also rules his family with