Tragic Hero

In class we discussed our working definitions of a "tragic hero"; one of the biggest differences is between Dani’s definition and mine, that a tragic hero was the cause of the tragedy, where I said that they were the product of tragedy. This caused reflection on my part of what a hero really is; we call Beowulf an epic hero and Okonkwo a tragic hero. What sets them apart from each other, Beowulf was a man who did feats of greatness. Okonkwo was really just a coward trying to out run the memory of his father. Think about it, every action Okonkwo did was to be the opposite of what his father stood for. He was selfish and prideful, hurtful and conceited. Beowulf had pride in his actions but in his final act he looked upon the treasure as a way to help his people. Where Okonkwo, he was striving his whole life for a goal that could never satisfy and when that was taken away by the white missionaries he killed himself. While I understand that suicide can be done with mental capacities that don't comprehend the ripple effects, this is a selfish act. I could almost believe that Okonkwo did this without any regard to his many wives and children who would have to go to their "father/motherlands" to seek refuge. The family dealing with grief and his children because they could never bury their father properly would never put this to rest. Just as Okonkwo could never get over the type of man his father was.

I think Okonkwo was a product of tragedy; he was born with the shame of his father being a failure. He felt that always breathing down his neck. No matter what he accomplished he was still the son of a man he hated.  His tragic ending was foreshadowed in his first season with yams. They failed just as he ultimately would.  Though Okonkwo wasn’t heroic he did have his battles, ones he did not choose.  In Okonkwo’s battle with the church and the unfair banishment after the accidental killing. Okonkwo was a man who could not out run his past.