Okonkwo kills himself because he feels like he no longer has anything to live for. Initially, he falls into a depression after kills Ikemefuna, and he deals with this depression by having “something [work] to occupy his mind” (69). However, when Okonkwo is banished, “work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have” (131), and so he had nothing to occupy his mind. Since, when an individual has depression, they begin to believe that they are worthless, Okonkwo falls into the mindset that “a man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi” (131), despite the fact that “the saying of the elders was…that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed” (131). With this mindset, he begins to lose faith in his culture and people. After his banishment,
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His fame rested on solid personal achievements” (3). A tragic hero is a hero whose demise is a result of their own actions or decisions. Okonkwo had an incredible amount of pride and respect for his society. When he was in his motherland because of his banishment, and the rulers and elders were speaking about what to do to a man who had killed the sacred python knowingly, “”Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust. This was a womanly clan, he thought. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland, Umuofia” (159). This shows how much faith and respect Okonkwo has for Umuofia, which he believes to be a mighty and manly clan. However, when Okonkwo returns from his exile, “he mourned for the clan which he saw breaking up and falling apart” (183). This is when he begins losing his respect for his clan. He loses all of it when he realizes “that Umuofia would not go to war” (205) against the white men, who had changed the society so much. With his high regard for Umuofia lost, Okonkwo kills himself simply because of his great pride and respect for his tribe suddenly being lost in one fell swoop. This decision to think of his society in such high regard leads to Okonkwo’s downfall, which allows people to perceive him to be a tragic
His fame rested on solid personal achievements” (3). A tragic hero is a hero whose demise is a result of their own actions or decisions. Okonkwo had an incredible amount of pride and respect for his society. When he was in his motherland because of his banishment, and the rulers and elders were speaking about what to do to a man who had killed the sacred python knowingly, “”Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust. This was a womanly clan, he thought. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland, Umuofia” (159). This shows how much faith and respect Okonkwo has for Umuofia, which he believes to be a mighty and manly clan. However, when Okonkwo returns from his exile, “he mourned for the clan which he saw breaking up and falling apart” (183). This is when he begins losing his respect for his clan. He loses all of it when he realizes “that Umuofia would not go to war” (205) against the white men, who had changed the society so much. With his high regard for Umuofia lost, Okonkwo kills himself simply because of his great pride and respect for his tribe suddenly being lost in one fell swoop. This decision to think of his society in such high regard leads to Okonkwo’s downfall, which allows people to perceive him to be a tragic