Okonkwo Tragic Hero

The novel “things fall apart” is about the fatal demise of Okonkwo and the igbo culture of Umuofia. Okonkwo is well known and respected leader in his community, who is successful in everything he does, such as wrestling and farming. He is quick with his hands and takes pride in his accomplishments. Okonkwo’s family relationship makes him a sympathetic character because of his support and an unsympathetic character because of his cruelty.

Throughout this novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist, mostly referred to as “Okonkwo” is very impulsive. The protagonist sometimes cannot control his thought process and thus would lead to effects and sufferings to others. Okonkwo is very impulsive. He acts before he thinks. As a result of this, his actions would come in place and effects others. In the book, “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo’s impulsive actions are demonstrated through the killing of his son Ikemefuna and the beating of his second wife Ekwelfi.

STOP THE KILLINGS! In the book Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe,the theme is kill when need to kill. If not done so you will either regret it, have a great deal of guilt and/or can lead to suicide. Throughout the book Okonkwo did things he did not like which lead him up to his breaking point at the end. I will further explain more about the theme.

You would think people are strong but somethings can hurt them and mean a lot to them. Everyone wants to be strong it’s just certain things that make them who they are. In this essay you will be reading about about how Okonkwo hanged from the beginning to the end of the story and how things drastically changed.

Okonkwo is very much affected by all three of the factors listed above. One of the main factors is his past. Okonkwo 's motivation to be a better man than his dad is what truly shapes him to be who he really is. Okonkwo has a love for his village like the love they have for him. But out of fear that he would be like his father, he started becoming very irresponsible and did things without thinking. He was feared by many and loved by many as well which made him become a very respected member in his tribe. Eventually he could not stand watching his village change its morals and become modernized so he took his own life. His eagerness to stay original and fear of change become his own demise.

Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe. In the novel there is a main character called Okonkwo. He lived in Umuofia where he was also known throughout many of the nine villages around Umuofia. In the beginning of the story we see his overwhelming hatred towards his father Unoka. His father died about ten years ago and had not taken any title and was very much in debt. Unoka was described as lazy, improvident and not capable of thinking about tomorrow. From this Okonkwo was ashamed of his father and strives to be nothing like him. Okonkwo’s hatred towards his father has hardened his heart and has made him incapable of being a person of compassion and understanding throughout the novel. His hatred for his father has made him fear failure and weakness throughout the story. His fear of failure has brought him to his downfall.

The importance of fatherhood in this novel is that a father is the provider, defender and teacher for their children. Okonkwo is also a warrior, leader and farmer which is opposite of his father, Unoka. Unoka is known as lazy, coward and in debt with all the people in the village. Okonkwo is afraid that Nwoye becoming like his father. Okonkwo abused his wives and beat Nwoye. His reasoning for hurting his family is tell himself that he is not like his father. He is a warrior and that he can hurt and kill people.

Okonkwo was raised by his father Unoka who never earned any titles. Unoka was a sensitive man who never relished at the thought of war, but found joy in playing his flute. Unoka did not have the greatest luck when it came to farming, this caused him to end up in a lot of debt that he couldn’t pay back. Unlike his father, Okonkwo had no problem with the idea of war. Okonkwo grew up resenting his father for not being stronger and more masculine. Okonkwo is constantly fearing that he will end up a failure like his father. This fear has caused him to abandon the emotions that make him seem weak like pain, sadness, love and acceptance. He

In his novel, “Things Fall Apart,” Chinua Achebe reveals the stories of a respected clan member, whose pride and anger eventually led to his end against the incoming British Imperialists. Okonkwo is a short-tempered man who is afraid of following the footsteps of his failed father. Although he works his way up in the community, his temper overtakes him and causes him to take actions that later lead to harsh consequences. After living for seven years in his home village to serve his sentence of banishment, Okonkwo returns to the village of Umuofia to find the British imperialists slowly taking over. Due to a sequence of events that include being taken hostage and murdering a messenger, Okonkwo decides to take his own life before the British have a chance to execute him. The British Imperialists transformed the village of the Umuofia by instituting a new religion, advanced technology, and a modern government system. Achebe conveys how British Imperialism led to the downfall of the Ibo culture.

Towards the end of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo decided to take his own life due to the changes in his tribe caused by the white missionaries. This makes it harder to distinguish if the colonists were responsible for Okonkwo’s death and the diminishing of the Ibo Tribe. However, these colonists are gradually pushing an agenda to the Igbo people where Okonkwo is critical against. The collision between two separate beliefs causes various conflicts occurring in Things Fall Apart that eventually causes Umuofia to fall apart. This undermines Okonkwo’s drive to succeed in traditional terms and his desire to be a leader in his tribe. The diminishing of the Igbo tribe by the white colonists terminates that goal for Okonkwo to succeed which leads

Things fall apart is a tragedy novel written by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo, who is the protagonist of the novel and one of the most powerful men in the Ibo tribe often resorts to violence to make his points understood. Down in his heart, Okonkwo is not a cruel man, but his life is dominated by his internal conflict, the fear of failure and of weakness. He hated his father, Unoka, because he was a lazy debtor. Okonkwo made it a point in his life to set himself apart from his father by being well known and wealthy as well as becoming a great warrior in the tribal conflicts of Umuofia and the surrounding villages. His fear leads him to commit cruel actions that are disastrous for him and the clan, for examples, his uncontrollable anger has caused his family and the clan to fear him. Okonkwo's external conflict will be his family and religion which is one of the reasons that led to the death of Okonkwo at the end.

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo was a very honorable man. He was motivated to be dignified. Okonkwo had a self fear of being a weak, lazy, and unsuccessful man, like his father had been. His father played a key role in the man Okonkwo became. His father actions in life caused his sons outlook on life to become bleached and devoid to any since of kindness in life. Okonkwo hated anything and everything his dad loved in life.

1. The Ibo, as described, live in a group of nine villages connected by their ruling elders. The villages’ interactions are marked by the patterns of contact between them. The ideas of family honor, implied “contracts”, bravery, as well as tradition, are all touched on through these interactions, marking the defining

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, is a novel revealing the life and customs of a Nigerian village in the 1890’s. Okonkwo, the protagonist of the story, has a fear of becoming like his father, Unoka. Unoka, was a failure to his family and Umuofia. He was a lazy man who lacked power and respect from the people of Umuofia. From a very young age, Okonkwo makes a goal to be a powerful man, unlike his father. Okonkwo 's goal causes him to become an aggressive, power hungry, extremist in his culture and ostracizes him from his people because they can not understand his motives. Okonkwo 's fear of being like his father harbors an obsessive desire for power, which ultimately leads to his demise.

In literature, there are many characters that stand out and show that they have a variety of qualities about them. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is one character that presents character traits from both the negative and positive sides of him. Okonkwo is portrayed to be a warrior who wanted to become somebody strong and looked up to, but also possesses less favorable qualities. He, however, does not let any one trait dictate his whole personality; he is written to be a well-rounded character. Okonkwo has traits that present him as both a strong character and a weak one, and they all play a part in defining who Okonkwo really is.