Okonkwo A Tragic Hero

Okonkwo a tragic hero
Is Okonkwo a tragic hero? To answer that question one must start by defining the
term ‘tragic hero’ first introduced by Aristotle. Aristotle defined a tragic hero simply as
being a character fulfilling three different requirements. The character must be larger
than life, and must have a high social standing. The character must also have
ordinary human qualities, and must have a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. In
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, all these characteristics are found in Okonkwo of
Umuofia.
The first characteristic of a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition is that

the character must be larger than life. The character must be better or greater than
his fellows in the sense that he is of a higher than ordinary social significance. In that
sense we find that Okonkwo was a very strong wrestler and that his strength had
brought fame to him along with his town,
“Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame
rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought
honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. He was called the Cat because his
back would never touch the earth. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight
which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town
engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights … That was many years
ago, twenty years or more, and during this time Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a
bush-fire in the harmattan” ( Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, page 3)
From this text we can see how Okonkwo was a larger than life character in the terms
of his physical strength and wrestling abilities. Also it is obvious that his victory over
the Cat, who has been previously undefeated, had raised him to a higher level of
popularity. The text in the first few chapters suggests that Okonkwo had a high social
standard not only in the shape of titles, but as being the most important man in nine
villages –referred to in the previous passage.
The second condition for a character to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle is that
he should share common human qualities and concerns. He is a mixture of good
characteristics and bad ones. Also, he must be someone that people can relate to,
and, therefore, must have the same human problems and must go through life with
the same obstacles of ordinary people. This we can see when the author is
describing Okonkwo’s feelings for Ikemefuna, a young boy who has been in his
household as compensation to the village for a murdered citizen of Umuofia,
“Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy –inwardly of course. Okonkwo
never showed any emotions openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show
affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.
He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else –with a heavy hand.
But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. Sometimes when he went to the big
village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany
him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. And, indeed Ikemefuna
called him father” (Achebe, page 28)
From this text we find out that Okonkwo actually had feelings of fondness and
admiration toward Ikemefuna. This we see when Okonkwo takes Ikemefuna with him
to important village meetings. This shows us that Okonkwo has an ordinary positive
human quality which is fondness and caring for other people. Another quality we find
common in certain people especially in people who have a tough character is that
they do not express any feelings of love and tenderness but keep them deep inside
them. This is the case with Okonkwo who refuses to express his feelings towards
Ikemefuna as he sees such expressions as a sign of weakness. Thus, we find at
least two ordinary human qualities in his character.
One of the most important requirements to be a tragic hero is that the character must
have a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. In the case of Okonkwo, his
flaw is obviously his fear of weakness. This is clear in the description of how he
manages his household,
“Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives especially the youngest,
lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down
in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear,
the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of
evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of
nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It
was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should
be found to resemble his father. Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s
failure and weakness … And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion –to hate
everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of these things was gentleness and
another was idleness.” (Achebe, page 13(
This passage exposes the manner by which Okonkwo manages his

household. His constant fear of failing and following the steps of his father reflects in
his dominating character. This manner we can still see in the case of ordinary
people, which supports the second requirement of Aristotle for a character to be
named a tragic hero that is having ordinary human qualities. Furthermore, it is his
constant fear of failure and weakness along with his experience of his father’s failure
that is considered his flaw. It is his dislike for whatever his father likes and how this
reflects on his personal character and the way he treats others that will lead to his
downfall.
Therefore, we see that Okonkwo is a person larger than life in the sense of physical
strength. He is also of a high social standing since he is the most famous person in
the whole nine villages of the Igbo civilization. Moreover, we see in him ordinary
human qualities such as fondness, and caring, as well as toughness and violence.
Furthermore, we find a huge tragic flaw in his character, which is his fear of
weakness and failure and hating all that his father likes –being a failure himself.
Seeing that Okonkwo has satisfied all the conditions Aristotle put forth for being a
tragic hero, he is worthy to be considered one.
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Okonkwo a tragic hero

The first characteristic of a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition is that

This passage exposes the manner by which Okonkwo manages his

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