Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines a hero as “A mythological or legendary figure of great strength or ability”, or “A man admired for his achievements and abilities”. Although he has his flaws, Okonkwo from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart fits this definition of a hero. As a true historical person, Okonkwo is not a mythological figure, but he does fit the criteria of a real hero. Okonkwo is a hero because he is brave, powerful, and self-motivated. One of the primary reasons Okonkwo is a hero is his bravery. Throughout Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo shows his bravery in many situations.
One of these situations was when “in Umofia’s latest war he was the first to bring home a human head. That was his fifth head, and he was not an old man yet” (page 10). Okonkwo’s ability to fight in battle and risk his life for his clan proves that he is brave. The clan shows their respect for Okonkwo’s bravery by making him their messenger when delivering a declaration of war. On page 12, “Okonkwo of Umuofia arrived at Mbaino as the proud and imperious emissary of war, he was treated with great honor and respect, and two days later he returned home with a lad of fifteen and a young virgin”.
Most people would be afraid to go to a hostile village and demand slaves or threaten war, but brave Okonkwo rises to the occasion. In addition to his bravery, Okonkwo is a very powerful person. In the beginning of the text, we learn that Okonkwo “had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat…the great wrestler who 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.
