Okonkwo Tragic Hero
Preston Grand Pre
African American R1A
Professor Nanda
Rough Draft Things Fall Apart
A hero is someone who is admired or Idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is someone who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In reading “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okwonkwo is a tragic hero. Okwonkwo is the main protagonist in this book and is a leader and dedicated member of the Igbo Community of Umuofa whose tragic flaw is his vast fear of weakness and failure. These flaws eventually distract Okwonkwo from succeeding as a important member of the village and make him a tragic hero due to the fact Okwonkwo got exiled from the Igbo community and eventually took his own life, therefor by him making a “judgment error,” Okwonkwo becomes a tragic hero.
Okwonkwo was a hard working individual in his village and was a “wealthy farmer”(8). Okwonkwo held a very high status in his village because he “was already one of the greatest men of his time”(8). Okwonkwo was driven by hard work which resonates from his “fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father”(15) this is Okwonkwo’s tragic flaw. Okwonkwo was not afraid of the work nor the hardships, he was …show more content…
For example, he wonders how he, a man of such divinity and hard work could have a son who was a” degenerate and effeminate” (133). Okwonkwo thought that if he could not rule his children and woman in his life, then “ he was really not a man”(45). This upsets Okwonkwo because he sees it as a weakness and a failure that he cannot rule his family and women in his life. He becomes fearful that he will lose control of his family, high status in his village, himself and most importantly he will become like his father. These fears lead him to act out abruptly and beat his wives and also disapprove of his own
African American R1A
Professor Nanda
Rough Draft Things Fall Apart
A hero is someone who is admired or Idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is someone who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In reading “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okwonkwo is a tragic hero. Okwonkwo is the main protagonist in this book and is a leader and dedicated member of the Igbo Community of Umuofa whose tragic flaw is his vast fear of weakness and failure. These flaws eventually distract Okwonkwo from succeeding as a important member of the village and make him a tragic hero due to the fact Okwonkwo got exiled from the Igbo community and eventually took his own life, therefor by him making a “judgment error,” Okwonkwo becomes a tragic hero.
Okwonkwo was a hard working individual in his village and was a “wealthy farmer”(8). Okwonkwo held a very high status in his village because he “was already one of the greatest men of his time”(8). Okwonkwo was driven by hard work which resonates from his “fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father”(15) this is Okwonkwo’s tragic flaw. Okwonkwo was not afraid of the work nor the hardships, he was …show more content…
For example, he wonders how he, a man of such divinity and hard work could have a son who was a” degenerate and effeminate” (133). Okwonkwo thought that if he could not rule his children and woman in his life, then “ he was really not a man”(45). This upsets Okwonkwo because he sees it as a weakness and a failure that he cannot rule his family and women in his life. He becomes fearful that he will lose control of his family, high status in his village, himself and most importantly he will become like his father. These fears lead him to act out abruptly and beat his wives and also disapprove of his own