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Things Fall Apart Essay: Okonkwo the tragic hero
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Literary English
Character Analysis of Okonkwo | Things Fall Apart
Okonkwo is the protagonist of the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. He was a man of iron-will and moulded his fate with his own efforts and constant hard work. Okonkwo was a man of mixed traits: He was brave, hardworking, ambitious, but on the other hand, he also had traits like short-temperament, rashness, anger and zero tolerance.
Physical appearance of Okonkwo:
As described by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a tall and a stout man. His eyebrows are bushy. His wide nose on his face makes his more aggressive. He looks strict, severe, and harsh by body language and behavior. He walks on his toes, raising his heals. He is a short-tempered man and cannot control his anger. He makes no delay in taking any action that is against him. He speaks loudly and in anger; he uses his fist to beat his family members.
Achievements of Okonkwo as a man of action:
Okonkwo was hardworking and determined in his goals. He was famous among all nearby villages due to his achievements. He was a good wrestler who knew only how to win. He had won many titles that he won in inter-tribal wars. His fame was only because of his hard work and personal achievements. He was a bold person and never feared of bloodshed in wars. He was the first man in his family who brought a head of a man during a war and it was the fifth head brought in Umofia. Okonkwo was wealthy, brave, violent and firmly adhered to family traditions.
He was a good and hardworking farmer. He had two barns full of yams. Although his starting career as a farmer was very bad because that year turned to be the worst year for farmers due to excessive rains. One of the farmer of Umofia hanged himself due to despair but Okonkwo remained determined and said: “Since I survived that year, I shall survive anything”.
Fears of failure hovering over Okonkwo
Okonkwo’s father Unoka was a lazy man who had no value in his tribe. Due to his laziness, he fell in the practice of taking debt from other people. He died with heavy debt. On the other hand, his son Okonkwo was a hardworking man who earned fame by his struggles. Now Okonkwo feared to lose his fame like his father if he followed footstep of his father. This was the reason that make him strict in family matters and do not like his children to be like his own father Unoka.
He was not cruel by heart but he was a responsible man of his family and he showed love also towards his children as in the case of Ezinma. He had a great influence of his daughter Ezinma on him. When Okonkwo returned after killing Ikemefuna, he did not eat for three days. It was only Ezinma, who can understand her father, and she prepared food for her father. Okonkwo loved Ezinma with a wish that she were a boy.
Tragic flaws of Okonkwo:
Fear of weakness and failure is the main cause of Okonkwo’ tragic flaw. He killed Ikemefuna not for taking revenge from nearby village but because he only feared that if he did not participate in killing, people will think him coward like his father Unoka. Though he was happy to have Ikemefuna in his home but he could not love him openly because according to Okonkwo, loving openly a child is a sign of weakness and this fear made him short temper and rude towards his children.
A sad accident contributed in tragic fall of Okonkwo. During funeral of Ezeudu, Okonkwo’s gun exploded and killed 16-year-old son of Ezeudu. To kill a person was a crime against the goddess of earth. Consequently, Okonkwo was exiled for seven years and he spent those seven years in him mother village Mbanta.
Okonkwo after exile of 7 years:
Okonkwo was hopeful that after exile of 7 years, he would gain same honor and status in Umofia. However, when Okonkwo returned Umofia, he found missionaries campaign at climax. He was the man who cannot bear change in custom, tradition religion and in all other social factors. He had to face the changes but he was not ready to accept it. Although people of Umofia were not willing to oppose changes and only one man was not able to preserve old Umofia. Because of fear of failure and weakness against white missionaries, he hanged himself at the end.
Okonkwo ended his life like a true tragic hero. He stood with his ancestral culture, custom, and traditions. He was a man of strong will. He fought many wars and made victories. Despite his many heroic qualities, he failed due to his short sightedness, rashness, anger and violence. He failed to change himself according to the changing environment in Umofia. This was the only reason that pushed him to his downfall.
Things Fall Apart
- List Of Main Characters
- Brief Story By Chinua Achebe
- Long Summary By Chinua Achebe
- Character Analysis Of Okonkwo
- Main Themes | Chinua Achebe
Home / Novel / Things Fall Apart as a Tragedy | Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero
Things Fall Apart as a Tragedy | Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero
Table of contents
What is a tragedy.
Greeks were the ones that used to write tragedies; some of them survived and reached to us; many were translated in English language. We read them and learn a lot of new things from those tragedies. Things Fall Apart also seems a complete tragedy; however, in Greeks, Oedipus Rex was the most famous tragedy. It is also the most discussed tragedy in the history of English literature. In fact, it was a favourite of Aristotle. He mentions it in his book Poetics..
