The dictionary defines a tragic hero as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. In my opinion, of the three tragic heroes we studied in class, Macbeth is the most tragic hero out of John, and Okonkwo. This is because Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his pride which leads to him thinking the whole world revolves around him rather than everyone. For example in the text, it says “If chance will have me, king, why, chance may crown me”. Although this quote doesn’t exactly say that Macbeth thinks the whole world revolves around him we can infer that he does.
Another way Macbeth is a tragic hero is because his flaw makes him die. Because he thinks she is better than everyone else.
This is also partially the witches fault because they told him he wouldn’t die till the forest comes together and no one born of women could hurt him. “The power of man, for none of the woman born shall harm Macbeth.”. He already knew that the forest wouldn’t come together and the women part was just luck.Because of this, another flaw of his is being selfish. This made Macbeth want to kill Duncan so he could become king and have all the power.
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In my opinion, Okonkwo is not a tragic hero, nor is Things Fall Apart a tragedy. This is because nothing bad happens to Okonkwo besides regular problems everyone goes through at some point in their life. For example, one problem is Okonkwo killing himself. “You drove him to kill himself, and now he will be buried like a dog…”. Nowadays this is known as suicide which many people go through. Another problem is family issues. Meanwhile, people all over the country and world have family problems. “Unoka, the grown up was a failure.”. If you were to consider Okonkwo a tragic hero then every single person who went through at least one of his problems would also have to be considered a tragic