Things Fall Apart: Was Okwonko a Hero?

Okonkwo life is “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). When Okonkwo was a boy, his playmates teased him calling, saying that his father was agbala. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was lazy. He did not work on his farm; he died in great debt. He did not acquire a single title. He did not have a barn to pass down to his son. Unoka is a type of man who is scorned in Umofia. He is seen as weak and effeminate. As Okonkwo grows older, he is determined not become a failure like his father. His father was weak; he will be strong. His father was lazy; he will be hard-working. Okonkwo earned his fame by defeating the reigning wrestling champion. Okonkwo diligently plants yam, building a successful farm. He builds himself an obi, has three wives and many children. His fame “rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo will not let one womanly trait sully his reputation. Therefore, he “hate[d] everything that his father Unoka had loved” (Achebe 13). One of these was gentleness. Okonkwo refuses to show any signs of emotion, except his temper. He

All Okonkwo ever wanted was to be better than his father. Not to prove to himself that he was better, but to prove it to the other villagers. As a way to achieve this, he hardened himself at young age and took lead role in his homelife. Okonkwo was never complacent until Ikemefuna came only. Okonkwo had plenty of children, but none of them to ever be just right. Nwoye reminded him too much Unoka and put the fear of repetition in his heart and Enzima was perfect, she knew Okonkwo like the back of her hand but she was of course, a female. Ikemefuna took up the son role.

In Igbo society women’s responsibilities included having children, cooking, cleaning, and farming. Women were passive, obedient, traditionally duty-bound to the household and to the man of the house. They had to provide dinner for their husbands and children at a certain time. Example, Okonkwo's youngest wife, Ojiugo goes to a neighbor's hut to get her hair plaited and doesn't come back in time for dinner. Okonkwo notices her absence when he waits for his dinner and she doesn’t show. Okonkwo is so angry when Ojiugo returns that he beats her even though it is the Week of Peace, when any fighting or punishment is forbidden. "when she returned he beat her very heavily. in his anger, he had forgotten that it was the week of peace." (pg. 13 TFA, Achebe)

Okonkwo was cold, and he did not like to express his feelings because he, and the men in the village, said it was a woman’s trait to do so. Through the beginning to the end of the book Okonkwo keeps his warrior traits. When he is finally met with the challenge of the missionary entering Umuofia, and the longer they stay and change up the village, the more Okonkwo wants to drive them out or kill them. He is met with a task where he does not know what to do, and readers may want him to do something, but at the same time they may be scared for him. Throughout the book readers can see that this warrior trait may be the reason why he falls.

Throughout the story Okonkwo refuses to show weakness to others. Okonkwo is greatly affected by this because “The Igbo people emphasized personal achievement”(Ohadike 240). This makes him very vulnerable when it comes to showing his strength to his village. So, when the elders of the village decide that his adopted son Ikemefuna must be killed, Okonkwo goes along with them to show that he is not weak. At first Okonkwo decides to back off from the group of people about to kill Ikemefuna but, decides to come back onces he hears Ikemfuna’s

Okonkwo does not treat his son, Nwoye, well because he acts in a similar manner to Okonkwo’s father, Unoka. Despite the fact that family should always come first in Ibo society, family is not of great significance to Okonkwo. Okonkwo does not have any appreciation for his family, consequently his family is unappreciative of him. He acts with his emotions rather than reason, which causes him to beat his wives as seen when “[Okonkwo] walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's

Instead of Okonkwo not taking part in the murder, he decided he'll prove to the villagers how manly he is by killing someone he actually cared about. The most dumbest decision he made was killing the messenger from the missionaries, Instead of talking it out or living in a peaceful co-existence Okonkwo wanted war, although he knew his people weren't willing to fight he decided that he'll go

(Achebe 38). This was a tragic situation that occurred in front of all his wives and children who had to beg him to stop abusing one of his wives. This made the wives and children fear Okonkwo live in constant fear of him because at any time he could lash out and abuse anyone for any reason, even if it is not a valid reason. This was a constant problem within the society because the men had so much power of the women. Therefor, men felt like they had the right to abuse their wives when they didn’t agree with

