The following essay will discuss the main character and protagonist, Okonkwo, as a tragic hero in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart.” The definition of a tragic hero will be examined in depth and how Okonkwo, whose flaws ultimately leads to his downfall, meets all the criteria of a classic Greek tragic hero. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as someone who has high status and who displays a tragic flaw (“hamartia”) that will in the end cause their own destruction. Aristotle explains how a tragic hero will experience a dramatic reversal (“peripeteia”), as well as an intense moment of recognition (“anagnorisis”) and enlightenment.
In the novel, Okonkwo is presented to the reader as a hero and a man of great strength. He embodies all the ideal and heroic traits of the Igbo culture such as being strong, authoritative, hardworking, and successful. Okonkwo demonstrates his firsts signs of strength early on in the novel, such as when he brings honour to his village by beating a seven time wrestling champion at the age of 18. After this victory, word of his name spread “like a bush-fire in the harmattan” (3) and he is well known throughout the nine villages. Unlike his father, Okonkwo is a self-made man. …show more content…
The tribe considers it an accident or a woman’s crime and thus dismiss Okonkwo from the clan for seven years. While Okwonko is in exile, the English missionaries establish themselves into the tribe. Okonkwo is unhappy by the changes (both religious and social) brought about by the English, upon the return to his village. Due to his previous actions his son betrays him by converting to Christianity. As time passes, Okonkwo sees how Umuofia's culture and spirituality is being assaulted the white man, and so he encourages violence as a solution. Okonkwo beheads one of the district commissioner’s messengers thus committing a tribal sin because this act threatens the entire
In the novel, Okonkwo is presented to the reader as a hero and a man of great strength. He embodies all the ideal and heroic traits of the Igbo culture such as being strong, authoritative, hardworking, and successful. Okonkwo demonstrates his firsts signs of strength early on in the novel, such as when he brings honour to his village by beating a seven time wrestling champion at the age of 18. After this victory, word of his name spread “like a bush-fire in the harmattan” (3) and he is well known throughout the nine villages. Unlike his father, Okonkwo is a self-made man. …show more content…
The tribe considers it an accident or a woman’s crime and thus dismiss Okonkwo from the clan for seven years. While Okwonko is in exile, the English missionaries establish themselves into the tribe. Okonkwo is unhappy by the changes (both religious and social) brought about by the English, upon the return to his village. Due to his previous actions his son betrays him by converting to Christianity. As time passes, Okonkwo sees how Umuofia's culture and spirituality is being assaulted the white man, and so he encourages violence as a solution. Okonkwo beheads one of the district commissioner’s messengers thus committing a tribal sin because this act threatens the entire