Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe and it follows the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, and the influence of British colonialism and Christian missionaries on the tribe. Okonkwo, the main character of Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, fits into description of Aristotel's tragic hero.
Aristotles definition of the tragic hero and his downfall is: ''the character between these two extremes,—that of a man who is not eminently good and just,-yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous,—a personage like Oedipus, Thyestes, or other illustrious men of such families. (gutenberg) Achebe followed this description when characterising Okonkwo.
Okonkwo wasn't highly renowned and prosperous in the beggining of his life. His father was Unoka, who was ''lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about
…show more content…
'' (Richard Begam). This is the next characteristic that a tragic hero must possess (by following Aristotle's definition), a a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine – hamartia. Okonkwo's tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure. That is because of his fear of becoming like his father. Okonkwo was abusive, angry, and showing little emotion. He was abusive towards his wives and children. His solves his problem with fists, he likes fighting and wars. In the end Okonkwo lets fear take control of his life, he kills a messenger from British district office. Realising his fate and the fact that his tribe can't be saved from the influence of the British colonists, he commits suicide which is forbbiden in his tribe. In the end he ends up like his father, he dies without a proper burial. His life ends in