A Comparative Character Analysis of Okonkwo and Kurtz as

Tragic Heroes

Comparative Novel Course

Supervised by

Prof. Nazife Aydınoğlu

Prepared by

Shamal Y. Yaseen

June 8, 2014
Introduction

"Heart of Darkness" (1902) is one of the best novels of the 20th century. First
of all, it is a symbolic journey into the dark places of the soul. And it is also a
story of spiritual breakdown. The central idea of this novel—darkness is the
true nature of our world—gets into the veins of the story. This type of
darkness will break human, as it did to Kurtz. Through Marlow’s narration, it
can be seen how Kurtz, who came to Africa full of hopes, deteriorated
physically and spiritually at last. Though Kurtz seemed to be the most
successful and capable man that Marlow met during his journey, his life is
actually a tragedy. On other hand, "Things Fall Apart" (1958) is one of the
masterpieces of 20th century African fiction and has always been regarded as
a landmark not only in African literature, but also in English literature as well.
In this novel we follow the life of a man named Okonkwo and his experience
of the colonization of Africa. Although he is a powerful and proficient man, his
life is tragic as well.

Achebe’s novel is very different from Conrad’s story. In “Heart of Darkness”

(1902) and “Things Fall Apart” (1958) two characters face a tragic ending,
Okonkwo in “Things Fall Apart” (1958) and Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness”
(1902). Both started with respect and a sense of nobility but yet both had a
tragic ending. Each one worked hard for something with little accomplishment
in the end. This essay endeavors to examine a comparative analysis of what
is tragic with these two characters and explains their scenarios.
A Brief Biography of Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad was born in Poland in 1857, son of a Polish patriot who
suffered exile in Russia. At the age of fifteen he amazed his family and friends
by announcing his passionate desire to go to sea; he was eventually allowed
to go to Marseille in 1874, and from here he made a number of voyages on
French merchant ships to Martinique and the West Indies. In 1878 he signed
on an English ship that brought him to the east coast English port of Lowestoft
and in six voyages between Lowestoft and Newcastle port he learned English
(Abram Stillinger et al., 2000: 1952). He spent a number of years at sea in
various merchant navies, eventually obtaining his master's certificate as
maritime career. His novels show that his knowledge of the sea, and his
service in Africa, were a lasting influence. He was dogged by ill-health for
most his life, and did not begin to achieve real fame until as late as 1913, with
the publication of "Chance". Conrad's most famous novels are "The Nigger of
the Narcissus" (1898), "Lord Jim" (1900), "Heart of Darkness" (1902),
"Nostromo" (1904), "The Secret Agent" (1907), "Under Western Eyes" (1911),
and perhaps "Victory" (1915). Over the last two decades of his life, Conrad
produced more autobiographical writings and novels, including "The Arrow of
Gold" (1919" and "The Rescue" (2000). His final novel, The Rover, was
published in 1923. Conrad died of a heart attack on August 3, 1924, at his
.home in Canterbury, England. (Marten Stephen, 2000: 306)

Conrad as a Modernist and Postcolonial Writer

Joseph Conrad was perhaps the first major novelist of the modernist style.
Conrad's perception of objective reality, non-linear narrative style and use of
subjective narrators put him firmly in the 'modernist' class of novelists. For
example, two separate monologues are present throughout "Heart of
Darkness". Furthermore, Written at the turn of the century, Joseph
Conrad's darkness presupposed the modernism movement in literature in
form and theme, if not in style, setting the stage and inspiring the writers who
would work in the last days of global imperialism, and under the shadow of
two world wars. For example, in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (1902),
a chaotic form of writing takes place which is characteristic of the Modernist's
experiments in their style of literature of stream-of-consciousness (Eric Martin,
2010). Consequently, with regard to his thematic preoccupations and
literary styles Conrad can certainly be considered a Modernist writer, but
Conrad's work can be more suitably inserted into the genre of Postcolonial
as well. it is more likely that he shifts between two, because Conrad's
skeptical critiques and literary interrogations of distinctly Eurocentric
conceptions of morality and tradition does not come from within the
metropolitan, bourgeois cityscape that was the home of so many self-
fashioned, high Modernist authors. Instead, they emerge from colonial
settings, underdeveloped environments, from contact zones in which
colonizing and colonized cultures clash and conflict, such as in  "Heart of
Darkness" (1902) "Lord Jim" (1900), "Nostromo" (1904) and "Nigger of
the  Narcissus" (1898) (Dominic Davies, 2014).

