Okonkwo Tragic Hero
In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart the protagonist Okonkwo can be compared to a Greek tragic hero. Throughout the novel we see many heroic qualities as well as a tragic flaw that allows Okonkwo to be associated with a Greek tragic hero. There are many positive attributes given and attributed to Okonkwo, but it is that tragic flaw that humanizes him and allows us to decipher his growth and how he personally changes.
From the very beginning of the novel Okonkwo is described as very strong, agile, and “as slippery as a fish in water” (Achebe 1). These qualities are what made him well known and respected because at the age of eighteen they provided him him with the ability to throw Amalinze the Cat “who for seven years was unbeaten” (Achebe …show more content…
Okonkwo is not only described as fearful, but “possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (Achebe 15). The use of the word possessed shows how completely controlled Okonkwo is by fear, and because of the total control fear has over him “It is fear that becomes his tragic flaw” (McFeaters 2). The feelings that Okonkwo has towards Unoka affects the relationships Okonkwo shares with the people all around him. Most noticeably the relationship between Okonkwo and his eldest son Nwoye. Nwoye’s interests and actions can be better compared to his grandfather, Unoka, than his father Okonkwo. “Okonkwo’s character is made even more complex and more contemporary when we realize that the true nature of his fear is not in the past but the future” (Mcfeaters 2).The increasing similarities between grandfather and grandson made Okonkwo more fearful, and just as Okonkwo hated his father he also came to despise his son. As the focus of Okonkwo's fear switches from father to son there is a brief period where Nwoye is able to receive the approval of his father with the arrival of Ikemefuna whose brother-like characteristics teach Nwoye to be more masculine. With the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye once again questions his ideals, making Okonkwo once again angry and
From the very beginning of the novel Okonkwo is described as very strong, agile, and “as slippery as a fish in water” (Achebe 1). These qualities are what made him well known and respected because at the age of eighteen they provided him him with the ability to throw Amalinze the Cat “who for seven years was unbeaten” (Achebe …show more content…
Okonkwo is not only described as fearful, but “possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (Achebe 15). The use of the word possessed shows how completely controlled Okonkwo is by fear, and because of the total control fear has over him “It is fear that becomes his tragic flaw” (McFeaters 2). The feelings that Okonkwo has towards Unoka affects the relationships Okonkwo shares with the people all around him. Most noticeably the relationship between Okonkwo and his eldest son Nwoye. Nwoye’s interests and actions can be better compared to his grandfather, Unoka, than his father Okonkwo. “Okonkwo’s character is made even more complex and more contemporary when we realize that the true nature of his fear is not in the past but the future” (Mcfeaters 2).The increasing similarities between grandfather and grandson made Okonkwo more fearful, and just as Okonkwo hated his father he also came to despise his son. As the focus of Okonkwo's fear switches from father to son there is a brief period where Nwoye is able to receive the approval of his father with the arrival of Ikemefuna whose brother-like characteristics teach Nwoye to be more masculine. With the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye once again questions his ideals, making Okonkwo once again angry and