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Haley Adams

Mrs. Morris

English IV

16 September 2019
The Flaw That Led To His Demise

Sometimes a simple flaw brought about by childhood fears, can become a persons great-

est downfall. Throughout the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the author portrays the

character Okonkwo as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character whose tragic flaw ultimately

leads to their downfall. When it comes to Okonkwo’s attitude, the readers may find it confusing

as to if he should be considered a villain or a hero. Although he may have tarnished our original

perception of him based on his actions towards his wives and children, he still manages to prove

himself a worthy hero throughout the novel. From his independent start in the world, onto the

idea of his shifting fate through chi, to his willingness to fight for his beliefs, until finally, the

time of his death, it is completely evident that Okonkwo directly follows the path of that of a

tragic hero.

From the beginning of the story Achebe introduces us to Okonkwo’s upbringing. His

childhood paves the way for his over powering independence, and his overall attitude towards

work and status. From the very beginning we are introduced to Okonkwo’s father Unoka. Unoka

is a gentle man. He is not concerned with hard work, and he is extremely careless with his mon-

ey. Because of this Okonkwo is very embarrassed by his father, we see this when he says, “Any

wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?” (Achebe 8). Okonkwo’s biggest fear is

to turn out like his father. That in fact is one of Okonkwo’s biggest hamartias, or flaws. Achebe

explains this when he says, “Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was the
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fear of himself, lest he should be to resemble his father” (Achebe 13). This overpowering fear

paves the way for him to make many bad decisions based in fear, rather then on wise judgement.

Some of the mistakes he makes, caused him great grief. An example of this is the sacrifice of

Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna is like a son to Okonkwo. However Okonkwo chose to attend his sacrifice

even though he is advised not to. This death causes him to spiral downward. Although he would

have been grieved had he attended or not, he still deals with hearing Ikemefuna’s last words in

his head over and over, because of his attendance. These last words were, “My father they have

killed me! As he ran towards him dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him

down. He was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 61). This line clearly shows Okonkwo’s

need to be looked at as strong, it also makes him look cruel in some ways. He takes his fear of

being like his father and created a person that is so opposite in likeness and attitude that they are

almost not even comparable. Overall, Okonkwo’s independent start, results in this overpowering

flaw, which drives him throughout the story and effects most aspects of his life.

This idea of shifting fate is well represented throughout the story in regards to

Okonkwo’s personal chi. Each person in the tribe has there own chi. It drives them, and deter-

mines what good and bad events occur in their life. If someone has bad chi, then they are des-

tined to deal with many trifles, or bad situations in their life. If they have good chi, then their life

will be full of goodness and fortune. Okonkwo sees himself as having good chi. He is very

strong, and a well respected man who has a good harvest, and multiple wives. The author shows

Okonkwo’s status when he says, “And so although Okonkwo was still young, he was already one

of the greatest men of his time” (Achebe 8). This shows Okonkwo’s good fortune that remains
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until an accident changes his life forever. It happened when Okonkwo accidentally killed the

young man at the funeral of Ogbuefi Nudulue, who is the oldest tribe member. The line states,

“Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart” (Achebe 124). He

is forced to leave his tribe for seven years because of that mistake. This was the point where

Okonkwo saw that his chi was becoming less rewarding and instead became more deprived of

the good fortunes that he had received once before. This idea of shifting fate is shown through

this transformation from good, to bad fortune.

Okonkwo is more than just tragic, he also shows great power and willingness to fight for

his beliefs, as well as the people he loves. Okonkwo is a man that likes to be in a place of power,

he is a natural born leader, and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his people. Okonkwo

sees the Christians as a threat to his culture, his family, his way of life, and his tribe. However, he

is away from his tribe for so long that he can’t stop the new religion from taking over. Achebe

explains this when he says, “He had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new reli-

gion” (Achebe 171). Even though he sees them as a threat, he does not respond to his anger until

he is taken hostage by them. At the end of the story, Okonkwo is prepared to fight to protect

those values that he wishes to uphold. Sadly he is not backed up by the rest of his tribe, but still

he is prepared to protect what he believed was correct. From the beginning to the end, Okonkwo

is shown as a character of status and power, a well respected man willing to do whatever it takes

to prove himself worthy.

The final, and most prominent point, seen when looking at Okonkwo as a tragic hero, is

his death. This part of the novel is a break in character for Okonkwo. Throughout his whole life

he has made himself known as a powerful man who shows no weakness. This is ironic
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considering the fact that he takes the “easy way out” and commits the “cowards death,” a suicide.

At the end of the novel we see the point Okonkwo reaches as he realizes his tribe has fully

changed, and is no longer something he can recognize. We see Okonkwo realizing this fact when

Achebe says, “He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the

other messenger escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action” (Achebe 205). At this

point, he loses all his masculine power that he has been portraying all along. He becomes some-

one who cannot handle life, rather than someone who takes control of life. We see his flaw now

becoming his downfall, which is really the final piece to his tragedy. He may prove himself a

hero in physical form, but his mental state shows that he is more detached and is putting on a

front to look heroic. Overall, his death is the tragedy that brings the story to a close.

In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is proven to be a true tragic

hero, whose flaws ultimately lead to his tragic death. He begins his life with this overpowering

fear that drives him to constantly make poor decisions. He continues on to shift his chi resulting

in a new fate. However, he proves himself a strong independent man. From the beginning until

the time of his death he proves himself a true tragic hero in all aspects. We follow Okonkwo

throughout his journey of understanding himself and the world around him. Unfortunately, that

understanding ultimately led to his demise. Regardless, he is a marvelously constructed charac-

ter, with multiple dynamics, that allow for the readers to be in awe throughout the entire story.
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Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.