What Is Okonkwo A Tragic Hero

A “tragic hero” is “a character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.” It is argued that the main character of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, is a classic “tragic hero”. Okonkwo is a member of the Igbo community in Nigeria. As a young man, Okonkwo worked hard to gain the respect of the other members in the community. He was well known throughout the village and his solid personal achievements are how he built his fame. Although to some, Okonkwo was a leader, he was destined for downfall.
One of Okonkwo’s “heroic” qualities is his masculinity. He is described as a courageous and hardworking man. Okonkwo wanted to be everything that his father wasn’t. His father, Unoka, lacked masculinity and was said to
Okonkwo was motivated by his father’s laziness and showed hard work consistently . “I began to fend for myself at an age when most people still suck at their mothers’ breast.” (Achebe, 18) Growing up without someone to show him the ropes, Okonkwo pushed to work harder than his father did. He spent a lot of his time working on the farm during his exile so that he could become very wealthy. “Okonkwo worked on his farms daily from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost.” (Achebe, 11) He demanded that his family work because he didn’t want them to be like his father. According to Okonkwo yams were symbolic to him and stood for manliness. The man that could feed his family on yams was a man indeed. (Achebe, 28) His devotion to not being feminine made his hard work
He was never afraid of a fight, which was different than his father who couldn’t stand the sight of blood. From a young age he was known as a warrior in his community and had even been the first one to bring home a human head from war. He was fearless in fight, which can either be a good or bad quality.
Two possible weaknesses that Okonkwo possesses are his fear of looking weak and his violent qualities. Okonkwo spent his whole life possessed by the fear of how his father lived his life. “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with is father.” (Achebe, 3) Okonkwo would beat his son Nwoye because he considered his as weak. In time, Nyowe became the person that he wanted him to be.
In order for Okonkwo to not appear weak, he showed no emotion unless it was anger. His violent ways showed with his actions towards his family and the people he was surrounded by. Okonkwo violated the week of peace by beating his wife for not cooking dinner for the family. The week of peace was a sacred week for the community and goes to show that his anger was something that he had troubles hiding even during a week that promoted