Readers tend to identify with characters who are strong leaders, have great accomplishments, and look out for the well-being of others. In the novel, “Things Fall Apart”, the author follows the main character Okonkwo and shows the struggles of his once prosperous life during the influence of British colonialism of Nigeria. Okonkwo is a tragic hero because he was a meaningful member in the Igbo tribe and always met the consequences of his choices with courage.
Okonkwo allowed many factors to contribute to his character of a tragic hero. Okonkwo was very quick to anger and impatience. “Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the mans head lay beside his uniform body (Achebe 204)”. His emotions easily got the best of him and “Okonkwo was not a man of thought, but of action (Achebe 69)”. He was definitely easily considered a hero for
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He was very widely known and “brought honor to his village (Achebe 3)”, along with proving himself as an outstanding warrior. Unfortunately, Okonkwo showed that “his fame rested on solid personal achievements (Achebe 3)”. He definitely struggled with the thought of his personal failure and this seemed to have gotten in the way of being a successful hero to avoid tragedy. In addition to my above paragraph, Okonkwo’s anger was an obstacle for success causing travesty in succcess. “He was a man of action and war (Achebe 10).”
When it’s percieved too late to change the course of events, the tragic hero Okonkwo recognizes his flaws and gains sympathy from the audience. Okonkwo had much to deal with such as white missionaries in his village and even his own family. One of Oonkwo’s biggest fears was “being thought weak (Achebe 61)” and feminine. His self-worth couldn’t afford the loss of his dominance so after the killing of a clansmen “He could not return to the clan after 7 years (Achebe 124)”. He eventually ended it all when “They came to the tree in which his body was hanging (Achebe