Since tragedy involves the "fall" of a tragic hero, one theory is that one must have a lofty position to fall from, or else there is no tragedy (just sorrow). Another explanation of this characteristic is that tragedies involving people of stature

While there is often a role of fate in the downfall of a tragic hero, there must be an element of choice in order for there to be a true tragedy. The tragic hero falls because he chooses one course of action over another. In Okonkwo's case, he chose to kill the messenger at the meeting in the market place thinking his tribesmen would follow his lead. However, when the clan did not have desire as strong as Okonkwo's to dominate, he was forced to fight alone. It is crucial that the tragic hero come to some sort of an understanding of what went wrong or of what was really going on before he comes to his end. As soon as he killed the messenger, and his tribe "had broken into tumult instead of action...He knew that Umuofia would not go to war." Defeated, he simply wiped his matchet and walked away.

Therefore, Okonkwo carries all the characteristics of a tragic hero. His sad story brought the downfall of himself and the hastening of his tribe's fall to the white men. Ironically, because he took his own life, his death was of equal disgrace with his father's. They both s

Some common words found in the essay are:
Niger Okonkwo's, Apart Okonkwo, tragic hero, District Commissioner, Chinua Achebe's, tragic flaw, evil forest,
Approximate Word count = 734
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)