A Brief Summary of Heart of Darkness

"Heart of Darkness" (1902) is a story within a story. Five men on board the
Nellie are anchored in the Thames Estuary at dusk. One of them narrates
what happened aboard but mainly retells the story told by another crew
member, Charlie Marlow, about his journey to Africa and up the River Congo
as a representative of a trading company. Marlow shares his experiences as a
steamboat captain transporting ivory downriver but particularly focuses on the
lack of efficiency of white trading agents and how they mistreated the natives.
However, the center of his story is his search for the mysterious Kurtz, an
ivory trader, who gathers huge quantities of ivory through very peculiar and
secret methods and who has raised himself as the god of the tribes
surrounding his station. It is through Kurtz that Marlow discovers the various
forms of darkness in Congo and this throws light on himself (Samet Guven,
2013).
A Brief Biography of Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He was raised in the large village
of Ogidi, one of the first centers of Anglican missionary work in Eastern
Nigeria. In 1944 Achebe enrolled in the Government College in Umuahia and
four years later, he entered the London-affiliated University College at Ibadan.
He graduated from Ibadan in 1953 and published his first novel; "Things Fall
Apart" (1958).He has published novels short stories, essays, and children's
books. Of his novels, "Arrow of God" (1964) won the New Statesman-- Jock
Campbell Award, and "Anthills of the Savannah" (1987) was a finalist for the
1987 Booker Prize (Chinua Achebe, 1995: 5). As one of the founders of a
Nigerian literary movement that drew upon the traditional oral culture of its
indigenous peoples. In 1958, he published "Things Fall Apart" as a response
to Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness" (1902) novel, that treat Africa as a
primitive and cultureless foil for Europe. In 1990 he met with a car accident
and was paralyzed from below the waist, forcing him to use a wheelchair and
he died after a short illness on 21 March 2013 in Boston, United States.
(Abram Stillinger et al., 2000: 2616).

Chinua Achebe as a Postcolonial Writer

Achebe's colonialized settings, underdeveloped environments, from

contact zones in which colonizing and colonized cultures clash and conflict
made him as one of the postcolonial writer. Achebe composes his work in
the language of the colonizer which is one of the characteristic of postcolonial
writers, but integrates folklore, proverbs, tribal customs, and the performance
of oral storytelling in order to evoke Igbo tradition and to force the reader to
acknowledge the story he tells on his own terms. For one thing, Achebe's
usage of nicknames like "Amalinze the Cat" and folklore gives a rich tradition
to the tale. In addition, the structuring of his narrative creates the physical
aural connection of hearing rather than reading the story. For example, he
often inserts bits of songs, such as the teasing song in his novel "Things Fall
Apart" (1958). These songs remind the reader not only that there is a story
teller, but also that the teller has a distinct voice (Chinua Achebe, 1995: 7).So,
this is one of the narrative techniques that made him as postcolonial writer.

A Brief Summary of the Things Fall Apart

"Things Fall Apart" (1958) is centered on the life of the protagonist of the
novel, Okonkwo. As the novel develops, at a funeral celebration Okonkwo’s
gun explodes and he accidentally kills a boy. He is exiled from the clan for
seven years. Going to his mother’s kinsmen, losing his place and possessions
in his village, he begins to struggle with some aspects of his society. But
when vast changes begin with the arrival of white missionaries, he closes his
heart against new ideas (Brenda S. Cox., 2000: 8). When Okonkwo returns to
his village he sees the major transformations that Umuofia has undergone
during his exile. Unhappy with the change, Okonkwo and other villagers come
together to drive the white missionaries out of their land. Their efforts are in
vain as the missionaries send their messengers to abort the meeting.
Okonkwo kills one of the messengers and in shock at his actions the villagers
let the other messengers escape. The messengers report back to the
missionaries and they take off to bring Okonkwo to justice only to find him
dead (Mohamed Gassama and Anwar Saleh, 2012).