Aristotle is of the considered opinion that a tragedy is an imitation of an action. He further mentions in poetics that poetry is divided into two types; one of them is serious, hence, tragedy is always serious. It should be complete and has a certain magnitude. Further the tragedy causes catharsis of emotions and feelings of pity and fear. Needless to mention that he answered to the objections that Plato raised against the poets while saying that it is a pure lie. Aristotle calls tragedy one of the best methods of learning.
Ingredients of Tragedy
From the above said definition of tragedy, that Aristotle provided in his book Poetics, characteristics of a tragedy, apart from imitation of nature, are:
Mostly, we judge plays in view of the definition of a tragedy; however, subsequently when novels replaced dramas the critics started making judgements on the novels on the basis of the definition of tragedy provided by Aristotle. Thus, there is no difference between a drama and a novel so far as the primary purpose of a tragedy is concerned. A novel can also fulfil the requirements in the same way a play does.
Tragedy should be Serious:
It is worth mentioning here that serious does not mean to portray everything without comic elements. Dr. Faustus is a play that contains some comic elements, which we call comic relief yet it is the best tragedy followed by Aristotle’s tragedies.
A Certain Magnitude
In simple words, by magnitude Aristotle means the length. He is of the view that a tragedy should be long enough to make people realise the consequences. Primary purpose of the tragedy is the catharsis, hence, if a writer discusses things in detail then he achieves the primary purpose of a tragedy. Things Fall Apart has a certain magnitude, hence, it is a complete tragedy.
Catharsis of Emotions of Pity and Fear
Primary purpose of a tragedy is catharsis of emotions; hence, it is the main and the most important requirement of a tragedy. Aristotle sees tragedy as an effective way of teaching the people, hence, he mentions some of the important things to choose while portraying a tragic hero. He mentions so to fulfil the primary purpose of a tragedy.
Things Fall Apart and Tragedy of Okonkwo
A hero should not be wicked as there is no tragedy in seeing an evil person falling from prosperity to adversity because he deserves it. If he is too innocent, the readers will not be able to justify his tragic downfall and instead of arousing the feeling of piety and fear it will just shock the readers. Okonkwo entirely fits this condition. He is not too bad to be a tragic hero nor too good. Ultimately, he falls from prosperity to adversity. The writer of the novel puts this characteristic in him to completely make Things Fall Apart a complete tragedy.
Hamartia and Tragedy of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart
It is necessary for catharsis; without it there is no catharsis; it also completes a tragedy. A hero must have hamartia, due to which he suffers. Hamartia is an error in the character. A mistake,which is committed in passion or because of a moral flaw.
It was his fear due to which he takes part in killing Ikemefuna. When he returns from exile, he finds missionaries at the climax. He tries to deal with them single handedly but fails to save his culture from destruction. After settling in life and earning respect, he becomes haughty and rash. Resultantly, he suffers with the penalty of his life. He suffers and causes the arousal of feelings of piety and fear. Catharsis is based on the tragedy of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart.
Conclusion of Things Fall Apart as a Tragedy
In a nutshell, Okonkwo is a noble man, who has a good reputation and reverence in the vicinity. He is a person, who is known in nine nearby villages. Everyone respects him and admires his nobleness. Moreover, he is not a wicked man as we know that he has got this reputation by the dint of his hard work. We find him a person, who is at the peak and spending a flourishing life with his family. He is not the innocent one. He is not a pious man and has some errors. Okonkwo is a mixture of good and evil as required by Aristotle for catharsis of pity and fear.
We can admire Okonkwo for his best qualities, such as his hard working capacity, his vigilance and his bravery but at the same time we don’t like him as he is hasty, harsh and strict to his family, beats his wives and deals everything with heavy hands. In short, Things Fall Apart is a tragedy for Okonkwo and also for Umofian society.
Okonkwo’s Identity in “Things Fall Apart” Essay
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It remains evident that the culture has a vehement influence on the personality and traits of an individual (Heillriegel and Slocum, 38). In this case, the identity is connected to the perception of being the part and attachment of the significant cultural group (Littlejohn and Foss 90).
In turn, it could be assumed that the vehement feeling of connection to the particular culture influences perceptions and identity of an individual about the place of his/her culture in the world due to the distortion of the personal identification and inability to see his/her culture from the different angle.
The primary goal of this essay is to define the influence of the connection of cultural history to one’s identity and determine how the sense of identity modifies the perception of the culture based on the analysis of Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart by Achebe. In the end, the conclusions are drawn.
