Is Okonkwo A Tragic Hero Analysis

Many people suffer tragedy at some point in their lives whether big or small, Okonkwo is no exception. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, we follow the story of Okonkwo, a man who became known throughout his clan as a great man and had three wives and nine children. But one day his life started to fall apart when he was exiled to his mother’s homeland for seven years after accidentally killing a clansman. But soon after he was exiled, missionaries invaded Nigeria and with them brought a new religion and government which started turning Nigerian people against each other. In the end of it all, Okonkwo ended up hanging himself. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo has proven himself to be a tragic hero. Okonkwo is a tragic hero because
Many young men have come to me to ask for yams but I have refused because I knew they would just dump them in the earth and leave them to be choked by weeds. When i say no to them they think i am hard hearted. But it is not so. Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching. I have learned to be stingy with my yams. But I can trust you. I know it as I look at you. As our fathers said, you can tell a ripe corn by its look. I shall give you twice four hundred yams. Go ahead and prepare your farm. (Page 18, Things Fall Apart).

Throughout the novel, Okonkwo has acted very controlling and arrogant due to him having Hubris, or excessive pride. When it was the Week of Peace, Okonkwo’s youngest wife, Ojiugo, went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and didn’t come back early enough to make the afternoon meal. This made Okonkwo mad and he let his Hubris influence him to act boldly because when she came back, he beat her heavily, forgetting that it was the Week of Peace in his
Okonkwo accidentally shooting a clansman and was faced with being exiled from his village for seven years. His clan was one of brave and tough men before he was exiled. But when he came back from his exile, missionaries had invaded and turned those men soft. Okonkwo realized this and in the end, hung himself. Okonkwo had proven himself to be a tragic hero in his life and when he died. Okonkwo was a tragic hero because Okonkwo built his life from scratch and became known as the greatest wrestler, but he possessed Hubris which made him act too controlling and arrogant towards his family and others around him, and through the invasion of the missionaries and how other people acted, he realized that he was the only person left who was willing to fight which led to him ending