Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart Essay Sample

“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (Achebe 176). The novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, chronicles the life of the protagonist, Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo community, from the events leading up to his banishment from the community for accidentally killing a clansman, through the seven years of his exile, to his return, and the intrusion in the 1890s of white missionaries and colonial government into tribal Igbo society. This novel describes the disintegration of Okonkwo and of his village. Okonkwo is a self-made, well-respected member of the Umuofia clan. Though outwardly stern and powerful, much of his life is dictated by internal fear. His greatest fear is that he will become like his father who was lazy, unable to support his family, and cowardly. This means that Okonkwo attempts to work hard, be brave, and be masculine in every possible way. As a result, Okonkwo becomes very successful. He becomes wealthy, holds a high-ranked position in the community, has three wives, and is known for his skill as a wrestler and warrior. But his masculinity/fear of being feminine leads him to show emotions that are extreme, and his fear motivates him to take actions which are often unsafe and destructive to the people around him. Okonkwo reacts to the cultural collision between Western ideas and Igbo culture with such resentment/anger and depression. This reaction impacts the plot by leading him and others to destruction. This connects to the author’s purpose because Okonkwo’s and the clan's downfall represents the “falling apart” of the African clans and shows the troubles that were brought over to them by the missionaries. Okonkwo’s character helps develop the theme of the struggle between change and tradition in this novel.

The collision of cultures had a negative impact on Okonkwo. He became an even more angry and violent man. He felt threatened by the white man, as well as what he saw as the white man's interference and destruction of his world. In chapter 20, the text states, “As Okonkwo sat in his hut that night, gazing into a log fire, he thought over the matter. A sudden fury rose within him, and he felt a strong desire to take up his machete, go to the church and wipe out the entire vile and miscreant gang. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for” (Achebe 152). This quote shows how much Okonkwo is against the idea of “change” in his society. He even believes he is cursed just because he has a son who wants to join the Christians. Okonkwo likes the traditional way of his society, where one has to work hard and be wealthy in order to be powerful or successful. He wants his son to be the same way he is because he believes that is the only right way to live. He becomes very angry and had the urge to go into the church and kill everyone who didn’t belong to the original tribe. In chapter 24, Okonkwo develops the thought of vengeance, the text states, “If Umuofia decided on war, all would be well. But if they chose to be cowards he would go out and avenge himself” (Achebe 199). Okonkwo commits himself to taking vengeance, even if the rest of the clan lacks the courage to do so. Okonkwo thinks that “worthy men are no more” (Achebe 200) in Umuofia and so he will stand up and be one to help save the clan. As he sits alone planning, Okonkwo’s thoughts retreat to times past, when Umuofia was at its height and its warriors could be easily stirred into action. Okonkwo’s reliance on idealized images of the past shows, unlike his fellow clansmen, that he has failed to reckon with the newness of Umuofia’s current problems. The cultural collision leads Okonkwo and his community seeing that they were no longer the master of their own lands and the missionaries with Christian motifs were systematically eradicating their beliefs, which helped lead to the fall of Okonkwo. 

Okonkwo’s progression as a character exemplifies the complexity of African society and shows the negative impact of change on traditional ways of life. “Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength (Achebe chapter 4). Okonkwo’s lack of empathy and his willingness to use force to make his point, and his desire not to become like his father, who was weak and couldn’t take care of himself, shows how tight Okonkwo believes in the beliefs of masculinity in his culture. In chapter 21, the text states, "Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe 183). As the missionaries came to Umuofia, Okonkwo tried to prove his manliness but, in the end, lost it because he became a hopeless man who felt his tribe would not support his decision to make war against the white missionaries. Throughout the book, Okonkwo’s masculinity slowly faded away after the missionaries came which led him to losing himself after he lost every successful thing he had worked for. He didn’t have a real enough sense of himself to adapt to all the changes that lead to his downfall.

A tragic hero is a type of character in a tragedy and is usually the protagonist. Tragic heroes usually have heroic traits that earn them the sympathy of the audience, but also have flaws or make mistakes that ultimately lead to their own downfall. In this novel, Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero due to his leadership and eventual nobility, his big reverse as a character, and his tragic flaws of proving his masculinity and not showing the appropriate emotions that lead to his downfall. 

Eventually, through his hard work and effort, he became a noble leader, which is part of being a tragic hero.