In my previous response to “is Okonkwo a hero?” I said that he wasn’t. Although he threw down the Cat when he was young and may be a hero throughout his village, he still is not a hero to me. I also explained that Okonkwo at his older age still possessed his heroic characteristics such as strength and war-like abilities but now has a temper. Then I went on how the temper came from the history with his father, Unoka.
After completing “Things Fall Apart” and taking notes on what a tragic hero is I still agree that Okonkwo is not a modern day hero that holds the traits of being a respectable person to their society or just an overall good person. But now I can agree that Okonkwo is a classic version of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is one who has developed some kind of flaw that leads to a downfall. The person is also unaware of the flaw they possess and not responsible for it. I believe that flaw for Okonkwo is his past with this father.
Unoka was a kind and gentle man which led Okonkwo to strive to be the opposite of that. Okonkwo strikes fear into his wives and children: “His wives...lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper...so did his little children” (page nine). A modern day hero is not someone who makes others fear them especially their own family. A hero we know today is someone who provides comfort and safety to others.
Okonkwo’s real son Nyowe displays traits from Unoka which Okonkwo is ashamed of. He begins to start a relationship with Ikemefuna that he has always wanted to have with a son. But the bond between Okonkwo and Ikemefuna is destroyed when Okonkwo is forced to send Ikemefuna to death. I believe deep inside Okonkwo had enough feelings for him to stop the execution but of course Okonkwo could not show his weakness and his warrior side out shined his fatherly feelings towards Ikemefuna. At this point this classical tragic hero’s downfall began. This was one of Okonkwo’s weakest moments of the story. He could not eat or drink and struggled not to think of what he had done to Ikemefuna.
To me, Okonkwo is not a hero. He beats women and is not an overall respectable man. To his village, Okonkwo is strong, fearless and never shows weakness. In the end, Okonkwo commits suicide by hanging himself which shows the biggest weakness of all.
I like your point that Okonkwo's flaw is the past with his father. I believe that is one of the reason for his anger and temper toward his family. How he is more strict to his son because he does not want him to turn out like his father. I agree that Okonkwo's downfall is when he commits suicide and when he did not eat or drink when Ikemefuna dies. He does show unheroic qualities in the novel because he beats women, which is something a hero should not do.
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