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In Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, the impact of British Colonialism in Africa is critiqued through the story of an Igbo man, Okonkwo. Okonkwo is an extremely masculine man who has but one fear, the fear of being weak. Throughout the novel, his actions are motivated by this fear which defines him characteristically as on overly masculine man. This over masculinity is Okonkwo's flaw and it drives his moods and actions, ultimately leading to his demise. In this respect, Okonkwo plays the role of a tragic hero driven by his flaw which leads to his downfall.
Okonkwo, like the tragic hero's of Greek myth, was driven by a personal flaw which motivated his life decisions. He always had to be superior to others because "his life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness" (p. 13). He did not want to be perceived as cowardly and feeble. As a result of this flaw, he hated laziness and apathy and did not want to appear as such a person who possessed these......

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Approximate Word Count: 952
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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