Blog Post #22: Tragic Hero

In many ways, Things Fall Apart is considered a tragedy. Why would Achebe, taking into account the cultural context, choose to characterize Okonkwo using the tragic hero archetype? 

I think the choice of characterizing Okonkwo using the tragic hero archetype has many many reasons relating to the compositional context, the plot development and the intention of the novel. Depicting the main character as a tragic hero forces the reader to pay closer attention to events and characters while getting invested in the plot and its developments. He characterizes him as a tragic hero to express how this mighty man was self-destructive with his hamartia destroying him. This hamartia is internally based, however, it is heavily driven by external cultural factors and changes which expose the reader to the ideology of the Igbo people.   

The tragic hero archetype not only allows for the audience to analyze the plot unconsciously, in this case, the hamartia of the tragic hero forces the audience the analyze the cultural context as well as the cultural norms of the Igbo people. Okonkwo's hamartia was sparked by his father due to his laziness and lack of success, this made Okonkwo motivated to avoid being like him. This simple concept educates the readers on the goals of the Igbo society as they are extremely collaborative and success driven. It is reinforced by the entire village looking down on his father rather than just Okonkwo. The ideology of this society is what spark his hamartia and his hubris behavior which is what causes his peripeteia. Even the turn of events with his peripeteia of Ikemefuna reveal aspects of the society with him being advised not to take part in the execution. From an audience's standpoint, we know that Igbo people are success and title driven but with this simple request, they extend on how they are collaborative and compassionate people. This development of the plot also develops the understanding of the culture which aids the dramatic transition of the missionaries arrival. 

This understanding of the cultural composition is furthered through the tragic hero archetype as the deaths fulfills plots associated with the archetype. However, the death also delves into the death of the Igbo culture as I believe his death is symbolic of the death of their traditions when the missionaries came. He killed himself because he could not comprehend why his peers weren't fighting hard enough for their village expressing his will to maintain the culture while showing how he was different from the customs of his culture. His lack of collaboration was unlike their mindset but that's because he embodied the hubris of his culture and traditions symbolically killing of them like the missionaries did.