In literature, it is not uncommon to have a heroic figure as protagonist, especially under influence of ancient Greek tradition to have a tragic hero. The tragic hero is one who possesses good qualities and enjoys good fortune at the beginning of the story, yet suffers a miserable end, either due to one's character flaw or environmental factors. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the tragic hero is the protagonist Okonkwo, who enjoys great fame since his early years from his strength and hard work, but in the end his own tragic flawhis terror for weakness and femininityand social forces of colonialism crushes him and leads to his downfall. In this novel, Achebe suggests that when the balance between masculinity and femininity is upset, Okonkwo cannot maintain good relationships with his family, his clan, and the European colonizers.
Starting from Okonkwo's early years, he abandons all feminine qualities in himself and establishes himself as a heroic figure, and it has earned him fame and wealth. Because of his father's poor reputation of being lazy and unmanly in the clan, Okonkwo feels he must overcome this public estimation of his father in order to become a hero.(Nnoromele 271) From his early achievement of throwing Amalinze the Cat... Okonkwo's fame ha[s] grown like a bush-fire.(Achebe 3) Okonkwo's success in wars with neighbouring clans also gives him a highly respected social status, and is seen when he is chosen to be the proud and imperious emissary of war when negotiating with a neighbouring clan.(12) His masculinity has also earned him eight hundred yam seeds from a wealthy man named Nwakibie, and that is twice the number he has hoped. His hard work in the fields is the major support in his family, with a little assistance from his mother and sisters; nonetheless, he is the man in the household and it is the man's job to look after his family. All this masculine quality that Okonkwo possessed makes him a tragic hero, for the Umuofia community's dominant ideology... appears to be that of extreme masculine competition and systematic hierarchy.(Azodo 254) Although he suffers poverty and misfortune as a child, having left nothing by his father, his masculinity and heroic figure brings him prosperity, wealth, fame and respect.
However, in Okonkwo's later years, his abomination of gentleness, which he calls weakness and feminine qualities, causes him more trouble than success. He associates masculinity with aggression, and sees displays of emotions as weakness and softness, except anger. He believes that to show affection [is] a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating [is] strength.(28) Okonkwo's tragic flaw the equation of manliness with rashness, anger, and violence brings about his own destruction. He fears gentleness and softness, as he fears and resents anything that is found in his unsuccessful and shameful father. Thus he never showed any affection for his children, and anything not satisfactory to him deserves a beating. This has caused an awkwardness between him and his wives and children, especially Nwoye, as he has the similar gentle qualities that Okonkwo's father used to have, and reminds himself of the failure of his father. His insist on manliness and fear for femininity creates a distance between his family and himself.
Not only is he not in good relationships with his family, his resent for more gentle qualities and fear for weakness leads him astray from his clansmen too. When he calls a man who has no title a woman, the elderly disapprove his attitude towards less successful men, and his clansmen take sides with the poor man.(26) Moreover, the Umuofia clan does not only emphasize on masculinity, but a delicate balance between masculine qualities and feminine ones. The Umuofia people enjoys music, and the art of conversation is regarded very highly.(7) These are the qualities that Unoka, Okonkwo's father, excels in. Since Okonkwo resents his father, he resents these more gentle aspects of his culture also. He tips the balance between these two aspects, and this is his tragic flaw. His disrespect for femininity is shown when he beats his wife during the Week of Peace, which is dedicated to Ani the earth goddess, who regulates life on earth. The fact that it is a goddess not a god who is in charge of life, shows that the clan has at least some degree of respect to the females. Okonkwo, violating the rules of the Week of Peace, shows otherwise, and therefore is shunned by his people. Okonkwo has suffered a series of misfortune during the course of the story. According to the culture of Umuofia, the good fortune, or lack of, is controlled by chi, one's personal god. The quality of one's chi is not pure luck either, for the chi reflects an individual's will, as the Ibo proverb states that when a man says yes his chi says yes also.(27) As Okonkwo suffers taking part in killing his adopted son, killing a clansman accidentally, exile, and in the end suicide, it is not surprising that he may question the quality of his chi. Indeed, having his gun explode at a funeral and thus accidentally killing a fellow clansman is very unfortunate, but that is a clear reflection of Okonkwo's chi, that having one's chi filled with violence and bloodshed without the balancing femininity is very problematic. All these show that Okonkwo's neglect and fear for gentle feminine qualities has brought him problematic relationships between his family and his clan.
As a masculine figure, Okonkwo opposes the new religion that arrives in Umuofia Christianity. The colonizers from Europe has a more civilized way in society, and in traditional Umuofia eyes, this is seen as a kind of weakness and most of all, unmanly. The European system of values diminishes traditional values and skills such as farming and wrestling. To Okonkwo, Christianity is a refuge to the villagers of a traditionally lower social status, and if he joins them or even just tolerate them, he feels that he himself become less manly. As a heroic figure, Okonkwo has a lot of achievements in his society, and the changes that colonialism brings about threatens his highly respected social status. Okonkwos resist to cultural change is due to his fear of losing his social status, which again, would make him less manly. Okonkwo has achieved a lot in his earlier days, but when changes come, he cannot adapt to the change and perish, partly due to his pride and insistence on his values. The locusts, which appeared earlier in the novel, foreshadows the arrival of the white European colonizers, as Obierika, Okonkwo's friend, states that [the Oracle] said other white men were on their way. They [are] locusts.(139) The locusts are a symbol of the white colonizers because they both exploit the resources of the people in Umuofia. The locusts break the strong tree branches, which represents the Ibo tradition and culture falling apart due to colonialism. Since his villagers refuse to go to war with the colonizers, in his opposition to European settlers and his last attempt to remind the Igbo people of their culture and values in the face of impending colonization, Okonkwo commits suicide.(Friesen 283) Being unable and unwilling to adapt in the European politics and religion, the tragic hero Okonkwo turns to a great sin and sacrifices himself as the last resort to preserve the traditional culture of Umuofia.
In this novel, as a tragic hero, Okonkwo has enjoyed fame and wealth at the beginning of the story, but suffers a bitter end due to his own character flaw and social forces. His masculinity has made him successful, yet without the balancing of feminine aspects, he fails to reconcile with his family, his clan, and ultimately the European colonizers.
Citation
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Canada: Anchor Canada, 2009.
Azodo, Ada Uzoamaka. Masculinity, Power, and Language in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart Critical Insights:Things Fall Apart. California: Salem Press, 2010. pp245-267.
Friesen, Alan R. Okonkwo's Suicide as an Affirmative Act: Do Things Really Fall Apart?Critical Insights:Things Fall Apart. California: Salem Press, 2010. pp283-298.
Nnoromele, Patrick C. The Plight of a Hero in Achebe's Things Fall ApartCritical Insights:Things Fall Apart. California: Salem Press, 2010. pp268-282.
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