Okonkwo Is a Tragic Hero

His tragic downfall truly begins when his is sent away because of an accidental murder of a boy. Okonkwo and his family are exiled from the tribe for seven years and Okonkwo is stripped of the fruits of his hard work. While he is away the white missionaries move into the village. They preach against the culture and its violent ways, causing Okonkwo to become saturated with rage. Seven years later, Okonkwo is able to return. He plans to reestablish himself and his position with the help of his family. However, Umofia is not as it once was. The white men have moved in and dismantled the tribe with their laws and government. Okonkwo wishes to fight, but the clan does not agree with his suggestion. After realizing the fate of the village, Okonkwo chooses to take his life. He would rather die than watch everything he had worked for fall apart because of weak people. His tragic flaw, a fear of weakness, is so strong it destroyed him.

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s shame for his father, Unoka, motivates him to be everything his father wasn’t. As a result, Okonkwo hides behind masculinity and conceals his emotions, in hope of escaping weakness. Stubborn and impulsive, Okonkwo makes rash decisions to uphold his reputation, which affects his tribe and his family. Okonkwo’s constant fear of resembling his father takes over his ability compromise and causes him to suffer from depression, the “loss” of his son, the loss of

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is portrayed as a respected and determined individual whose fatal flaw eventually works against him. Throughout the novel the readers are shown that Okonkwo has many of these Characteristics because he is obsessed with the idea of becoming just like his father. This becomes his flaw in the novel that puts him into exile and makes it hard for him to adjust to the changes that were made with in his village.

Okonkwo has a tragic flaw, dark downfall, but does not recognize his flaw as the cause of his downfall. This conveys the theme that one’s insecurity will lead to their demise, regardless of their intent. First, Okonkwo’s flaw is his insecurity rooted in his need for masculinity. Okonkwo fears the idea that “he should be found to resemble his father” and was a “man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood” (13, 10). Given how Okonkwo’s father was a man of no wealth or status, he was seen as feminine. Refusing to resemble his father, Okonkwo becomes a strong, masculine man. Additionally, Okonkwo’s downfall was the result of multiple events that threaten his masculinity. Okonkwo’s first major offense was killing Ikemefuna out of fear of weakness despite being told to “not bear a hand in his death” (57). Additionally, the crime that forced Okonkwo into exile is when his “gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart” (124). Furthermore, Okonkwo’s need for power causes him to kill a messenger as his “machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body” (204). As a result of his need to appear masculine, Okonkwo makes one foolish decision after another that culminate to his downfall. His refusal to not kill Ikemefuna was done out of fear of seeming weak, his crime that sent him to exile was deemed

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo starts off with so much strength and power. He is a leader in his village and, is always working towards more success.With many mistakes Okonkwo starts to lose everything including his respect and authority. He goes through some big changes, and his life completely turns around. His aggression and violence become out of hand, and he can not control himself. He has to face extreme punishments that change who is and how he feels. Okonkwo’s success decreases throughout Things Fall Apart.

We are introduced to Okonkwo as “tall and huge and ready “as if he [is] going to pounce on somebody.” Okonkwo is constantly fearing he, or his sons, will be deemed weak. Until Okonkwo meets and raises an “ill-fated lad” that Okonkwo becomes close with. While the bond between Okonkwo and Ikemefuna shows growth in Okonkwo’s character, above all he is still figuratively the same violent man. After killing Ikemefuna, someone he considered a son, because “he was afraid of being thought weak.”

He starts to become depressed he has nothing to do, he is exiled, he is against the Christians taking over the community where he used to live, his sons cant join the Ibo culture not at least for two years and many more. All of these situations start to get to okonkwo’s head and this leads him to commit suicide and to hang himself. Isn’t that a one way easy situation that tends to happen in a lot of movies or novels? The main character gets into bigger situations then, they can take they start to feel very overwhelmed and then, they get the thought of committing suicide. In my honest opinion I believe that Okonkwo isn’t a bad or evil person it’s just the situations and thoughts that he did that led him to do what he did even when he had people that was on his side and tried to make him become a better

This is the climax as Okonkwo is exiled to his mother's land. During his exile Christian missionaries spread throughout the villages and convert what okonkwo believes to be “weak” people.

In the novel Things Fall Apart okonkwo is portrayed as a respected and determined individual that anything he does falls back on him. Throughout the novel the readers are shown that okonkwo has many of these characteristics because he is obsessed with the idea of becoming like his father. This becomes his flaw in the novel that puts him into exile and makes it hard for him to adjust to the changes. Okonkwo has acquired a large amount of wealth in his life because of his hard work and dedication which he also puts toward his family.

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, as presented by Chinua Achebe in the novel Things Fall Apart, wished to be revered by all as a man of great wealth, power and control--the antithesis of his father. Okonkwo was driven by the need to exhibit utmost control over himself and others; he was an obsessive and insecure man.

In this case, Achebe describes Okonkwo in being a praised man in Umforia and even throughout all the other villages. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). In other words Okonkwo started all the way from the bottom to the top. Therefore, now Okonkwo is a well known leader throughout Umuofia and beyond other villages. Similarly to other tragic heros, most of them have a tragic flaw which is showing failure and fragility. While the fear of failure and fragility leads Okonkwo into working harder and helps him earn his fame and achievements; on the contrary, fatal flaw had also caused Okonkwo many problems, such as conflicts within his family and eventually his downfall. Since the fatal flaw of Okonkwo is showing failure and fragility he chooses to become violent and harsh with anybody who crosses his way to not be seen as a weak person. For example, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna a boy whom considered Okonkwo as being his “father”. “He was afraid of being seen as weak” (Achebe 61). Ultimately, because of trying to appear as a strong person and having the decision of killing Ikemefuna, Okonkwo has not only caught everyone in awe but instead hurt himself mentally. Which in this case, then brought him to discover his own tragic

Okonkwo’s hubris derived from his father, Unoka. Unoka was lazy, buried in debt, “womanly”, and irresponsible. Okonkwo was very ashamed because of his father’s reputation. To not be the man his father was, Okonkwo strived to be the best of what he could be. He defeated the top wrestler in his village because his father wasn’t physical, so he pushed himself to excel at being violent. He showed no mercy to his wives or children when they did not listen to him in order

Okonkwo’s unhealthy obsession of wanting to be an unbreakable man becomes so paralyzing that he no longer understands how to recognize the line between weakness and strength. His definitions of strength and weakness are so different from that of the other villagers that he feels compelled to prove himself worthy in ways that are not necessary in the opinions of others. Because of this, he leads himself to his own destruction and failure.

Main protagonists are often complicated and have a diverse history that has indeed shaped them into what they currently are, and this is no different in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In this novel, the main character- Okonkwo- had a rough childhood as his father always struggled financially which put a lot of pressure unto Okonkwo himself. Inevitably, this ended up psychologically affecting Okonkwo well into his adulthood, greatly influencing the way he treats others.