About the Igbo Tribe in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe...

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, is a fictional novel about the Igbo tribe. I am writing my essay on Okonkwo, the tragic hero,, his flaws that lead to his downfalls, how he tries to escape his fate and the decision he made to end his life. The dictionary defines a Tragic Hero as a great or virtuous character in a drama who is destined for downfall, suffering and defeat. Okonkwo is a brave warrior and clan leader of the Igbo community of Umuofia. He has risen from nothing to a high position in his village through hard work and has become a great man. He has three wives and lots of children who all live in huts in his compound including his son Nwoye who Okonkwo considers weak and not manly enough as he tells Obierka â€Å"I have done my†¦show more content†¦Okonkwo wanted and strived to be the opposite of his father. Okonkwo put all his work and effort into trying to avoid his fate but ended up being the same in the end. He couldn’t stop fate from happening when the white people came and took over his land and knocked him back down to the status like his father had. Okonkwo is unable to adapt to the new society in which he was nothing just like his father has been so he took matters into his own hands and killed a messenger that appeared at the meeting. After realizing that his clan would not offer assistance and let the other white men go, Okonkwo fled. He knew if he went back he would be imprisoned and possible executed. Okonkwo is a proud man and takes matters into his own hands to control his fate. Knowing it was a grave sin to take your own life in his culture, Okonkwo controls his own destiny by hanging himself before giving the white man the option of killing him first. From the beginning Okonkwo is destined for failure, from the way his father was and the way his father brought him up. Okonkwo being ashamed of his father tried with everything he had to be strong and be a man and vowed not to turn out the same way. But with everything that he rejected that resembled his father he himself ended up being the same way his father was, everything he despised about his father. In the end when the white man showed up with their religion and changed everything in his clan and knocked Okonkwos status backShow MoreRelatedThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1415 Words   |  6 Pagesunfair, prejudiced, and downright ugly place to live. Reading about the challenges and struggles of others forms questions into any young person’s mind. The questions that form challenge normality, authority, and their own beliefs. Questions are pivotal in the development of a young mind and the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe does just that. 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