Analysis

Aristotle’s Poetics defines a "tragic hero" as a good man of high status who
displays a tragic flaw (“hamartia”) and experiences a dramatic reversal
“peripeteia”, as well as an intense moment of recognition “anagnorisis” and
"hubris". Okonkwo and Kurtz, both of them are regarded as “tragic hero”, in
the same post-colonial setting but each with a different, unique style. In fact,
these two characters not only define the said term, they take the term to the
next level through their self-centered, desirous actions and the path of doom
.each one takes is different (Patrick C. Nnoromele, 2000)
Okonkwo as Tragic Hero

In Chinua Achebe’s novel "Things Fall Apart" (1958), Okonkwo is a tragic

hero because he belongs on a high status and has his flaws, which include
fear of weakness and failure, irrational anger, violence, insatiable ambition
"hubris", and events beyond his control. According to Aristotle's definition of
tragic hero, Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” (Things Fall Apart,
p.7) and a member of high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent
position of village clansman due to the fact that he had “shown incredible
prowess in two intertribal wars” (Things Fall Apart, p.1). Accordingly,
Okonkwo is a leader and hardworking member of the Igbo community of
Umuofia whose tragic flaw is his great fear of weakness and failure (Harold
Bloom, 2010: 44_45). Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a “wealthy farmer”
and a renowned individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond.
His idle father left nothing for Okonkwo, but he gains his own yam farm and
eventually becomes wealthy by owning many yam farms and wives. Indeed,
an older man of the village astutely observes, “Looking at a king’s mouth, one
would never think he sucked his mother’s breast” (Things Fall Apart,
p.26).Thus, Okonkwo’s rise from poverty further illustrates his heroic virtues
because all Aristotelian tragic heroes must undergo "peripeteia", or a reversal
.of fortune caused by one of their flaws, or "hamartia" (Yves, 2011)

Consequently, Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but
rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s, Unoka,
:unproductive life and disgraceful death (Diana Akers Rhoads, 1993)

Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life “
was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external
but lay deep within him. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to
.resemble his father.” (Things Fall Apart, p. 20)

This quote illustrates that his flaw is his ambition. His fear of being a
powerless, worthless man like his father motivates him to work ceaselessly to
appear a man of worth. Thus, this quote demonstrates how Okonkwo’s self-
interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” is someone who is the
exact opposite of his father and therefore anything that his father carries out is
weak and unnecessary (Patrick C. Nnoromele, 2000). Although Okonkwo
expressed rigidity and inflexibility in his life, Achebe tells us that down in his
heart Okonkwo is not a cruel man. In contrary, he doesn't want to lose his
high position in the village and regarded as weak man by the elders of the
village. His fear of being weak leads him to treat members of his family
harshly. So, his irrational rage is another significant flaw. Okonkwo mistreats
his wives, beats his children, especially Nwoye, the oldest son, and even
strikes his wife during "the Week of Peace" for not cooking his meal and killing
his son Ikemefuna in front of the senior's men of the village in order not to be
regarded as weak man. So, He does not use his anger wisely and beats
Nwoye when he sees signs of laziness or characteristics of his father in him
(Yves, 2011). 

