Is Okonkwo A Tragic Hero Analysis

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Many people suffer tragedy at some point in their lives whether big or small, Okonkwo is no exception. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, we follow the story of Okonkwo, a man who became known throughout his clan as a great man and had three wives and nine children. But one day his life started to fall apart when he was exiled to his mother’s homeland for seven years after accidentally killing a clansman. But soon after he was exiled, missionaries invaded Nigeria and with them brought a new religion and government which started turning Nigerian people against each other. In the end of it all, Okonkwo ended up hanging himself. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo has proven himself to be a tragic hero. Okonkwo is a tragic hero because Okonkwo built his life from scratch and became known as the greatest wrestler, but he possessed Hubris…show more content…
Many young men have come to me to ask for yams but I have refused because I knew they would just dump them in the earth and leave them to be choked by weeds. When i say no to them they think i am hard hearted. But it is not so. Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching. I have learned to be stingy with my yams. But I can trust you. I know it as I look at you. As our fathers said, you can tell a ripe corn by its look. I shall give you twice four hundred yams. Go ahead and prepare your farm. (Page 18, Things Fall Apart). Throughout the novel, Okonkwo has acted very controlling and arrogant due to him having Hubris, or excessive pride. When it was the Week of Peace, Okonkwo’s youngest wife, Ojiugo, went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and didn’t come back early enough to make the afternoon meal. This made Okonkwo mad and he let his Hubris influence him to act boldly because when she came back, he beat her heavily, forgetting that it was the Week of Peace in his
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    What do you think of when you hear the term “tragic hero”? Perhaps your favorite superhero comes to mind or a character from your favorite science fiction novel who is trying to save the world from aliens. Either way, tragic heroes have always played a role in many of the films and television shows we have seen and books we have read, such as the novel Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe. This novel tells the story about Okonkwo, a well respected man of an Ibo village in Nigeria, and the conflicts

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