Is Okonkwo (of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart) a Hero Essay Example

for seven years was unbeaten” (page 3). Okonkwo’s strength in wrestling is a symbol for his personal power, which grows as he ages in the book. Achebe points out how powerful Okonkwo is on page 8, saying “he was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife.

To crown it all he had taken two titles he was already one of the greatest men of his time”. To the Ibo people, taking a title is the equivalent of becoming a lord or member of government. Okonkwo’s successes in battle, farming, and in his social life all add to his power. The final reason Okonkwo is a hero is because he is a self-made man. Seeing someone rise from poverty to riches inspires others to do the same, and this is Okonkwo’s story. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka “was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow.

If any money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine, called round his neighbors, and made merry” (page 4). Having such a poor role model for a father would usually lead a son to follow in their footsteps, but Okonkwo breaks this chain by becoming one of the most powerful members of his clan. Okonkwo is driven to show that he is not lazy like his father, and he “was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness” (page 13).

Okonkwo’s ability to rise from the bottom and make it to the top of

his society inspires others to do the same. Despite being born poor, Okonkwo shows his power and bravery to prove that he is a true hero. Although his story is mundane – he does not have any superpowers or any relation to his gods – Okonkwo fits the true definition of a modern hero. The Ibo people of Nigeria may seem very different from us today, but the themes of power, bravery, and self-determination transcend the differences in our cultures. Okonkwo would be a hero in any culture, because he embodies the qualities that all people can respect.