Okonkwo A Tragic Hero In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

A tragic hero is a person who is born with nobility, hero traits, a tragic flaw, and in the end made a mistake leads to his doom. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is a respected, stubborn, and narrow minded person, who has to deal with the conflicts in the village and his culture. Okonkwo is described to be a tragic hero for the things that he deals with in his village, the things he does to not become like his shameful father, and the way people portray him that ultimately lead to his downfall. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe develops Okonkwo as an tragic hero whose flaws of not wanting to be like his father, stubborn, and has narrow mindedness ultimately lead to his downfall.

Okonkwo is a greatly respected person in his village, and he

His son Nwoye, is thought of by Okonkwo as lazy, like his Okonkwo’s father Unoka, and too much like Nwoye’s mother. Okonkwo wants Nwoye to be manly, and was happy when he becomes more manly. He disowned Nwoye when he runs away from the family and joins the missionaries. He is stubborn to realize that Nwoye wanted to choose a different path then what Okonkwo wanted for him. Okonkwo wanted Nwoye to take over his house when he was older. As stated in the book, “ He wanted Nwoye to grow into a young tough man capable of ruling his father’s household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors” ( Achebe, 52). He wanted Nwoye to be the son he always wanted, he never took into account what Nwoye wanted. In the end, Okonkwo didn’t accept that Nwoye wanted a different path in life, and was too stubborn to realize. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe portrays Okonkwo as a tragic hero who major flaws that leads to his downfall is not wanting to be anything like his father, stubborn, and narrow