How does Okonkowo develop themes in the text as a tragic hero?

Throughout the book it is recognizable that Okonkowo is portrayed as a though individual that never shows weakness, or affection, and that gives priority to his status, and reputation more than to anything else. This characteristic of Okonkowo, has a duality that is a double-edged sword for him. On the one hand, having this attitude of fortress and toughness, helps him to gain titles in his tribe, winning the best wrestler of his tribe, and helps him to be a successful soldier in war, which gives him a good reputation and status in his tribe, but on the other hand, his excess of rudeness drives him to commit mistakes that at one point turn against him. An example of mistake that he commits is for example when he kills Ikemefuna in front of the other leaders of the tribe, in order to not show weakness. This excess of curtness turns against him, when he accidentally kills the son of one of his friends in his funeral, which causes his exile out of his tribe for a period of seven years. Besides of that Okonkowo can be considered a tragic hero, since after being presented as a respected and successful man in his tribe, eventually experiences a reversal of fortune like for example his exile, or the loss of a child who decides to join a different ethnic group. Finally Okonkowo dies in a tragic way, hanging himself after killing a commissioner coming from a different ethnic group.

Why does Achebe choose a tragic hero for his protagonist in his colonial counter narrative?

Chinua Achebe uses a tragic hero as the protagonist of his book to show how the influence of a colonizer can break down the core of the ideology of a colony. Before the Christians arrived to the Uomofia, Okonkowo’s attitude and actions towards his enemies were regarded as heroic and rewarding, but after the Christians came to Uomofia, his opinion, and decisions were neither listened, nor accepted.

What is the purpose or function of Okonkowo in Things Fall Apart?

From my point of view, Okonkowo portrays how the culture and ideology of the Igbo people has broken down, or has fallen apart, after Uomofia is colonized. Okonkowo experiences a reverse of fortune after he kills Ikemefuna, which has a tragic end, since Okonkowo dies hanged, whereas the Igbo people get ideologically divided, after the Christian missionaries arrive to the tribe.