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Things Fall Apart Okonkwo Character Analysis

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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

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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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I believe that his suicide was a result of all the suppressed issues he had and the lack of knowing how to process and express himself to someone he would’ve trusted. Although Okonkwo had been successful with physical things, such as farms, wives, and barns, he was not successful internally. Okonkwo was a very troubled man, and his troubles had deferred his success and inevitably caused him to fail. I feel for Okonkwo, for we see from the start that he was destined for failure simply because his father wasn’t a decent role model to show him how to work. His father made him hate all sensitive things, and, although he is a man, everyone needs to be sensitive once in a while.

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China Achebe demonstrates the disrespect the Ibo men had for woman in Things Fall Apart by depicting verbal and physical abuse within the community. The men have control over a woman through power of authority. This physical and verbal abuse lets the men of the society feel empowerment over the woman. “ Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” Achebe 12.

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Okonkwo Falls Apart Chinua Achebe offers a rare look at the natives perspective during colonialism in his work Things Fall Apart. The central struggle in the main character Okonkwo is that he is beginning to lose his way of life, and he is not able to do anything about it. Conflicts in religious beliefs with the arrival of the missionaries heightens Okonkwo 's internal aggression, and his inability to adapt leads to his downfall.

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In “Things Fall Apart” Achebe gives background information on Okonkwo saying “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife.” (5). This quotation from chapter one demonstrates that Okonkwo’s nobility of prosperity is revealed by his success’ from his early years and forward. The villagers within Okonkwo’s clan love and honor him for his personal achievements, and he

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¨He had no patience with unsuccessful men, He had no patience with his father¨(Achebe Pg. #4). Okonkwo does not tolerate men who had no title or who were lazy, including his father. He was so unsympathetic and full of his own priorities that he had no patience for his own father. This shows that he has no sympathy for people who are considered less of him.

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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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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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His father was the exact opposite of what the Igbo people stand for. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is a “coward [who] could not bear the sight of blood” (Achebe 6). In turn, Okonkwo became a ruthless warrior who was known across the different tribes. The worst aspect of Unoka is that he was considered to be a failure. This caused Okonkwo “even as a little boy [to resent] his father’s failure” (13).

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Among those of the same culture, individuals who are adaptive and open-minded can be successful when there is cultural collision. When the Igbo and European cultures collide, Okonkwo gradually spirals out of control, losing everything he values and his own sense of self. From the beginning of the novel, Achebe depicts Okonkwo as a virile warrior and a successful farmer within the Igbo tribe. Reacting with violence to anything he considers “womanly” or “weak”, “He was a man of action and man of war” (10). Because of his reputation as a warrior he is highly respected by his community.

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Unoka was described as lazy, improvident and not capable of thinking about tomorrow. From this Okonkwo was ashamed of his father and strives to be nothing like him. Okonkwo’s hatred towards his father has hardened his heart and has made him incapable of being a person of compassion and understanding throughout the novel. His hatred for his father has made him fear failure and weakness throughout the story. His fear of failure has brought him to his downfall.

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Eventually, after numerous hardships, Okonkwo earns his success and obtains several barns and wives. This symbolizes wealth and power which were what Okonkwo had been working for all his life. Moreover, Achebe portrays Okonkwo as a fierce warrior and is also represents him as a model clansman in the society:

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Things Fall Apart, a book written by the author Chinua Achebe is a story filled with amazing culture. It is about the rise and downfall of the main character, Okonkwo. The book had many different aspects of the African culture and the different time period. For example, characters and their importance throughout the story, and how women were treated in this culture and time period. Topics from religion, family, and the social complexity were very much involved throughout the entire book and portrayed by many of the characters.

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(Butcher, 2000). It is due to his hubris or hamartia , he commits a crime. He then undergoes through pain and suffering and learns a fundamental truth of life. In short , tragic hero is a person who makes error in his jugdement which leads to downfall of himself in end (Aristotle,n.a) and ends usually with death of protagonist with evocation of pity and fear among the reader. However, Okonkwo does have few traits of tragic hero.

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First, his relationship with his father Unoka. Who he did not have a great relationship with. And someone he did not specifically care for. Someone he knew who just so happen to be his father. In the book there is a quote “okonkwo was ruled by one passion- to hate everything his father had loved”.

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