Subsequently, Okonkwo wrestles with his fear that any sign of weakness will
cause him to lose control of his family, position in the village, and even
himself. Like many heroes of classical tragedy, Okonkwo’s major tragic flaw,
fear, also makes him excessively prideful. Thus, the classic flaw of "hubris"
also plays a role in Okonkwo’s downfall (Chima Anyadike, 1999). For
example, When Osugo, a man with no title comes to the kindred meeting,
Okonkwo states, “This meeting is for men”. The oldest man present who
reminds him of his humble origins later rebukes him when he blames sternly
to Okonkwo that "those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a
benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble"(Things Fall Apart, p.28). So,
after achieving success despite early disadvantages, he became exceedingly
arrogant and this conceited caused him to demise (Patrick C. Nnoromele,
. 2000)

Another two reasons of Okonkwo’s downfall are a result of the events beyond
his control. For instance, the first one is when Okonkwo’s gun accidentally
goes off and kills Ezeudu’s sixteen-year-old son and he exiles for seven years
and the second one is changes created by the coming of the British Colonists
to Igbo. Thus, Okonkwo's fate was doomed the moment he kills Ezeuu's son
and the coming of colonists also causes Okonkwo’s tragic flaw to be
worsened. Okonkwo construes change as weakness, and as a result of his
interpretation Okonkwo only knows how to react to change through anger and
strength (Andrew Foley, 2001). He derives great satisfaction, “hubris” or
prideful arrogance, from the fact that he is a traditional, self-made man and
thinks that to change would mean submitting to an outside force (Christianity).
Eventfully, according to Aristotle's term of "anagnorisis", Okonkwo succumbs
to his character flaws when he kills the court messenger who came to stop
their meeting, the crowd asks, “Why did he do it”? It is at that moment
Okonkwo realizes there is no way to restore the past and walks away from the
crowd and suicides himself. Thus, Okonkwo displays all of the characteristics
of tragic hero according to Aristotle's definition and his flaws cause his
downfall at the end of the novel when he suicides himself (Alan R Friesen,
. 2006)

Kurtz as Tragic Hero

In Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness" (1902), also Kurtz is regarded as tragic

hero; he belongs on high status and has his flaws, which include greediness,
vehemence and insatiable ambition "hubris". Manfred Beyer (1998) states that
Like Okonkwo, Kurtz belongs on one of the high status in his community, for
example Kurtz’ personality described by some of his relatives and people
before departing for the Congo. Kurtz’ cousin told Marlow that he could have
been a “great musician.” A journalist said Kurtz had the potential to be an
excellent politician. “He could get himself to believe anything–anything. He
would have been a splendid leader of an extreme party.” (Heart of Darkness,
p.55). No one could deny that whatever he was, and whatever he did, as his
cousin said, Kurtz was "a universal genius".

But when Kurtz enters in wilderness his personality changed completely, he

becomes cruel, arrogant and greedy and these flaws that he has are the main
reasons for his demise. Thus, Kurtz’s fate was doomed the moment Marlow
sees the remains of his predecessor Fresleven, who has been killed in a
scuffle with the natives and buried by nobody but the grass growing through
his ribs. Consequently, Kurtz’s weakness is that he lacks the ability to
overcome adversities presented by the jungle, that is to say insanity. Unlike
Okonkwo, Kurtz’ key flaw is that he is greedy and self-righteous. And this is
very clear when Marlow states why Kurtz went to the Congo in the first place
(Karin Hansson, 1998: 5_8):

“I had heard that her engagement with Kurtz had been disapproved by her
people. He wasn’t rich enough or something. He had given me some reason
to infer that it was his impatience of comparative poverty that drove him out
there.” (Heart of Darkness, p. 57)

This quote proves that Kurtz’ intent upon entering the Congo. He is motivated
by money but only to earn the right to wed his intended bride. So, Kurtz's rise
from poverty after arriving at jungle further demonstrates his heroic virtues
because all Aristotelian tragic heroes must undergo "peripeteia", or a reversal
of fortune caused by one of their flaws, or "hamartia". Therefore, when he
departs to Africa's wilderness, he loses sight of the thin line between
corruption and goodness and he becomes greedy; as described by the
:Russian trader when he says (ibid)

“I had a small lot of ivory the chief of that village near my house gave me.
Well, he wanted it, (Kurtz) and wouldn’t hear reason. He declared he would
shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out.” (Heart of
Darkness, p.70)

