Character Analysis of Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart&quo
Character Analysis of Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart"
Okonkwo is portrayed as a tragic hero, in the novel Things Fall Apart. To uncover the source of Okonkwo’s tragic flaw, a glimpse into his past is essential. At first, we see Okonkwo as an arrogant, hardworking, warrior. This is his cultures vision of a great citizen. His father, Unoka was thought of as a failure. He is lazy and does not provide for his family. His culture views him as an unacceptable and an unsuccessful citizen, and Unoka was looked down upon. Okonkwo set a goal to be everything his father wasn’t. Although this could be a good been a good goal, it is the one which Okonkwo’s tragic flaw arises from. Every person has his faults but with Okonkwo, they ultimately lead to his downfall.
His tragic flaw comes in two parts. The first of which is his obsession with war, fighting, and power. Okonkwo always needed be involved in an activity, he never wanted to look lazy. He possessed a one-track mind that was focused on nothing but being the best. Another flaw that Okonkwo shows is his pride in his masculinity. This forces him to show no other emotion, except anger and fear of looking weak. This flaw caused Okonkwo to have problems with his family and tribe. This including his violence towards his family, killing Ikemefuna, his seven year banishment, and decapitating the District Commissioner, with leads to his death.
To begin with, Okonkwo is hard and stern with his family, mostly his son, Nwoye, who does not take after him. It is Okonkwo's inner fear that Nwoye too would be a failure like his Unoka. He is strict with his wives and never shows his inner emotions. As a man that has provided everything for himself, he is impatient with others who are unsuccessful. During a meeting of the tribe's elders, he calls another man a woman and says, "This meeting is for men." This man who he called a women had no titles, and so Okonkwo felt that he was not worthy enough. However, Okonkwo was forced to apologize to him. Okonkwo beats his wife during the Week of Peace when she does not send him his food as required. Breaking the rules of the Week of Peace is considered a sin. “We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess...