Okonkwo - Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo is the protagonist of the novel Things Fall Apart. He is described by the author as:

"...tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him a very severe look...When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody."(Achebe, 1959: 01)

"Chinua Achebe is, quite simply, one of the best novelists now alive" - Harvey Swados

First of all, taking into account the essence of the character being focused on the fact that "He had no patience with unsuccessful men" (Achebe, 1959: 01), I can infer from the quote that Okonkwo strove to break fresh ground in a world that valued manliness because of the laziness of his father, Unoka, as it is stated in the novel: "In his [Unoka] day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow." (Achebe, 1959: 01). Thus, this issue leads to an inner crisis of the protagonist. Consequently, he appropiates some opposite ideals such as being productive, brave and impulsive, thus he offends the Igbo people because he broke with traditions. For instance, "Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten" (Achebe, 1959: 03), however Okonkwo fiercely opposed to this type of "soft" characteristics of the clan.

After all, Okonkwo realizes that he is unable to adapt himself to the changes being made in his clan as the White man was settling down in Umuofia:

"Does the white man understand our custom about land?"

"How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad, and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart." (Achebe, 1959: 71)

Finally, the character is considered a tragic hero because of the obstacles that he faces through the novel. Although he is superior, he is affected by his emotions offently referred as inwardly and by the complexity of his feelings. This hamartia* is the fear of showing weakness.

To conclude, do you consider Okonkwo's final decision the right solution? Do you think he can be considered a tragic hero?

*Hamartia: A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

Reference:
Achebe, C. (1959) Things Fall Apart