Even though Okonkwo and Obierika had very different personalities, this brought them together rather than dragging them apart. The two men liked having someone to talk to about their problems, and it gave them great comfort to know that someone would always have their back. Okonkwo was not afraid to hurt people and had a very firm hand. Rather than speaking a great deal, Okonkwo expressed himself with his actions. He aided in killing his adopted son, Ikemefuna, after the Oracle had sentenced Ikemefuna to death because of an act of murder that Ikemefuna’s biological father had comitted. (Achebe 61) Okonkwo did this because he “was afraid of being thought weak.” (Achebe 61) This goes to show that Okonkwo did not want anyone to look down on him or think that he was a coward. He raised himself into that of a man and a warrior, and expected to be thought of one as well. In his article on Things Fall Apart, Nnoromele writes, “Perhaps Okonkwo was not a cruel

He succeeded in becoming the opposite of his father, but his fear still followed him around, causing him to keep fighting and encouraging the wrong ideas. In the novel, Okonkwo had loved Ikemefuna dearly, but he still participated in his sacrifice to show that he was manly. It was during this time when Okonkwo’s guilt was eating him alive, but he knew that it was too late to fix anything he already

First, Okonkwo is a tragic hero because he has been spiritually wounded by his experience. Okonkwo has faced several different

Aristotle once said “A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his downfall.” The protagonist of the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo demonstrates characteristics of being an Aristotelian tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a Tragic Hero is one who exhibits a tragic flaw that causes a reversal of fortune to him in his own error of judgment. Okonkwo is a leader and a hardworking member of the Igbo tribe of the village of Umofia whose tragic flaw is his immense fear of appearing emotionally weak in his community.

Other critics believe Okonkwo has the ability and power to control his fate, as well as his chi, throughout his life. For instance, “Okonkwo resorts to violence in order to maintain control of a situation and assert his manliness” (Iyasere 68). This quote nearly means Okonkwo must constantly oversee situations, especially situations involving his chi. Because of his physical strength and persistently violent attitude, Okonkwo is feared, as well as respected, by those around him as a leader and conqueror. “His fame rested on solid personal achievements,” Chinua Achebe shares (1). Besides his physical attributes, Okonkwo “treat[s] [others] with great honor and respect” (Achebe 12), but not his chi. Instead of bargaining with his chi about certain decisions regarding his fate, such as immediately apologizing to his wife during the Week of Peace, Okonkwo alternatively “mold[s] his chi to his will,” Solomon Iyasere claims, in order to get what he wants (68). This violent

Okonkwo trying to be the best he can be, tries too hard to be something that he is inevitably not, leading to his own demise. He drowns in the idea of the tribe’s values, morals, rules, etc., that he is not focusing on what is in front of him. He rather please the people around him, than the ones who care about him naturally. We as readers, see the cause of Okonkwo’s attitude and how it affects him and his relationship with Nwoye. When taking care and raising your children, you need to be aware that you are not just helping them grow and guiding them towards their future, but you are also shaping them as individuals, influencing their thoughts, ingraining family values, and preparing them for generations ahead. What gets taught to kids, gets sewed into the fabric of their character, core values and principals, and gets passed down from generation to generation. Although Okonkwo tried to step out of that state of mind, he inevitably fell back into it. Just like he made the decision to change himself into a better, stronger, stone cold person, he could have also put his family first unlike his father

Okonkwo is an important part of the Igbo tribe; in his tribe, people both fear and respect him. “He had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat…Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten,” (Achebe, 1). This shows that in Okonkwo’s community, people do dangerous things to gain power or a title even if it means to fight and kill in order to get your acclaim, (2). Even though we should be thankful for respect, when it comes to hurting someone to get it, it turns into a question of less worship. Okonkwo has a hard time freeing his self from his characters imperfections, which eventually leads to his depressing ending. Okonkwo works really hard on everything in his life including his farm, his actions have everyone pressured to work as hard as he does. “Okonkwo’s prosperity was visible in his own compound. He had a large compound [which] stood immediately behind the only gate in the red walls […] each of his three wives had her own hut,” (5). Along these lines, he gains his place as one of Umuofia’s most accomplished men. In various communities, a big family is a sign of pride. In spite of the fact that Okonkwo is not generally satisfied with his wives and children, it additionally presents to him a sense of pride to have three wives and eight kids. In the Igbo community, having a big family implies that the leader of the group can support their entire family. Okonkwo’s dedication to his farm and family provides him the regard that any father and spouse merit, furthermore in his way of life, being able to battle and kill also gives him considerably more influence and power.