Okonkwo: A Hero or a coward?
That year the harvest was sad, like a funeral, and many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. One man tied his cloth to a tree and hanged himself. Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair. He knew that he was a fierce fighter, but that year had been enough to break the heart of the strongest lion (Achebe 2947)."Since I survived that year," he always said, "I shall survive anything." He put down his inflexible will. His father, Unoka, who was then an ailing man, had said to him during that terrible harvest month: "Do not despair. I know that you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone."(Achebe 2947) Achebe's work, Things Fall Apart, is an epic; it resembles stories about heroes in many cultures. In these stories, the heroes are extraordinary individuals, whose careers and destinies are not theirs alone, but are bound with the fortunes and destinies of their society. They become heroes by accomp
One of the most troublesome questions concerns the nature of Okonkwo's heroism; is Okonkwo a true hero? According to the Ibo society "age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered. In closing, as the reader analyzes the situation of Okonkwo and his inner demons, one might think that Okonkwo could indeed survive any hardship he encountered in his life. " Although he is a superior character-his tragic flaw-the equation of masculinity with anger, rashness, and violence-brings about his own destruction. Nevertheless, through exemplary actions and heroic efforts, Okonkwo gained the much sought after respect from his fellow tribesmen. In Umuofia, a man is judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father. Some people think that a person can not exemplify the act of heroism if suicide is the cause of their end. It was not external but lay deep within himself. Perhaps down in his heart, Okonkwo was not a cruel man. Despite all these trials and tribulations, Okonkwo clung to his intense pride as a steady, driving force in life. " (Achebe 2941) Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness, and even then he still remembered how he had suffered as a child due to his father's faults. "This tribe was powerful in war and in rounding country. It was himself that Okonkwo believed was a worthless man due to him not being as successful as he truly desired to be in his lifetime. This in itself says that Okonkwo was the hero many would like to be, but will never take the steps.
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