Everyone has a flaw, no person is ideal. Okonkwo had many imperfections which qualifies him as a tragic hero. A tragic hero by description is, "a literary identity who makes one in judgment or has a fatal flaw that, coupled with fate and external causes, brings on tragedy. "(Dictionary. com) Whether it is literature of Shakespearean times or the colonization amount of world literature, the thought of the tragic hero is integrated throughout all books. The characteristics of any tragic hero, creates the situation of Okonkwo's fatality, in Things BREAK APART. Macbeth's tragic flaw was his over self-confidence in himself. Okonkwo's tragic flaw was his uncontrollable anger issues.
Every tragic hero begins his / her journey with a rise to popularity. This aspect is very evident in Things BREAK APART; Okonkwo acquired quite the star lifestyle, from being able to gain a competitive wrestling match against another renowned wrestler.
Okonkwo was well known through out the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on stable personal achievements. As a man of eighteen he had brought honor to his community by throwing the Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was a great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the kitty because his back would never touch the earth. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a deal with that your old men agreed was the fiercest since the founder of their town involved a nature of the wild for seven days and seven times. (Achebe 7)
The Shakespearean books of Macbeth also got a main persona who was simply tragic hero, Macbeth. Through Macbeth's climb to vitality, he eventually became king. Both Macbeth and Things BREAK APART are exhibiting basic types of protagonists that are tragic heroes.
One prolonged exemplory case of Okonkwo's anger management problems was Okonkwo's relationship with Nwoye. Nwoye resembled Okonkwo's daddy, Unoka. Unoka was referred to as a very lazy man, he didn't work very hard and he never visited war anticipated to his fear of bloodstream. Okonkwo was motivated to do anything he could to resent whatever his daddy did, because of these disgusted thoughts towards his father, Okonkwo was very severe to Nwoye to resist, him to becoming like his grandfather. Towards the finish of the story, Nwoye makes the decision to become a Christian. This step of defiance by Nwoye greatly angers Okonkwo to the point of inflicting physical pain on Nwoye and excommunicating him from the family.
That was not the first come across with Okonkwo's tragic flaw, his emotionally challenged mind condition, nor would it not be the last. In today's population women are know to be physically well known, especially by men. It is socially undesirable in modern society for a guy to hit a woman. Physical respect for females is an ideal that many Umofiaian men would concern. Throughout the indirect characterization of Okonkwo we see his violent temper and his disrespect for girls. "Okonkwo understood she had not been speaking the reality. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. And when she went back he beat her heavily. In his anger he previously overlooked that it was the Week of Tranquility. "(Achebe 31) Then showing complete and utter disrespect towards women via Okonkwo and the clan, by only punishing Okonkwo for his violent behavior through the Week of Peacefulness, not referencing the actual fact that Okonkwo overcome a female. This violent rampant temper of Okonkwo will further proceed to get him into trouble down the road in the story.
There are two types of folks nowadays, those who solve there problems in a relaxed matter and those who use drive to solve their problems. Okonkwo is obviously one of those people who solve their problems with drive. "'If you brings us all this method for nothing I will defeat sense into you' Okonkwo threatened. "(Achebe 78) Okagbue on the other hand has the capacity to single his problems calmly. "'I have advised you to let her by themselves. I know how to approach them, ' said Okagbue. "(Achebe 78) He would almost be the polar contrary of Okonkwo. Although forceful design of Okonkwo still dose not seem to get him very much in conditions of socializing with other folks. This forceful association with other people is due to his anger management.
Sometimes as humans we work in a brash manner, nor consider what we live doing before we undertake it, which can bring about extreme implications. Okonkwo would meet the requirements as one of those people. Towards the end of the story Okonkwo makes a thoughtless decision and eliminates one of the messengers, through the task of his blood thirsty and exploding thoughts. "In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to stay away from the blow. It had been useless Okonkwo machete descended twice and the man's brain lay beside his uniformed body. "(Achebe 189) These actions of emotional explosion brought on sever implications, and the complete situation might have been averted if it was not for Okonkwo's tragic flaw.
Finally, the last characteristic of any tragic hero is the fact their tragic flaw must lead them to their downfall. Okonkwo's demise was brought on by his inability to regulate his thoughts. Since Okonkwo wiped out the messenger, he realized his destiny was hopeless, so he committed suicide. "They emerged to a tree from which Okonkwo's body was dangling and they stopped useless. "(Achebe 190) Okonwko's flaw took him right to his demise even though the publication makes no specific reference to why Okonkwo killed himself, we can make inferences due to the situation.
Okonkwo is a tragic hero because he exhibits all the features that a tragic hero must have, a rise to popularity and a tragic flaw in the type that brings about their demise. It could be straight related that the flaw in Okonkwo, his in ability to regulate is feelings intertwined with anger management issues, triggered his downfall. Because of Okonkwo's tragic flaw being something that he cannot control, his fame slowly turned into him dangling on a tree striving to escape life with a little fraction of what is remaining of his delight.
Work Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things BREAK APART. NY: McDowell, Obolensky, 1959. Print out.
Enotes. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://www. enotes. com/macbeth/q-and-a/what-macbeths-tragic-flaw-how-does-lead-his-doom-86737>.
"Tragic Hero. " Dictionary. com. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/tragic+hero>.
