tragedy which proves him to be a tragic hero Noble Position and Fame Okonkwo begins as a noble and respected man in his clan He becomes famous for defeating Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling match He works very hard and earns his wealth without help The narrator says Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with the kings and elders This means that he gained honor through his own effort He marries three wives owns many barns of yams and takes two titles Fear as His Tragic Flaw Every tragic hero has a flaw that brings his fall Okonkwo s flaw is his great fear of weakness and failure He hates everything his father loved As the narrator says Okonkwo was ruled by one passion to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved This fear controls his actions He becomes harsh impatient and cruel even to his family He beats his wives and children to show that he is strong This flaw slowly turns his strength into destruction Wrong Decision and Inner Conflict Okonkwo often acts before thinking He breaks the law of peace and even kills his adopted son Ikemefuna Elder Ezeudu had warned him That boy calls you father Bear no hand in his death However Okonkwo ignores it because he fears being perceived as weak This act hurts him deeply and breaks his bond with his son Nwoye This is the point where his downfall begins Fall and Isolation After he kills a clansman by accident Okonkwo is sent to exile He loses his power and hope The narrator says It was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth He becomes lonely in Mbanta and feels forgotten When he returns he finds his society changed by the white men The old ways of the Igbo are broken Okonkwo feels helpless and cut off from his people His dream of restoring the old strength of Umuofia fails completely Tragic End and Death Okonkwo s final act proves his tragedy He kills a messenger of the white man in anger but no one supports him He realizes that the brave world he loved is gone The narrator says He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart This line reflects the fall of Okonkwo and his culture He cannot live in a world that has lost its honor In despair he takes his own life which is a sin in his religion His suicide completes his tragic fall In short Okonkwo fits the pattern of a tragic hero He is brave proud and noble but ruled by fear His strength becomes his weakness His wrong choices lead him from honor to shame Achebe uses Okonkwo to illustrate how both inner pride and external change can destroy a man