If The Shoe Doesn't Fit...

    Okonkwo of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is many things, but relatable is one adjective that I would not use often when describing him. This is why I find it difficult to assert that Okonkwo fits Aristotle's image of the tragic hero. Though he fits many of the qualifications, Okonkwo is missing some key characteristics. Ultimately, he breaks out of the image of the tragic hero because his problems are too specific to certain groups, he's not exactly virtuous, and his tragedy would certainly leave some in a state of depression.
    The tragic hero is relatable, someone who is essentially like the masses: Okonkwo doesn't always display this. When half the population is female, his unreasonable concern with his masculinity, his largest struggle, doesn't hit home for everyone. If his key issue is only relatable to a fraction of half of the world's population, most couldn't identify with him. The idea of the tragic hero may also be constrained by culture. Okonkwo's abhorrent treatment of women is one alienating factor for most of the Western world. It's hard to get over, and it's difficult to relate to someone with ideas many consider morally wrong.
    The tragic hero is noble and virtuous: Okonkwo, while being noble and possessing an elevated position in Umuofian society, he's not exactly virtuous. He consistently breaks the tenants of his own religion and society. His violence during the week of peace is a striking example of this. He's also quick to condemn men for displaying what he consider's "womanly" behavior, and uses violence as his medium of choice in regards to problem-solving. None of these qualities are virtuous, and they're fairly prominent in Okonkwo's character.
    The tragic hero's fall does not leave the reader in a state of depression: Okonkwo's fall shows some of the most painful and disheartening aspects of imperialism, and the book leaves one with a bitter taste in her mouth. The death of Okonkwo is an example of the helplessness that imperialism causes. Knowing that his tribe would not take action, he killed himself. One could argue that his suicide was due to the imminent change and oppression of his culture, due to the life that he had and that had been taken away from him. Okonkwo couldn't even be cut down by his own people, he had to be removed and buried by white people. This is something he almost certainly would not have wanted. The mention of the book-to-be in the last chapter, The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger, does nothing to ameliorate the prior tragedy.
    Though Okonkwo does fit several of the criteria of the tragic hero, I believe he parts from it too much to be considered one. Too many of his qualities make most people unable to identify with him strongly. His flaws are too many and too brutal to consider him virtuous. Lastly, the tragedy of his fall leaves one quite upset. Despite Okonkwo's similarities to Aristotle's tragic hero, the glass slipper is simply too snug to fit him.