Aristotelian Hero: A Study in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of English
Abstract
The present research work basically focuses on presenting Okonkwo, the
protagonist of the novel as an Aristotelian Hero. Throughout the novel we can see
Okonkwo
guided
by
the
ambition
to
succeed
in everything.
He
is
so
obsessed by success
that he finds his father a complete failure in his life. He wants to win laurels in
whatever tasks that he gets involved in. Like the protagonist of a Greek tragedy,
however, Okonkwo carries within himself the seeds of his own destruction. He is
secretly plagued by the fear of failure and of weakness. He is desperate to prove that
he is better than his father, Unoka. Okonkwo, therefore, strives to e everything his
father was not: strong, manly, prosperous and respected. This obsession to succeed in
life takes him on the path of ultimate downfall which ends with his suicide.