Okonkwo as a Tragic Dero
Is Okonkwo a tragic hero? To answer that question one must start by defining the term 'tragic hero' first introduced by Aristotle. Aristotle defined a tragic hero simply as being a character fulfilling three different requirements. The character must be larger than life, and must have a high social standing. The character must also have ordinary human qualities, and must have a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, all these characteristics are found in Okonkwo of Umuofia. The first characteristic of a tragic hero according to Aristotle's definition is that the character must be larger than life. The character must be better or greater than his fellows in the sense
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The second condition for a character to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle is that he should share common human qualities and concerns. He is a mixture of good characteristics and bad ones. Also, he must be someone that people can relate to, and, therefore, must have the same human problems and must go through life with the same obstacles of ordinary people. This we can see when the author is describing Okonkwo's feelings for Ikemefuna, a young boy who has been in his household as compensation to the village for a murdered citizen of Umuofia,
"Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy --inwardly of course. Okonkwo never showed any emotions openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else --with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. Sometimes when he went to the big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. And, indeed Ikemefuna called him father" (Achebe, page 28)
From this text we find out that Okonkwo actually had feelings of fondness and admiration toward Ikemefuna. This we see when Okonkwo
Okonkwo is a tragic hero because has a tragic flaw, is noble, and experiences reversal of fortune. Okonkwo’s tragic flaws include short temper and not wanting to be like his father. He is noble due to his titles and respect throughout Umoafia. His reversal of fortune happens at a funeral.
Okonkwo also tries to show himself as an unsympathetic character to show that he is not a weak man, like his father, Unoka. (Being a weak man is a very degrading quality for the culture of Umofia.) An example of Okonkwo’s unsympathetic personality is Ikemefuna’s death. Although Okonkwo treasured the presence of the adopted buy, Ikemefuna, Okonkwo contributes the last and fatal blow to Ikemefuna, causing him to die in the Evil Forest. Okonkwo, regardless of his love for the boy, killed Ikemefuna ultimately to prove his manliness and strength to the tribe, a valued aspect of the culture. “Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body.” (Achebe 146) Okonkwo is also very unsympathetic in regards to his father, Unoka. Unoka was a poor man who was always in debt; he had an interest in music and enjoyed talking.
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 grows to love Ikemefuna like he is his own son and Okonkwo’s real son Nwoye admires and looks up to him as a real brother as well. Yet, Okonkwo does not show any affection of how he feels toward Ikemefuna and how he actually views him as if he is his own. Despite how he feels about Ikemefuna, Okonkwo will not let any type of weakness show, especially not in front of others. So, Okonkwo does not protect Ikemefuna but instead is a part of his murder by stabbing his un-biological son with a machete. Doing this brakes Okonkwo down inside and makes him very weak becoming saddened and depressed for a generous amount of time. This is probably one of the few moments in Okonkwo life that he let his guard down to show a different emotion besides anger, to him crying and mourning is a sign of weakness but after the foul actions he took a part of he can no help but show it. Along with anger comes violence, which Okonkwo often
Okonkwo showed great interest in Ikemefuna and treated him like his son. However, Ikemefuna was boy from another village sacrificed to keep peace, thus soon there came a time when Ikemefuna had to die. The narrator shows that Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna, The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, My father, they have killed me! as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak. (Chapter 7 Pg. 61) Although Okonkwo loved Ikemefuna and had much affection for him, Okonkwo was forced to leave all of his emotions behind in order to kill Ikemefuna and not be seen as a weak man who could not kill another man. Okonkwo showed no mercy as he was blinded by his fear of his fathers submissive attitude. Oknokwo had to protect his status as a true warrior in his clan and if he was not able to slay Ikemefuna, then Okonkwo fears that he might be called an agbala just like Unoka, Okonkwos father. This quote also shows that Oknokwo is willing to sacrifice virtually everything in order to keep his high rank among his tribe.
