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Things Fall Apart Okonkwo Characteristics

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Things Fall apart “A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more and more bitter when a man fails alone.” (Achebe 25). Chinua Achebe’s story describes how a man who has everything, can still be as unhappy as a man who feels they have nothing. A man named Okonkwo, who has everything a man in his position can dream of having. But, in one instance, everything he fights for and loves is lost, and he falls from this position that he is in. Things fall apart, by Chinua Achebe shows that Okonkwo, considered by his tribe to be great, is a tragic hero, according to Aristotle’s standards, and also Umuofia’s standards. In Aristotle’s standards for a tragic hero includes the aspect that the tragic …show more content…

Okonkwo does, in fact, possess these traits. First off, goodness. Okonkwo is a good man with good intentions. He wants est for him and his tribe, and especially his family. Okonkwo even talks about how he needs to provide for his family and how his success is measured in how he can survive and produce enough for his family to survive, whether it be wealth, yams, houses, etc. Okonkwo also needs to be appropriate in his tribe. In this case, Okonkwo was appropriate. He seemed to respect the views and traditions of the tribe, and if he disrespected any of these traditions, he always took the action for his consequences. Relating to the theme, this is always the appropriate way to act in the tribe. If someone wanted to look at an Idol citizen, then look at Okonkwo. Another trait in Aristotle’s eyes is the quality of being lifelike. In this sense, Okonkwo is lifelike because he is just like any other Umuofian. There are many men just like him, all owning large land, married to multiple wive, and having plenty of yams. If there are many other men like him, then certainly he is just an average person who is able to become the tragic hero, and this goes the same for the others. Okonkwo is very much like his brothers and sisters of the tribe, if not just a little bit angrier. Finally, The final trait in Aristotle’s …show more content…

In Aristotle’s standards, Okonkwo is identified as a tragic hero. It is important to realize that many may not understand how Okonkwo could be considered a tragic hero, however, one needs to not judge Okonkwo through their own eyes, but the eyes of Okonkwo’s village or tribe. His actions today may not be perceived as “heroic” today, but more as criminalistic. But by putting one’s self in his shoes, they will soon realize how angry they should feel if all their beliefs were just being tossed away like they were all just made up. In the village of Umuofia, Okonkwo wasn't just a good citizen, he was a tragic

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