A tragic hero is typically defined as someone who is great and is destined for downfall (“Tragic Hero Classical Definition”). In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist Okonkwo shows strong characteristics of a tragic hero. Okonkwo rose from being poor and humiliated to a strong, well-respected, and influential warrior since his notable win against Amalinze the cat (Achebe 3). Unlike his father, Okonkwo is able to provide for his family, consisting of three wives and many children (Achebe 6). Despite Okonkwo’s greatness, he inevitably falls from grace as a result of his hamartia, similarly to a tragic hero. Okonkwo’s fall starts with the death of Ikemefuna, a fifteen-year-boy from a neighbouring clan, Mbaino, who lives with Okonkwo’s family. As
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Consequently, Okonkwo tries to not show tenderness or emotion in any way and tends to act ruthless, oppositely to his father Unoka. The only thing Okonkwo shows emotion for is his clan, and that is for his own personal gain. Okonkwo is by all means a tragic hero—he starts off in the novel as a person with a high status, but later loses that status with his chance at becoming clan leader and experiences a peripeteia. Okonkwo shares characteristics with Hamlet in The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Both Okonkwo and Hamlet have potential greatness, but are inevitably defeated by their hamartias. They both will step on people to have their way and keep their goals at a reachable distance, for instance, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna (Achebe 40-44)—the only person who could have helped Nwoye become the son Okonkwo dreamt of—so people would not view him as weak, and Hamlet exchanges letters indicating that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern should be executed instead of him (5.2.45-75). In conclusion, Okonkwo is definitely a tragic hero because he has a hamartia which ultimately led to his
Consequently, Okonkwo tries to not show tenderness or emotion in any way and tends to act ruthless, oppositely to his father Unoka. The only thing Okonkwo shows emotion for is his clan, and that is for his own personal gain. Okonkwo is by all means a tragic hero—he starts off in the novel as a person with a high status, but later loses that status with his chance at becoming clan leader and experiences a peripeteia. Okonkwo shares characteristics with Hamlet in The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Both Okonkwo and Hamlet have potential greatness, but are inevitably defeated by their hamartias. They both will step on people to have their way and keep their goals at a reachable distance, for instance, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna (Achebe 40-44)—the only person who could have helped Nwoye become the son Okonkwo dreamt of—so people would not view him as weak, and Hamlet exchanges letters indicating that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern should be executed instead of him (5.2.45-75). In conclusion, Okonkwo is definitely a tragic hero because he has a hamartia which ultimately led to his