Chinua Achebe's, Things Fall Apart, is about the tragic life of Okonkwo, a well-respected Ibo clansman. The novel is tragic because Okonkwo was a great man, and unfortunately, he is destroyed by his own weaknesses. Okonkwo's downfall was that he feared becoming like his father, who was really weak and according to Okonkwo, a "woman." After all, Okonkwo is his father's blood, and his weaknesses are innate.
             Okonkwo was one of the greatest men of his time. Okonkwo was a hardworking, successful yam farmer and a fierce warrior. Okonkwo's hard-working ethics had brought him great success in farming and wrestling. Okonkwo was a successful farmer because he "worked daily on his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue." At a very young age, Okonkwo had brought great news to his town, he defeated Amilinze the Cat. He became popular in all nine villages. "Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bushfire in the harmattan." And many described him as being "slippery as a fish" in his fight against Amilinze, who was unbeaten for seven years. Even though Okonkwo was young when he defeated Amilinze, he had earned his fame across the nine villages. Starting from scratch, Okonkwo had two barns full of yams, two titles from inter-tribal wars, and three wives, thus becoming a great man at a very young age.
             Okonkwo was the exact opposite of his father. His father was a complete failure. Even at the time of his death, he was heavily in debt and had taken no titles. "Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness." Okonkwo feared failing, eventually, his tragedy began when he had killed a boy accidentally. Everyone had come to celebrate the life of Ezuedu and the boy was his son. All his hard work had been shaken, and nothing was able to prevent this disaster. Okonkwo had to start his life all over again in a new land. Another tragedy was...