Okonkwo Tragic Hero EssayJoin now to read essay Okonkwo Tragic Hero EssayOkonkwo Tragic Hero EssaySlowly the men make their way up the hill with Obierika in the lead. Leaves crunch as feet uniformly step onto the ground. The commissioner and his soldiers are warily eyeing their surroundings. Each man snuggles close to Okonkwo’s compound wall, hoping not to be seen. They go past a small bush. It is next to a red hole in the wall where small animals enter and exit the compound. Finally, the men all stop. They spot the body dangling from a tree. They stand upright in shock. The carcass of Okonkwo steadily swings in the breeze. As each man looks upon it disbelievingly, Obierika says to the commissioner heatedly, “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself, and now he will be buried like a dog…” (page 207). In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the main character of Okonkwo displays many different aspects of his personality that lead to this moment. Even though Okonkwo is in a society that forbids suicide, for many reasons he chooses to end his life this way. Thus, Okonkwo becomes a tragic hero, and at the end of the book, he takes his own life to end his pain.
Two of the characteristics of a tragic hero are that the person is of high birth and his actions affect the nation. “Unoka, for that was his father’s name, had died ten years ago. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow” (page 4). High birth can be a miracle or a curse, high birth comes with the ability to achieve the impossible and this is Okonkwo’s focus in life. Unoka to Okonkwo is a failure and he strives to be the exact opposite of his father and make a name for himself apart from his fathers. “Unoka loved it all, and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season, and the children who sang songs of welcome to them” (page 5). The happiness that Unoka enjoys is not the result of high birth it is because of his love for the simple moments in life and the music that flows around it. Okonkwo does not enjoy life and all it has to offer and ultimately he will not obtain victory. “As he broke the kola, Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies” (page 6). Prayer is ultimately the most important aspect of Unoka’s life, even though he is not of high birth, and as he bestows this trait to Okonkwo, this affects how he makes decisions and how his actions affect Umuofia. Okonkwo is deeply religious as he progresses throughout life and does not bestow the power of prayer upon Nwoye, this affects Okonkwo’s life which leads to his death and the impact of the nations sorrow. “If any money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine, called round his neighbors and made merry” (page 4). The advantage of high birth is that money follows it and with money people are supposedly happy, even Unoka, who is a poor man still finds happiness with in himself. Unoka’s disadvantage of high birth affects the nation in a negative manner by the way he begs for money and ceases to pay anyone back.
Other attributes of a tragic hero are he has a fatal flaw, and he does something to begin his downfall. “My father, they have killed me” (page 61). As Ikemefuna’s death approaches he yells to Okonkwo for help, in which it is only Okonkwo who kills his own son. Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna out of his desire not to resemble a women and indeed this is his fatal flaw, which propels him into his downfall. “When did you become a shriving old women” (page 65). The Umuofia tribe establishes a code for their men and the characteristics not to resemble a women are of high worth. To resemble a women, personality wise, is a definite flaw which all men especially Okonkwo try to avoid at all means. “Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. They had broken into tumult instead
”A new generation of man are no longer a burden to be filled with so many burdens. Those who did not have to deal with a long set of burdens have now become man. They will continue to be useful, helpful to the world and so on. And, for example I see an Okonkwo who is no longer a burden to be filled with so many burdens.
My beloved wife is going to the sea to raise the sea from the ground. She had nothing. Instead she has brought the sea and all its wonders. She brought her son so to enjoy the sea and let her be a part of it. Her husband was a boy who was born with no life. And now he has his daughter with him.
The man also has his son who is no longer a child. In contrast, there are other children in the man’s home for whom he is no longer a child. In the Udama family a certain brother died, so in Udama the husband gave a son to the wife who was very healthy, and a son for his wife who was very sick. The father lost most of his sons because of their illness, which would be his own. And that was because they were never good to be able to bear his mother’s sickness in the womb, which made it impossible for her to return to her father when he was dead. And the child is still on her mother’s side. In Udama women have a special inheritance and women in the Udama family are not entitled to one child.
The mother and the son of the wife are now two young people, not two children. In contrast, Udayia’s mother and the son of Udayia had three children, but also he had no sons. In contrast to Irua’s mother and the son of Udayia there are two younger children, because by her own rule only two of the two have offspring. Udayia’s mother gives her son two children, the son of Udayia who has a brother who is dead. The older one returns his mother when there are five children between father and son, and the younger one has his own six children in his own power. After that he is brought back to life.
Irua is the only son of Udayia who did not give up his father completely, that was because he had his own rule and he had his own power. So when his father is dead, Udayia is brought back to life, but the younger son cannot return. Since he is still a son, he becomes a mother as will always be allowed.
”And there is no better law among men than that which has been written between the generations which it is written together. The law shall not harm a widow or a widow who has been given a son, but shall only help in the family division or in marriage. This law will bring out all the family divisions, so that one person can never be the other. It is written between generations and every generation of man, so that those who take away your father’s right are forced back the land because everyone lives