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Phillip Young

Honors English 11

4/23/2018

Was Okonkwo a Tragic Hero?

Have you ever watched a movie or a book where the main character has everything they

could ask for then makes a stupid decision and loses it all? Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero

is that of someone being highly respected on a journey then making a judgement call that led to

his/her downfall. Okonkwo in ​Things Fall Apart​, by Chinua Achebe, is considered by most a

tragic hero; but how did he go from being one of the most respected men in Umuofia but dying

the least respected of the clan?

Okonkwo, from “Things Fall Apart”, has many ups and downs but still strives to live

better than his father did. “Okonkwo was ruled by one passion-to hate everything that his father

Unoka had loved” (13). His journey to right the wrongs left behind from his father advances his

character by developing him as a tragic hero. In addition the author states, “Okonkwo was well

known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal

achievements” (1). His father, Unoka, leaving behind nothing to him shows how Okonkwo

started from the very bottom as the son of lazy, poor father; he became a highly respected

individual of the clan. Although in every book or movie, tragic heroes have noticeable fatal flaws

that undermine their success.

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All tragic heroes have a fatal flaw. A fatal flaw is a character trait that causes the

individual to make decisions that lead to his/her downfall (Cultures in Conflict Unit 3).

Okonkwo’s fatal flaw highly affects his character development. His fatal flaw is that he is afraid

of being thought as being weak and a failure. “Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and

cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak” (61). His fear of being thought as weak

caused him to kill a man. Although it was accepted to kill in their culture the principal of

committing such crime just for being thought weak is extremely deranged compared to our

culture. “Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said: ‘“This meeting is for men.”’ The man

who had contradicted him had no titles. That was why he called him a woman. Okonkwo knew

how to kill a man’s spirit” (26). His father, Unoka, also had taken no title so he was called an

agbala. Since one of Okonkwo’s fatal flaw characteristics caused him to be completely against

his father, he did not taking any liking to him thus he denied him access to the meeting.

Okonkwo’s fatal flaw and heroic attributes also compare to many other characters in different

books/movies.

Many other characters, not in ​Things Fall Apart​, have tragic heroes that dynamically

advance the plot. Two examples with tragic heroes are ​The Hulk ​and ​Romeo and Juliet​. The Hulk

is a tragic hero because his fatal flaw caused him to become angry and he lost control of himself

to the point where he had to be killed. “He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and

could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use his fists. He had no patience with

unsuccessful men” (4). Also Romeo is considered a tragic hero. His journey to be with Juliet

causes him to do many drastic things that overall lead to his downfall towards the end of the
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play. This relates to Okonkwo because he is on a journey to right the wrongs of his father.

“Whenever he thought of his father’s weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by

thinking about his own strength and success” (66). Both of these compare to Okonkwo because

even though their fatal flaw may not outweigh their respect and prosperity their fatal flaw slowly

catches up with them in the end. Overall there are numerous books and movies that have tragic

heroes that can compare to Okonkwo in ​Things Fall Apart​.

Okonkwo demonstrates many qualities of a tragic hero but his fatal flaw clearly led to his

death. His attributes: having a mixture of good and bad, his determination on his journey, and

finally his fatal flaw show the reader evidence of his tragic hero characteristics. Having

Okonkwo as a tragic hero in ​Things Fall Apart​ truly develops the plot and theme of the book.