Who Is Okonkwo A Hero In Things Fall Apart

In Things Fall Apart the protagonist Okonkwo has many identities that have some major impacts to the story. In the book one big thing that happened: “ The British are coming. One if by land, two if by sea,” (Paul Revere). The British are there to to colonize Nigeria. This has led to some disastrous problems. For example, one of the nine tribes are wiped out by the British. The Whites tried to convert them to Christianity and Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, converted and that changed Okonkwo’s identity by making him feel like his father, Unoka. Okonkwo’s cousin told him that he had seen Nwoye with the British. Shortly after Nwoye came in Okonkwo turned to Nwoye with rage and gripped him by the neck. Okonkwo has asked where Nwoye had been and he

Overall, Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero of which he is ashamed because he doesn’t tolerate idleness or gentless.Okonkwo changes from being a strong confident

This attitude made him into a smart, strong and wealthy man. The fear of becoming weak has been haunting Okonkwo for his entire life. This tactic of becoming the complete opposite of his father helped him become a very successful man in his village and yet it eventually leads to his downfall. This is because Okonkwo’s fear of his clan becoming weak is the reason why “he drew his machete” and “made the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body” (188). He wanted to make a final attempt to save his clan from becoming weak, when he realized his attempt didn’t work he hung himself.

It made Okonkwo sad because he thought that was the greatest son of all time and out of all of his sons Ikemefuna was his favorite. Chinua Achebe wrote“ He tried not the to think about Ikemefuna,but the more he tried the more he thought about him.”(pg 63) this shows that Okonkwo is very sad and can’t stop thinking about his dead son. He has become more sad lately and can’t sleep. Okonkwo got so weak that he could barely walk. During Peace Week he commits the crime of beating his wife.

Being a hero can be defined in different ways by many different people. Christopher Reeve says, “A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway.” Aristotle says, “ a tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.” Okonkwo, from the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, may be perceived as a hero by the definitions of many people; throughout the book readers can see that Okonkwo matches Aristotle’s standards/definition of a tragic hero. Okonkwo can be perceived in many different ways throughout the book.

In the book Things Fall Apart. Chinua Achebe shows that through most of the part he shows that Okonkwo does not want to be anything like his father is . Okonkwo struggles with fear,showing weakness but that won’t stop him from being the brave person that he is . Okonkwo shows this through his actions and thoughts that everyone has a weakness to fear .

He brought fright in that tumult.” (pg 205). Citizens of Umuofia were scared and confusion never to have thought that the great man they once respected would due such thing. The idea of losing power and respect against someone else was unbearable to Okonkwo mind which can be shown as a sign of being scared to something that might be greater than one’s self. After killing the missionary Okonkwo didn’t want to live in a world were he would suffer consequences.

In the book “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, there are many characters that faced the challenge of having two different cultures. The character that stood out the most is Nwoye. He faced a very difficult challenge of not being accepted by his hometown’s culture. He wasn’t accepted by his father because he was very feminine like his mother. Nwoye’s father is Okonkwo, and he expects his children to be masculine and strong like him.

Throughout the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo yearned to return to his Father village. Upon his return, Okonkwo was not pleased with how his home has changed. Okonkwo chooses to take his life because he would rather die than see his homeland become something it’s not. This is symbolic to his ideals because as a great warrior of the tribe, Okonkwo believes that they should fight for their rights and freedom, and not let the white man control, or taint their way of living. He chose to die by his own hand because his people questioned him and his actions against the white man, and the loss of their religion and tribesmen converting to the White Man’s way.

“... filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue” (42). Okonkwo’s inner drive is what allowed him to conquer Umuofian society and rise above the disgrace of his

Okonkwo is described as a well-known leader. As a child Okonkwo believed that he needed to prove himself because his father was considered a loafer and failure. Although Okonkwo was young he worked hard everyday and “was already one of the greatest men of his time” (Achebe 8). Okonkwo was an exceptional young man who did everything he could to improve himself and make others think highly of him. As Okonkwo grew older he became

“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.” (Achebe 61).

In “Things Fall Apart,” Unoka influences his son not to become like himself. Okonkwo, the son, had no patience with his father. He did not want to be like his father when he grew up. Laziness, poorness, and untrustworthiness are the characteristics of Unoka that inspired Okonkwo to not be like his father.

Another thing that attributed with Okonkwo's downfall is his old school ways of “Being a man.” Okonkwo was obsessed with being manly, to the point where it was just stupidity. Okonkwo considered plenty of things as being weak and if you're weak then your obviously not a man. He cared so much about being this “Ideal man” he made the dumbest decisions in his life. For example, When Okonkwo knew they were going to kill Ikemefuna.

One of the village elders, Ezeudu, cautions Okonkwo not to asscociate with murdering the kid. Decided not to appear like a coward and weakling, particularly because of his dad's legacy, Okonkwo murders the kid himself with a blade. The kid's death is like a terrible omen. After the kid passes on, Okonkwo incidentally kills Ezeudu's child. For his wrongdoing, the village decides that Okonkwo must put in seven years in a state of banishment to appease the gods.