Accordingly, this quote determines that because of Kurtz's flaw which is

gluttony, nearly he would kill the Russian trader over some small ivories. So,
the abnormal greediness of Kurtz lied in his absurd belief that everything
belonged to him, and he wouldn’t sacrifice any of the goals for the sake of
another. Therefore, we can say for sure that even if he was rescued by
Marlow, he wouldn’t live in the civilized city with his “beloved Intended”.
Instead, he would again go back to the Inner Station where there were so
many things he couldn’t abandon (Mandfred Beyer, 1998). Furthermore, Watt
(1989: 226) argues that under the guidance of his illogical thoughts, Kurtz’s
mind is “capable of a fearless acting out of the whole past of human
barbarism”. And it was the main reason why he enslaved the natives and
even killed them when they rebelled, and why he wouldn’t let the Russian
keep even a small lot of ivory. To me, Kurtz’ success in upholding the Inner
Station and his position as well as the ivory collection actually predicted his
doomed fate of being a tragic hero, since he was covetous and the
representative of the colonizers who would take advantages of the weaker
.part (Jiping Zhao, 2008)

Kurtz's tragic flaw, greediness, also makes him excessively prideful. Thus, like
Okonkwo the classic flaw of "hubris" also plays a role in Kurtz'a downfall as
well. For instance, when he sees the natives demonstrate far more concern
for the welfare of Kurtz than do most of his countrymen. True, they worship
him and they actively work to ensure his safety (Mandfred Beyer, 1998). Kurtz
has succeeded with the Africans “they adored him.” And He himself has
ordered the attack to be made on the steamer because he “hated sometimes
the idea of being taken away” (Heart of Darkness, p. 41). Marlow believes that
Kurtz's immersion in the wilderness has fundamentally changed him. Living
deep in the Congo, among the “savages” and far from the structured life of
society, Kurtz has learned some deep, dark secret about the nature of life
.which is ravenousness and prideful (Enas Subhi, 2010)

Furthermore, the figure of Kurtz has come to assume an almost mythical

status in colonial literature. This is due to a number of reasons, perhaps the
most important of which being the contradictions in character that proves to
be his eventual downfall. One is reminded of the Greek hamartia, or tragic
flaw. Elbarbary (1993) writes that "Kurtz is seen in a double focus; genius and
nobility of personality find themselves in easy partnership with insanity and
monstrosity". While the reference to an "easy partnership" seems odd
considering the course of the novel and Kurt'z eventual demise (Pieter
Hendrik Hugo, 2006). Finally, according to Aristotle's term of "anagnorisis",
Kurtz succumbs to his character flaws in sickness and his infamous last words
.solidify his demise, “the horror, the horror.” (Patrick C. Nnoromele, 2000)

Conclusion
In conclusion, according to Aristotle's definition of tragic hero, through
sufficient examples we analyzed and discovered differences and similarities
between the character of Okonkwo from Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall
Apart" and Kurtz from Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness" as tragic
heroes. we investigated that both of them belong on high status in their
community, and their tragic flaws are different. Okonkwo as a man of war is
well- known among the clansmen of the village and his tragic flaw is fear of
resembling to his father's unproductive life and disgraceful death and his
harsh treatment with his family when he beats them and even killing his son
Ikemefuna in order not to be regarded as weak in the eyes of the villagers
cause his tragic demise. Kurtz's as a great musician, an excellent politician
and a universal genius praised by his people and his tragic flaw is greediness,
after leaving to wilderness and collecting huge amount of ivories. His greedy
over ivories sometimes make him cruel when he tried to kill the Russian trader
and finally his covetous makes him tragic hero. We explained that both of
them undergo "peripeteia", or a reversal of fortune caused by one of their
flaws, or "hamartia" and the classic flaw of "hubris" also plays a role in
Okonkwo and Kurtz's downfall. And we clarified that Okonkwo's fate was
doomed the moment he kills Ezeuu's son and Kurtz’s fate was doomed the
moment Marlow sees the remains of his predecessor Fresleven. And
according to Aristotle's term of "anagnorisis", Okonkwo succumbs to his
character flaws when he kills the court messenger who came to stop their
meeting and he suicides himself, but Kurtz succumbs to his character flaws in
sickness and his infamous last words solidify his demise, “the horror, the
”. horror

References
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall apart: Every man's Liberary. United States of
America: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.1995. Print.

