Okonkwo Is Not A Hero
“Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on his personal achievements” (Achebe 3). This is the introduction to Okonkwo, the main character in Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart; Okonkwo is revered in his Nigerian hometown of Umuofia and other surrounding villages because of his strength, masculinity, and his combat potential; in the last chapter of the book, Okonkwo kills himself most likely because he was unable to adjust to the world changing around him. With this information, Okonkwo could be called a tragic hero, a term coined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle and it is used to refer to someone who is highly revered but falls due to a fatal flaw. Okonkwo cannot be a tragic hero because he
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Okonkwo is not a hero anymore because he lost the admiration Umuofia once had for him. The general definition of a hero is someone who is admired and praised for their achievements and noble characteristics, the definition of a hero will vary between people- someone might find one action done more noble and praiseworthy than someone else. By extension, Okonkwo was once a hero in the eyes of Umuofia, as he used to be praised for his strength, “ As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the greatest wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten…”(Achebe 3). In the beginning of the novel, Umuofia and the surrounding villages prided themselves on their masculinity, strength, and titles. Okonkwo was held in a high regard because of how successful he became despite his upbringing with his unsuccessful father; Okonkwo had a prosperous yam farm, three wives, and was strict. However, when the English missionaries arrived in Umuofia and started to spread Christianity, people started to focus more on education and the people of Umuofia started to follow the missionaries laws- all while Okonkwo refused to
Okonkwo is not a hero anymore because he lost the admiration Umuofia once had for him. The general definition of a hero is someone who is admired and praised for their achievements and noble characteristics, the definition of a hero will vary between people- someone might find one action done more noble and praiseworthy than someone else. By extension, Okonkwo was once a hero in the eyes of Umuofia, as he used to be praised for his strength, “ As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the greatest wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten…”(Achebe 3). In the beginning of the novel, Umuofia and the surrounding villages prided themselves on their masculinity, strength, and titles. Okonkwo was held in a high regard because of how successful he became despite his upbringing with his unsuccessful father; Okonkwo had a prosperous yam farm, three wives, and was strict. However, when the English missionaries arrived in Umuofia and started to spread Christianity, people started to focus more on education and the people of Umuofia started to follow the missionaries laws- all while Okonkwo refused to