In order to understand why Chinua Achebe chose to portray Okonkwo as a tragic hero we first need to understand what a tragic hero is.

A tragic hero is a person with heroic qualities. But the hero struggles mightly against this fate and this cosmic conflict wins our admiration.

Okonkwo, the protagonist of Chinua Achebe's 1958 masterpiece, Things Fall Apart, faces the exact struggles of being a tragic hero. Okonkwo is the leader and of the Igbo, a Nigerian ethnic community, who live in the village of Umofia. Okonkwo’s incredible talents drive him to success only in the end to bring him to his ruin.

Similar to other tragic heroes, Okonkwo also has a tragic flaw, which is a fear of weakness and failure. While the fear of failure and weakness drives Okonkwo to work hard and helps him earns his fame and achievements, on the other hand, it also causes him many problems. Many times throughout Okonkwo's life, his fear of failure and weakness leads him to act harshly, violently and impulsively toward other people, including his family members. 


Achebe has made Okonkwo's character to be a tragic hero intentionally, so that he can show how standing up in what you believe in even though it may be dangerous is the best way to pursue a happy life. Overall he message Chinua Achebe is trying to teach us is that in life all actions have their consequences whether you are a “hero” or not.

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