The novel Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe introduces an interesting character named Okonkwo. Okonkwo lived a life full of contradiction. His main goal in life was to never give up until he was successful and achieved everything he wanted, but then he ended up committing suicide in the end. Okonkwo can be thought of as a tragic hero. He has quality characteristics about him that everyone admires, such as his bravery, strength, and his desire to succeed. His fear of becoming like his father gave him this desire to succeed, and consistently motivated him to progress through life. However, he was always held back by his tragic flaw, being his inability to accept change.
             Okonkwo's motivation to succeed was driven by fear. When his father, Unoka, died, he left Okonkwo with nothing. Unoka was thought of as a coward, and Okonkwo also feared that he would be thought of the same way. So in turn, having a failure as a father was just the thing Okonkwo needed to become successful in his own life. Achebe says, "He was possessed by the fear of his father's contemptible life and shameful death" (18; ch. 3) Okonkwo's success was based on his material acquisition and growth, and his power. When Okonkwo was still just a boy, he began his hard work of farming at a desperate attempt to earn respect. "I began to fend for myself at an age when most people still suck at their mothers' breasts. If you give me some yam seeds I shall not fail you." (21; ch. 3). Here we can see that Okonkwo started adulthood, in fact supporting his family, at a very early age. He began to cultivate his farm before many of the other townspeople. This unfortunately lead to disaster the first year since the rains came early and much of his crop was destroyed. Okonkwo persisted. Okonkwo was a man possessed with succeeding. " 'Since I survived that year,' he always said, 'I shall survive anything.' He put...