Throughout numerous literary pieces, we commonly see the universal archetype of the “Tragic Hero”. A tragic hero is defined as a character who makes a choice that will inevitably lead to their destruction. According to Aristotle, all tragic hero must have six traits to be considered one. These are hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, anagnorisis, nemesis, and catharsis. To go into more depth of these characteristics, hamartia is a tragic flaw that causes the downfall of the tragic hero. Examples of a tragic flaw would be things such as excessive pride, guilt, and not listening to the gods. Hubris is a trait that almost goes with hamartia. It means excessive pride and disrespect for the natural order of things, which could be a trait that causes the
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Frankly, this is one of the lowest parts of the novel for the protagonist. He is forced to face his crimes and to recognize his downfall in the ranks of his clan, which is something that truly tests his limits because of his own fears. But when Okonkwo and his family finally return, they find that their clan was subject to find a lot of changes while they were gone. During their absence, Nigeria was going through a time of colonization by Great Britain to westernize certain parts of Africa and the clan, Umuofia, was included. So, when the family returned, they were forced to assimilate to this new culture invading their home. Okonkwo, however, saw this as a sign of weakness and he denied this change for he saw it as a cowardly thing. So, his pride got the better of him and he decided that the only way to achieve his goal was to kill one of the colonists in cold-blood and thus restore order back to his people; he wished to assert his power to the white men. Unfortunately, the Umuofia people were too far gone and when Okonkwo murdered the man, he realized that there was no hope in changing them. Seeing that his entire clan had fallen to shame, and his pride diminished, he killed himself, rather than learning to face the
Frankly, this is one of the lowest parts of the novel for the protagonist. He is forced to face his crimes and to recognize his downfall in the ranks of his clan, which is something that truly tests his limits because of his own fears. But when Okonkwo and his family finally return, they find that their clan was subject to find a lot of changes while they were gone. During their absence, Nigeria was going through a time of colonization by Great Britain to westernize certain parts of Africa and the clan, Umuofia, was included. So, when the family returned, they were forced to assimilate to this new culture invading their home. Okonkwo, however, saw this as a sign of weakness and he denied this change for he saw it as a cowardly thing. So, his pride got the better of him and he decided that the only way to achieve his goal was to kill one of the colonists in cold-blood and thus restore order back to his people; he wished to assert his power to the white men. Unfortunately, the Umuofia people were too far gone and when Okonkwo murdered the man, he realized that there was no hope in changing them. Seeing that his entire clan had fallen to shame, and his pride diminished, he killed himself, rather than learning to face the