A tragic hero is someone of superior qualities and status, who suffers a reversal of fortune due to major character flaws. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Achebe portrays his own characterization of a tragic hero through Okonkwo, the main character. Like typical tragic heroes in other literature, he suffers a terrible death in the end. Despite his honorable and respectable social status, Okonkwo's tragic flaws, fear of failure and anger, bring about his own destruction.
Okonkwo is one of the most powerful men in the Igbo tribe: "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyondâ¦he had brought honour to his village by throwing the Cat" (3). This suggests that in his society, power is attained by achieving greatness and fame, either through fighting or wrestling. Okonkwo also works and tends to his crops in a zealous fashion, which drives everyone around him to be as diligent as him.
English: Montage of Igbo people which include: Ola...
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English: Chinua Achebe speaking at Asbury Hall, Bu...Because of this, he earns his place as one of Umuofia's most respectable leaders. Though he isn't always please with his children and wives, they bring him a sense of pride and respect since having a large family means that the head of the family is able to support all of them. Okonkwo fails to free himself from his major character flaws, which ultimately brings about his tragic demise.
Okonkwo's first prominent flaw is his fear of failure, which is greatly influenced by his father, Unoka, a very lazy and carefree man. He had a reputation of being "poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eatâ¦he was a loafer" (4). Ashamed of his incapable father, Okonkwo felt that anything that resembled Unoka or anything that his father enjoyed was weak and unnecessary. Because of his fear to be seen as weak, Okonkwo even strikes...