Okonkwo As A Tragic Hero In Things Fall Apart

In the late 1800s to the 1900s Europe had a strong presence in the African continent where colonizers displayed strong dominance over the people and culture, selling people into slavery and converting the local people to Christianity. In the book Things Fall Apart, the author, Chinua Achebe, tells the story of Europe’s presence in Africa through the eyes of a man named Okonkwo, native to the tribe of Umuofia, located in Nigeria. Achebe creates a poignant story by making Okonkwo a tragic hero, who goes through many trials of will strength, but in the end loses his pride and hits rock bottom.
In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo becomes a tragic hero through the series of events which take place in his life. His story starts off when he is a
Okonkwo gains fame in his youth by becoming a mighty wrestler and warrior. Soon he works to satisfy his need to be the polar opposite of his father. He “worked to earn his first seed yams”(Achebe 18) from a wealthy man and ends up growing a great farm. Soon he marries three wives and has many children. Later the tribe puts Okonkwo in charge for caring for a boy named Ikemefuna, who he grows to love like a son. Three peaceful years pass, only to be disrupted when the tribal leaders decide to use Ikemefuna as a sacrifice to the gods. During the sacrifice, Ikemefuna realizes what is happening and runs toward Okonkwo, who, “drew his machete and cut him down”(Achebe 60). Okonkwo falls into a depression and recovers after some time. Soon another bump in the road is to come, and he accidentally kills a village boy when his gun misfires, resulting in his banishment for seven years. He travels to his mother’s homeland where he is taken in by his distant relatives and begins to prosper in his mother’s village. After years of prosperity, his oldest son, Nwoye, is converted to Christianity, devastating Okonkwo. Soon he moves back to his village, only to find that