Okonkwo Tragic Hero

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

“As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat” (1).

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 Hero’s Downfall “The key element in tragedy is that heroes and heroines are destroyed by that which seems to be their greatest strength” (Robert Shea). In Shea’s quote, a tragic hero’s greatest strength, instead becomes their greatest weakness and the hero’s fatal flaw. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a very impressive and respectable figure feared throughout the villages, but falls due to his greatest assets that make him a hero, strength and respect, which become his fatal flaws in the end, making him a tragic hero.

Okonkwo’s a wealthy respected warrior of a lower Nigerian tribe call the Umuofia clan. Some may say Okonkwo’s world fell apart because of his father, or even the amount of wives he had. One would suggest his world fell apart due to manly values and Christian values. Things exist in Okonkwos mind that he refuses to share with others. This could explain why Okonkwo was so angry and violent throughout the novel, leading up to his death.

The word hero means someone who is admired for courage but also faces a downfall. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart Okonkwo is seen as a strong person and a leader in Umuofia. Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero because his tragic flaw and outside forces led to his downfall and he met death/consequences of choices with courage. Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero because his tragic flaw and outside forces led to his downfall. Okonkwo’s chooses made him have have consequences he might not have liked.

Is it possible to define a hero by his actions? According to Aristotle, it is possible to delineate a tragic hero and a regular protagonist. In the novel, “Things Fall Apart,” Okonkwo is the protagonist, but is he also a tragic hero? According to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, it is reasonable to assume that Okonkwo is a tragic hero. Okonkwo possesses the five characteristics that Aristotle described.

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.

The narration describes Okonkwo as an overtly masculine figure who believes that he must not show any fear or act weak in front of other people. “But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness.” (13) Even at the moment of Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo refused to back down and committed a murder against kin because he did not want people to look at him and think that he was weak. He failed to ever forgive himself for the actions that he committed but also never looked back on the past to realize his mistakes. “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand.

Often times in literature the qualities that bring fortune and honor to a character end up being the faults that tear them apart. A character that experiences this rise and ultimate fall is known as a tragic hero. All tragic heroes have a strong desire to achieve some sort of goal that eventually is put in jeopardy by a limit of human frailty. Written by Chinua Achebe, the novel Things Fall Apart illustrates the fortune and failure of a native man as colonialists attempt to destroy the culture he has always known. This figure, named Okonkwo, has spent nearly all of his life trying to prove his dominance as a man to the people around him.

A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle is a character who has a tragic flaw and discovers his fate by his own actions. In Things Fall Apart, a novel by China Achebe, Kink can be considered a tragic hero because he meets all of Aristotle’s criteria by being a tragic hero by being a successful and respected leader in Moira, having a tragic flaw, and discovering his fate soon after his action. Aristotle’s idea of a tragic hero requires that the character must be noble or a man of high status. "Kink was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements" (Achebe, 3). Starting as a sharecropper with no inheritance from his father, Kink works very hard and makes his way to a wealthy and respected

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 novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a tragic hero, his character matches the definition of one. He is noble in nature, has a tragic flaw and discovers his fate by his own actions. The first part of the description of a tragic hero is that the character has to be noble in nature. Okonkwo was a leader in Umuofia, with respect, wealth and power, who was known throughout the nine villages.

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.

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