As was mentioned earlier, culture has a strong influence on the personal identity of an individual due to the cultivation of particular qualities. The studies reveal that the representatives of different cultures have different perceptions of the world, as the cultures focus on the significance of the particular traits (Eap et al. 630). People have a tendency to follow the cultural principles, as it is considered as a commonly accepted social norm.
The traces of this phenomenon can be noticed in the book Things Fall Apart by Achebe, which portrays the story of Okonkwo, who is the leader of the tribe (Achebe 20). Nonetheless, it remains evident that Okonkwo is the production of the society, which has to face the conflict of interests between historical and cultural aspects (Whittaker and Msiska 80). In this instance, the culture of the region plays an essential role in the formation of Okonkwo’s personal traits, as the power of culture cannot be underestimated.
Nonetheless, the cultural identity determines the position of the culture in the world in the eyes of the individual. The individuals tend to view the world from a different perspective, and their personal traits, which are influenced by the culture, determine this vision. Speaking of the tragedy of Okonkwo, the leader of the tribe is located in between the controversial perceptions of the world in the context of the book Things Fall Apart (Achebe 20).
In this instance, his perception of the world experience changes, but the cultural influence still has dominating positions in his perceptions of the world and the structure of society. It could be said that the cultural identity has a vehement effect on the position of the culture in the world in the eyes of the individual due to the cultivation of particular qualities. In the end, the role of the culture while forming the perception of the world cannot be underestimated, as Okonkwo was not able to overcome the power of his tradition.
However, the misconceptions and distortion occur due to the inability to accept the changes and monitor the position from a different angle. One of the tragic examples of an adverse impact on cultural identity is the tragedy of Okonkwo. Okonkwo is the head of the tribe, which is often depicted as a tragic hero (Booker 202). In the context of the story, he plays the role of an individual, who is able to unite all the members by the portrayal of his identity (Booker 202).
Being in between the cultures is the primary cause of his inability to define his position towards the traditions of his tribe, as he seeks the ways to protect his culture and overwhelmed with it simultaneously. The perceptions of his traditional culture cause the distortion in his mindset, as he is not able to adapt to the changes in the flow of life. In this instance, being in between his cultural dogmas and controversial perception of the world causes the distortion of his personality since cultural history has a strong influence on his life.
In conclusion, it remains evident that there is a wide variety of the example, which underline the fact the cultural history and personal traits are interdependent. Okonkwo’s example revealed that the individual’s personality could be distorted by the inability to define his position in the world and see the place of his culture from a different perception.
It could be said that despite being able to spot the change, Okonkwo was not able to entirely adapt to the modifications due to the strong power of culture. In this case, it remains evident that the power of culture cannot be underestimated due to its ability to control the perceptions of the individuals about the position of culture in the world and affect the individual traits of one’s personality.
In turn, the culture also the distortion of the personality, as one is not able to entirely define whether his position was determined by the culture or by personal understanding. A similar situation occurred with Okonkwo, as he was placed in between the controversial opinions, which did not correspond with either side.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London, Penguin Random House, 2013. Print.
Booker, Keith. The Chinua Achebe Encyclopedia . Westport: Greenwood Press, 2003. Print.
Eap, Sopagna, David DeGarmo, Ayaka Kawakami, Shelley Hara, Gordon Hall and Andra Teten. “Culture and Personality among European American and Asian American Men.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 39.5 (2008): 630-643. Print.
Heillriegel, Don, and John Slocum. Organizational Behavior . Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Littlejohn, Stephen, and Karen Foss. Theories of Human Communication . Belmont: Thompson Wadsworth, 2006. Print.
Whittaker, David, and Mpalive-Hangson Msiska. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. London: Routledge, 2007. Print.
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IvyPanda. (2020, May 9). Okonkwo's Identity in "Things Fall Apart". https://ivypanda.com/essays/okonkwos-identity-in-things-fall-apart/
"Okonkwo's Identity in "Things Fall Apart"." IvyPanda , 9 May 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/okonkwos-identity-in-things-fall-apart/.
IvyPanda . (2020) 'Okonkwo's Identity in "Things Fall Apart"'. 9 May.
IvyPanda . 2020. "Okonkwo's Identity in "Things Fall Apart"." May 9, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/okonkwos-identity-in-things-fall-apart/.
1. IvyPanda . "Okonkwo's Identity in "Things Fall Apart"." May 9, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/okonkwos-identity-in-things-fall-apart/.
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IvyPanda . "Okonkwo's Identity in "Things Fall Apart"." May 9, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/okonkwos-identity-in-things-fall-apart/.
Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Tragic Hero / Okonkwo: A Tragic Hero In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe
Okonkwo: A Tragic Hero In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe
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