Aristotle's theory of the archetypal tragic hero has “dominated critical thought” for centuries. Does Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe meet all those standards? In this book Okonkwo meets the standards of being of noble stature and his downfall is of his own doing. However, he goes beyond the tragic hero standards of the misfortune is not wholly deserved and the fall is not a pure loss.
The tragic hero in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, had regained titles in his clan. They symbolize wealth and success. Considering the fact that he started his own yam farm when he was just a boy shows his unlikely success (16). Although he was not born into a wealthy family and his own father, Unoka, was a “failure”, Okonkwo gained his own status in his clan (8). He was also one of the nine egwugwu, who each represented “a village of the clan” and “Okonkwo’s wives, and perhaps other women as well. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo” (79). This pertains to the standards that Okonkwo is of noble status, thus meeting the standard of being a tragic hero.
Okonkwo’s fall is his own pride. His pride did not allow him to accept the missionaries into …show more content…
Even though his clan was just realizing that they would have to fight against their own kin, they questioned why he would kill the messenger right after they had stated the need to fight the new religion. Okonkwo was one of the only members of his clan that was willing to do what was needed for the Igbo society. After he murdered the messenger and the clan responded by breaking into “tumult instead of action” (176). The clan had let the other messengers escape rather than follow his own actions. In the tragic hero standard that his death was not a pure loss is completely mistaken. The clan definitely needed him in order to take any action against the opposing religion, and that is how Okonkwo goes beyond this tragic hero
The tragic hero in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, had regained titles in his clan. They symbolize wealth and success. Considering the fact that he started his own yam farm when he was just a boy shows his unlikely success (16). Although he was not born into a wealthy family and his own father, Unoka, was a “failure”, Okonkwo gained his own status in his clan (8). He was also one of the nine egwugwu, who each represented “a village of the clan” and “Okonkwo’s wives, and perhaps other women as well. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo” (79). This pertains to the standards that Okonkwo is of noble status, thus meeting the standard of being a tragic hero.
Okonkwo’s fall is his own pride. His pride did not allow him to accept the missionaries into …show more content…
Even though his clan was just realizing that they would have to fight against their own kin, they questioned why he would kill the messenger right after they had stated the need to fight the new religion. Okonkwo was one of the only members of his clan that was willing to do what was needed for the Igbo society. After he murdered the messenger and the clan responded by breaking into “tumult instead of action” (176). The clan had let the other messengers escape rather than follow his own actions. In the tragic hero standard that his death was not a pure loss is completely mistaken. The clan definitely needed him in order to take any action against the opposing religion, and that is how Okonkwo goes beyond this tragic hero