Okonkwo Tragic Hero

Okonkwo was great at many things: being victorious, fighting for a cause, and taking action. Okonkwos fight for justice is seen throughout the book and his victories won from wars are well prominent before his demise. His fight for his beliefs encouraged his last few decisions before he died. Although many thought of Okonkwo as a coward, traitor, and not justifiable he proves himself to be so. The time period in which the book was written had different expectations than modern times. Because of this, what Okonkwo was doing is justified and right. A tragic hero is someone who has made judgement errors, like Okonkwo, that eventually leads to his/her

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.

A tragic hero is a character that performs courageous actions but develops a tragic flaw as they move on with their lives. The effects of the flaw begin to increase and the character usually makes unwise choices. It often leads to his downfall or even death. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is depicted as a tragic hero. He lived a life full of contradiction. He desired to be successful and achieve everything he wanted but he ended up committing suicide. The author develops a story in which Okonkwo has to make a lot of decisions and sometimes he makes the wrong choices without himself knowing, which eventually causes his own death. He is a tragic hero in the story for the sacrifices

Anyone one could go around and call themselves a tragic hero just for fun, but it doesn’t mean the same thing as actually being one, meaning that you can’t become a tragic hero until you see your own downfall. In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, the main character, had started with a bad reputation which caused him to grow up and earn great titles, face troubles due to christian missionaries, and later, face his own downfall. Okonkwo is a tragic hero because his choices not only led to his downfall, but also because he had no way of changing that events that were going to happen.

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.

“...a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart. A proud heart can survive general failure because such failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone”(21). In Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo can be considered a tragic hero because he follows Aristotle's criteria of being a tragic hero, he was a respected and successful leader until his fatal flaw.

The metaphor exemplifies a comparison between Okonkwo and a flame. The flame wholly serves a symbol of masculinity, which are a furious temper, destruction, and vigor. Okonkwo ponders about why Nwoye became an utter failure, which is an effeminate man. Okonkwo is severely displeased as he dreads the potential of Nwoye portraying similarities with his father, Unoka. Any display of femininity to Okonkwo is a lack of vigor within a man. He yearns for his sons to become blistering flames, exhibiting traits similar to himself. Essentially, Okonkwo embodying a scorching flame is the utmost demonstration of masculinity, which utterly causes him to scorn the possibility of his son becoming a feminine man.

A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes a judgement error that leads to their downfall (Cobb). Throughout history there have been many tragic heros, for instance Oedipus. Many tragic heros experience a reversal or a tragic ending. Tragic heros are an important part of literature because they help to show the moral or express themes of literature. Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero due to the fact he brings upon his own downfall and posses tragic flaws.

What is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary, noble character who makes a judgment mistake that eventually leads to his/her downfall. In the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is our tragic hero. His leadership and eventual nobility, big reversal as a character, and his tragic flaws that lead to his downfall, are classic examples why Okonkwo is a tragic hero.

According to Achebe, Okonkwo express many accounts of representing this so called tragic hero. Among these he illustrates this title, as, “he brought honor to his village” (3) and, “was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond” (1). This is true, because Okonkwo was not born into the clan leadership, he had to make it there himself without the assistance of others. He made a name for himself to show what he could do, and not be known as the son of the unreliable village drunk. Achebe acknowledges the hard work that Okonkwo has done to provide for his family. He was a “wealthy farmer” who carefully tended to his crops and acquired,”two barns full of yams.” This is another great example, for it shows the dedication that Okonkwo had, to make sure he was doing well for his family.

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.

Okonkwo is a strong and confident man who has vowed to never be like his father Unoka. His father was lazy, unsuccessful and carried no titles. The relationship between Okonkwo and his father motivated Okonkwo to gain titles and become successful inside the clan. In this sense, Okonkwo has gained many titles, has three wives, and respected by the clan. Okonkwo chose to feel that identity in the clan was most important, and through this he had become a presence in the clan, noticed by the elders. However after the arrival of missionaries, who had come to convert the clans to Christianity, Okonkwo’s view is completely contradicted by the missionaries. Okonkwo had grown accustomed to members of the clan being ranked by certain tiers, while the

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

Some would say the western world has always had a flawed view or understanding of Africa and African cultures. The author of Things Fall Apart; Chinua Achebe once wrote a paper on Joseph Conrad's “Heart of Darkness” and how it had a negative impact on the readers. He notes how “Heart of Darkness” sets up Africa as a foil to Europe and how this affecting a new generations view of Africa. In the paper he references some of the experiences he’s had with the so-called “ignorance” of the western word; “The young fellow from Yonkers is obviously unaware that the life of his own tribesmen in Yonkers, New York, is full of odd customs and superstitions and, like everybody else in his culture, imagines that he needs a trip to Africa to encounter