A Hero In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

What Makes a Hero? Suicide bombers, firefighters, soldiers, and good samaritans, what do they all have in common? They are all types of heroes in the real world. In literature, we have heroes too, and two heroes that stand out in literature are Odysseus from the Odyssey and Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart. Just like in real life some heroes are better than others and in order to see who the better hero is between Odysseus and Okonkwo one must first learn about them and which type of hero they are. Most people think that Odysseus is the better hero because he possesses the traits of an epic hero; however, after more information is given one will be able to decide who the better hero is. The first hero one must look at and understand is Odysseus who is an epic hero. One can see that he is an epic hero because in order to be an epic hero one must be better than most

A trait that reveals a tragic hero is the fact that they have a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall. In Things Fall Apart it shows that Okonkwo’s fatal flaw is, “Okonkwo never showed any emotions openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength” (Achebe 28). One can gather from this that Okonkwo’s fatal flaw is the fact that he is scared to look weak whether that be showing affection or having the option of being peaceful or going to war. Another famous characteristic of a tragic hero is their downfall. In the book, it says that Okonkwo’s downfall is, “Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead” (Achebe 207). One can see that the fear to look weak led to him hanging himself because he killed a white man and instead of being killed by the district commissioner and looking weak he decided to kill himself. Therefore what led up to his suicide and his suicide altogether proves that he is a tragic