Okonkwo a Tragic Hero
What is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary, noble character who makes a judgment mistake that eventually leads to his/her downfall. In the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is our tragic hero. Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero due to his leadership and eventual nobility, his big reverse as a character, and his tragic flaws that lead to his downfall.
First of all, Okonkwo starts off as a poor child, as shown when the book states, “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had, he did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” (Achebe 16) showing that Okonkwo and his family were very penurious compared to others in the Igbo tribe. Eventually, through his hard work and effort, he became a noble leader, which is part of being a tragic hero. Throughout the story Okonkwo goes through many challenges, but “In the face of futility, however, he maintains his
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people might say that Okonkwo is not a tragic hero or even a hero at all. This make sense because Okonkwo was not a highborn. He was a poor child, who which his father, Unoka, was always in debt. Okonkwo had very little when growing up. A part of being a tragic hero is being highborn. Although Okonkwo isn’t highborn, he becomes wealthy and noble throughout the story. Also, he has human characteristics and feelings. Last, of all, he has a tragic downfall, hanging himself, due to all of his tragic flaws, such as his hubris, violence , and fear of weakness. Therefore, Okonkwo is a tragic hero.
In conclusion, Okonkwo suits Aristotle 's definition of a tragic hero. This character has many tragic flaws, fear of weakness, hubris, and his work ethic, which in the end lead to his death, which provokes pity and fear into the audience. The character becomes noble and is a great leader overall in the story. In the end, Chinua Achebe has givens us a very expressive character that we can call a tragic