Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe“Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way. You become righteous by performing righteous actions, temperate by performing moderate actions, and courageous by performing courageous actions. -Aristotle. In Chinua Achebe's famous novel, Things Fall Apart, the protagonist, Okonkwo, is proof of Aristotle's statement. Although he is arguably the most dominant man in Umuofia, his personal flaws, which are fear of failure and uncontrollable anger, do not allow him true greatness as a human being. There are many reasons why this is true. One of the main reasons is that, due to his many flaws, Okonkwo loses track of his path in life. Another reason is because he is portrayed as a negative character. These are just a few of the many reasons why Okonkwo is considered by many to be a tragic hero. Okonkwo's first and most characteristic flaw is his fear of failure. Many people would agree that this flaw is caused by the fear of becoming his father, but Okonkwo takes this fear too far. Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was known to be a very lazy and carefree man. He also had notoriety for being "...poor and his wife and children barely had enough to eat." (Achebe 5). A great tradition in Umuofia is to have a father who is supposed to teach his children what is right and what is wrong. In Okonkwo's case, these lessons were meant to be self-taught. Okonkwo had to work to maintain his own understanding of what defines a “good man” and for him this was the exact opposite of his father. Because of his fear of being seen as weak, Okonkwo even kills a child who calls him father. Ikemefuna was sent to live with Okonkwo because someone was murdered in a nearby village. An example of Okonkwo's cruel actions is shown in the following quote: “As the man approached and raised the machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the shot. He heard Ikemefuna shout: "My father, they killed me!" as she ran towards him. Stunned by fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut it down. He was afraid of being thought weak." (Achebe 61). The fact that he kills Ikemefuna shows that his reputation is more important than the life of a child. Okonkwo's fear allows him to receive more respect from his tribe, but only because it pushes him to do better than anyone else. Another of Okonkwo's major flaws is his uncontrollable anger..