Oedipus and Okonkwo
Adam Kelley
Mrs. Grimaldi
English II AC
13 June 2014
Two Tragic Hero’s A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Oedipus and Okonkwo are both fantastic examples of a tragic hero because they have it all in the beginning and then they both fall. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a man from the village Umofia; he has many wives, a famous wrestler, and a big yam plantation. In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is a man from Corinth who runs away from his homeland in fear of a prophecy from Apollo that Oedipus will murder his father, and his mother will become his lover. After running away, Oedipus defeats a mighty and powerful sphinx to become the king of Thebes and marries the Queen of Thebes, Jocasta. Two of the conventions of a traditional Greek Tragedy are Hamartia and Hubris. Hamartia is a fatal error or tragic flaw. Hubris is excessive pride or arrogance. Both Oedipus and Okonkwo’s hamartia are their hubris. When Oedipus says “Much as you want: Your words are nothing, futile” (Sophocles, 415-417). In this quote it shows that Oedipus is not willing to anyone else opinion, he thinks that everyone else is wrong and he is always right. Okonkwo’s hubris is showed in this quote when he gets mad over nothing important “Who killed this tree? Are you all deaf or dumb?” (Achebe, 38). In that quote, Okonkwo gets mad that someone killed a tree, when in reality nobody killed the tree. Okonkwo’s second wife had plucked a leaf off the tree to wrap some food in it. For that Okonkwo gave her a sound beating. Aresteia is another convention of a traditional Greek tragedy. Aresteia means the moment of hero’s greatest success or accomplishment. Oedipus’s aresteia is when he becomes the ruler of Thebes. The citizens of Thebes are so grateful of Oedipus. “You freed us from the sphinx; you came to Thebes and cut us loos from the bloody tribute we had paid
Mrs. Grimaldi
English II AC
13 June 2014
Two Tragic Hero’s A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Oedipus and Okonkwo are both fantastic examples of a tragic hero because they have it all in the beginning and then they both fall. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a man from the village Umofia; he has many wives, a famous wrestler, and a big yam plantation. In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is a man from Corinth who runs away from his homeland in fear of a prophecy from Apollo that Oedipus will murder his father, and his mother will become his lover. After running away, Oedipus defeats a mighty and powerful sphinx to become the king of Thebes and marries the Queen of Thebes, Jocasta. Two of the conventions of a traditional Greek Tragedy are Hamartia and Hubris. Hamartia is a fatal error or tragic flaw. Hubris is excessive pride or arrogance. Both Oedipus and Okonkwo’s hamartia are their hubris. When Oedipus says “Much as you want: Your words are nothing, futile” (Sophocles, 415-417). In this quote it shows that Oedipus is not willing to anyone else opinion, he thinks that everyone else is wrong and he is always right. Okonkwo’s hubris is showed in this quote when he gets mad over nothing important “Who killed this tree? Are you all deaf or dumb?” (Achebe, 38). In that quote, Okonkwo gets mad that someone killed a tree, when in reality nobody killed the tree. Okonkwo’s second wife had plucked a leaf off the tree to wrap some food in it. For that Okonkwo gave her a sound beating. Aresteia is another convention of a traditional Greek tragedy. Aresteia means the moment of hero’s greatest success or accomplishment. Oedipus’s aresteia is when he becomes the ruler of Thebes. The citizens of Thebes are so grateful of Oedipus. “You freed us from the sphinx; you came to Thebes and cut us loos from the bloody tribute we had paid