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Is Okonkwo A Hero Analysis

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“A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart” This quote was said by a recognised hero in literature, hercules. By this definition Okonkwo the main character of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is not a hero. Not only is Okonkwo not a hero by hercules’s standard, but also by Aristotle’s too. Aristotle said that a hero is a noble figure which Okonkwo was not. All that Okonkwo ever accomplished was from fear of becoming his father, which means that he was only thinking of himself and not of others like a hero should. Not only was he selfish but in order to have people think he is strong he was willing to kill a child. Okonkwo is not tragic a hero because of his lack of selflessness and because he …show more content…

There are many different instances that shows Okonkwo being dishonorable. Even as early in the book as page 13, it states how Okonkwo was someone who was feared in his own household by his 3 wives and his children. Okonkwo had a “fiery temper” according to Achebe which led to him to explode in anger when ever there was something that didn't go his way. A perfect example of this was when Okonkwo broke the peace in the sacred Week of Peace “Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his youngest wife, who went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal… When she returned he beat her very heavily” (Achebe pg 29). That just shows how Okonkwo does not care about other people's needs and he expects his wives to only be at his service. This was not the only instance were Okonkwo has abuse a wife of his he does this all the time and another instance of it is shown in chapter 5 when it states “Who killed this tree? Or are you all deaf and dumb?As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. Okonkwo’s second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food, and she said so. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left he and her only daughter weeping. Neither of …show more content…

Not no mention that Okonkwo doesn't care about anybody but himself and he has no empathy and regard for others okonkwo is not a tragic hero based on either Hercules standards or Aristotle's; even though all his life we was terrified to not be thought at one. Now there might be others to disagree but they would have to read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

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(T.F.A Pg. 124). The way that the clan took about Okonkwo killing a clansman was different than how they took him beating his wife, Okonkwo didn’t get a big punishment for beating his wife like he did for killing a

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Prompt 2 Okonkwo is driven by his hatred of his father and the fear he will become like him. Okonkwo saw his father, Unoka, as a coward and is ashamed to be his son. Everything that Okonkwo does is meant to set him apart from the legacy of his father. First, this is evident in his beating of his wives and even his aggression with his children. He is trying to show his strength and ensure he is not portrayed to be like his father: powerless and incapable.

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Okonkwo was a big supporter of physical and verbal abuse in his home, especially towards his wives and Nwoye. To Okonkwo, physical abuse was another language. This is how he spoke, and punished, on the occasion of the abuse, and how he had handled the situation. Women was treated poorly in Umuofia because men believe that they were weak and in inadequate. “ Even as a little boy Okonkwo had represented his father 's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was Agbala.

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Rick Godwin once said, “One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain”. In the novel “Things Fall Apart”, by Chinua Achebe Okonkwo resists changes when the british missionaries arrive and it causes conflicts throughout the novel. His defiance, warrior-like, manliness behavior leads him to his suicide when he realizes change sometimes can not be controlled. Okonkwo’s nobility and prosperity is revealed through his success and leadership within the clan. Aristotle stated in “On Tragedy” that “He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous.”.

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It was so bad that even his children were scared of him. This quote shows that he can be unsympathetic towards his wives and children because instead of listening to them he chose to act out. They feel as if they have to be very careful of what they say because there might be a chance that he will hurt them. In conclusion Okonkwo overall is an unsympathetic person, However at time he could be sympathetic.

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He was too proud to let his tribe give up their warlike history. He was to proud and self-assured to accept his son's choices. Okonkwo is a sad character whose pride has constantly led him down the crooked path. Achebe shows that being proud isn't a constructive thing for the future. That development can only occur when pride is put aside, and people think logically instead of

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He thinks that anyone who is not like that is weak The main reason why Okonkwo is a tragic hero is that of how weak his chi is. The chi takes a big important role in the novel because according to the Igbo people, anything something goes wrong with a person it is because of there bad chi.in the beginning of the book, Okonkwo seems to be the one that has the best chi and has everything going for him at the time. In the beginning of the book the reader is meant though think that Okonkwo will overcome anything that is thrown at him because of his chi. This is shown in the novel when

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In the book “Things Fall Apart“ Okonkwo is a very strong man and from time to time he starts showing his true self. He has a lot of responsibilities and other things he has to do around the living environment and interact with lots of people. Okonkwo changes from being that strong man, to a man who feels like his tribe is not with him when he wants to go to war with the missionaries. For someone like Okonkwo a lot of people looks up to him and while in the tribe Okonkwo beats his wives and children. Not good behavior for someone who is supposedly looked at as strong.

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The tragic flaws of the two cause their demise. Okonkwo as well as Macbeth can be identified as tragic heroes due to both men suffering from tragic flaws; however, their similarity of being tragic heroes diverge due to both men having different motivational factors that were instilled by their experiences. In both instances the external environment along with the personalities of the characters formed their tragic flaws. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw was created because he did not want to become anything similar to his father.

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Things Fall Apart Everyone has its own unique perspective on certain things. In doing so, one must interact or collide with another throughout life. In Things Fall Apart, the author, Chinua Achebe, attempts to communicate the concept of cultural collision while depicting the life of the Igbo tribe. He creates two main characters with contradicting characteristics and responses to a cultural collision in order to strengthen the theme:

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Okonkwo strives to be everything but his father. This is clear from the very beginning when it says, “He had no

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Generally, a tragic hero is born into royalty and has already attained the noble status. However, Okonkwo was born into a poor family, and according to Okonkwo his father was “weak and feminine”. Regardless his father’s failures Okonkwo acquires respect in the Igbo society by defeating a great wrestler: As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. (1) Okonkwo furthermore spends his hours toiling away in an attempt to earn his way up in the patriarchal society.

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In the book are several quotes to support this, but one seems to be the more straightforward quote. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness….. It was fear of himself lest he should be

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People everywhere go through carious experiences in their lives. Every experience affects a person in some way. The resulting effects can be good, bad, or a combination of both. Many aspects of my life have been influenced my personality and the way that I live. Dislocating my shoulder influence my life dramatically.

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In conclusion, i believe Okonkwo is a sympathetic man and he cares about the people around deeply. He may just have a hard way of showing it. Whether he beats his family, tries to kill them, abuses them. Nobody he has touched hasn’t died. So you can look at it that way and say he cares.

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