In Aristotle’s explanation of a tragic hero, there are several important qualities that this person must possess. This qualities includes the social status that leads to the downfall of this character, the repetitive occurrence of the tragic flaw, and that this character is often idealized so that he or she is “true to life
When Ikemefuna came to Umuofia, Okonkwo “became very fond of the boy- inwardly of course… He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else- with the heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy” (24). This establishes that Okonkwo loves Ikemefuna but because he wants to look strong and demonstrate power he shows little to no emotion of love towards him. Correspondingly, when Ikemefuna is facing his death, he runs to Okonkwo asking for help. As this happens Okonkwo, acting on impulse, slays Ikemefuna with his machete. Okonkwo try’s to act like he does not have affection for Ikemefuna, but the reader sees the reality when, after Ikemefuna’s death, “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days…He drank palm-wine from morning till night…[and] did not sleep at night” (55). In other words, Okonkwo is mourning over the loss of Ikemefuna and. Though this is the case a close reader might see that Okonkwo’s impulse of killing Ikemefuna was because he wanted to seem strong but the evidence shows the reality of his emotion. One might conclude that Okonkwo can be loving and compassionate, but because of his need to look masculine his relationship with Ikemefuna is
Okonkwo has a more positive relationship with his adopted son, Ikemefuna, who is basically a hostage from another tribe. No matter how hateful he was towards gentleness, Ikemefuna managed to be into the likings of Okonkwo because “he was by nature a very lively boy and he gradually became popular in Okonkwo’s household, especially with the children” (p. 28 “[He] himself became very fond of [Ikemefuna]…Sometimes when [Okonkwo] went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts, he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. And indeed, Ikemefuna called him father” (p. 28). This shows a father and son relationship because all though Ikemefuma is not his son he is treated like one, Okonkwo begins to feel an emotional fatherly affection to his adoptive son Ikemefuna. All though he is very stubborn and does not like showing his emotions deep down he cares for his children including Ikemefuma. Eventually Okonkwo's tribe decides to kill Ikemefuna Okonkwo is only told not to participate, because Ikemefuna calls him father, and he is like a father to the boy. As the boy's back is turned, one of the men strikes the first blow with his
In conclusion, Okonkwo exemplifies Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero. His character has many tragic flaws, including, fear of weakness, hubris, and his work ethic, which in the end lead to his death. His life and death provoke pity and fear for the audience. Okonkwo becomes noble and is a great leader overall in the story. In the end, Chinua Achebe has shown an expressive character that evidently can be called a tragic
Ikemefuna is very well-liked by Okonkwo and his family, and becomes a mentor and best friend to Nwoye. Okonkwo feels dismay that Nwoye is taking on the torpid characteristics of his grandfather, Unoka, and is quite pleased that Nwoye is thriving and maturing under Ikemefuna’s guidance. “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna” (Achebe, 1958, p. 52, para. 2). Okonkwo’s pride, and fear of demonstrating any perceived sign of weakness, does not allow him to show any favorable emotion to Ikemefuna; he treats him with the same severity he does the rest of his family. “Even Okonkwo himself
Both the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, and its main character Okonkwo closely adhere to the definitions of a classic Greek tragedy and a typical tragic hero. First of all, Okonkwo is a tragic hero by the Greek definition. While Okonkwo wasn’t born to a nobleman or king (as the definition of a tragic hero states), he was a man of high status and respect in his community, as Obierika stated near the end of the book. “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia.” (Achebe 208). Second, the novel follows the format of a Greek tragedy by presenting Okonkwo as a mixed character. He was a mixed character in that he was neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly
Okonkwo meets all the standards set by aristotle of what makes someone a Tragic Hero, Okonkwo is the hero in Things Fall Apart. He is “one of the greatest men in Umuofia” but his blind hatred for
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, defines a tragic hero “as a person of noble or high status who displays a tragic flaw hamartia, and experiences a dramatic reversal peripateia. In addition, his downfall is often preceded by self-realization”. In Things Fall Apart, the author uses Okonkwo, to illustrate the downfall of pre-colonial Ibo society. In the beginning, Okonkwo was destined for greatness. He was strong, economically stable, and had a huge influence over the village’s affairs. One may say that he was the perfect man to be the hero of his people. However, Aristotle stated that “a man does not become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” Okonkwo, unfortunately, couldn’t become the hero he was destined to be. Not only does he allowed his own flaws: irrational anger, and hubris to dominate his life, but he became so obsessed over trying to kill the whites that he couldn’t see and accept that his village was changing. In the end, Okonkwo commits suicide after realizing his clan would not fight with him against the colonists. He was alone and no longer in control and that devastated him. Okonkwo inability to overcome his ignorance as well as his own internal conflicts ultimately leads to his tragic fate, embodying him as a classic Aristotle tragic hero.
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