Things Fall Apart: 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? 

Things Fall Apart is considered a tragedy due to the protagonist conforming to the archetype of a tragic hero. Okonkwo was a tragic hero because he had a lot of internal problems, specially with his dad and his personal beliefs against the village's beliefs. Okonkwo was different and he dealt with things different in his own way. Furthermore throughout the book, his internal problems cause him to obtain external problems and that is when things get out of control. By committing a crime in the sacred peace of weak, killing Ikemefuna and accidentally being a female murder Okonkwo and his family are exiled for 7 years and in his return the missionaries have taken control of Umuofia. Okonkwo's downfall was a factor which contributed towards the missionaries establishing themselves in Umuofia. Maybe in an alternative book, if Okonkwo was there when the missionaries came, maybe he would have been brave enough to fight the missionaries and try to protect the village. However that was his downfall, losing something that was so important to him; his traditions, his yams, his culture and his village.

 Taking into account the cultural context when the book was written in 1958, when the British Had made their way to Nigeria with the purpose to colonize every single bit of the country. I believe that Achebe's intention when he characterized Okonkwo as a tragic hero was to in a sense replicate the country's and the people's misfortune of colonization, as they did not want it. Furthermore Achebe's message of the book is to convey the themes of perception of masculinity, complex language leading to cultural differences, pride bringing negative effects and the clash among change and tradition. In addition it can be said that he portrayed Okonkwo as a tragic hero due to the fact that he wanted the people of Nigeria to read this book and understand that colonization could bring a man to kills himself, if he had deep love and compassion for his traditions and culture. The ending of the book was meant to motivate the people of Nigeria for them to see what was happening to them in an extremist lens.