Akers Rhoads, Diana. "Culture in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart."

.African Studies Review, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Sep., 1993): 61-72. Web

Anyadike, Chima. Realism in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Anthills
.of the Savannah. London: Pearson Education Limited, 1999.Print

Beyer, Mandfred."The Sepulchral City Revisited Joseph Conrad: Heart of

Darkness". Connotations Vol. 7.3 (1998): 273-289.Web. 

Bloom Harold. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Bloom’s Modern Critical
.Interpretations. United States of America: Infobase Publishing. 2010. Print

Brenda S. Cox.Things Fall Apart: Study Guide. United States of America:

Progeny Press, 2006. Print.

C. Nnoromele, Patrick. "The Plight of a Hero in Achebe s "Things Fall Apart"."

College Literature, Vol. 27, No. 2 (spring, 2000): 146-156.Web.

Dominic Davies. "Joseph Conrad". writersinspire.org.June 02, 2014. Web.

28 May, 2014.http://writersinspire.org/content/joseph-conrad

Foley, Andrew. "Okonkwo’s fate and the worldview of Things Fall Apart."
.Literator, Vol. 22, No.2 (Aug. 2001): 39-59. Web

Gassama, Mohamed and Saleh, Anwar. "Postcolonial African literature: An

analysis of the clash between Europe and Africa". rudar.ruc.dk. Nd. 2012.
Web. http://rudar.ruc.dk/bitstream/1800/8364/3/zfirst%20collect.pdf

Guven, Samet."Post-Colonial Analysis of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of

.Darkness." Karabuk University, Vol. 2, No. 2, (June, 2013).Web

Hansson, Karin. Entering Heart of Darkness from a Postcolonial perspective -

Teaching Notes. Karlskrona: Psilander Grafiska, 1998. Print.

Hendrik Hugo, Pieter. "Between Wilderness and Number: On Literature,

Colonialism and the will to power". scholar.sun.ac.za. 2006.web. 28 may,
2014. https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/1947?show=full

Marten, Stephen. English Literature: A Student Guide. 3th ed. Harlow: Pearson
.Education Limited. 2000. Print
Martin, Eric. "Heart of Darkness and Modernist Literature - Blurring the Lines
of Distinction". voices.yahoo.com.Yahoo Contributor Network, Jun 9,
2010.Web.2 May, 2014. http://voices.yahoo.com/heart-darkness-modernist-
literature-blurring-6162706.html?cat=2

R Friesen. Alan. "Okonkwo’s Suicide as an Affirmative Act: Do Things Really

Fall Apart?". Postcolonial Text, University of Regina Vol. 2, No. 4
.(2006).Web

Stillinger, Abrams, Ford, Christ and Diaches, Stallworthy. The Norton

Anthology: English Literature. 7th ed. United States of America: W.W. Norton
.and Company, Inc. 2000. print
Subhi, Enas. "Civilization and Savagery in Conrad’s Heart of the Darkness
With Some References to Golding’s Lord of the Flies".
ircoedu.uobaghdad.edu.iq. 2010.Web.4 May, 2014.
http://www.ircoedu.uobaghdad.edu.iq/uploads/41/CIVILIZATION%20AND
%20SAVAGERY%20IN%20CONRAD%E2%80%99S.pdf

Yves. "Okonkwo: The Nigerian Tragic Hero". ryfigueroa.blogspot.com. Jan.

20, 2011.Web. 2 May, 2014. http://ryfigueroa.blogspot.com/2011/01/a-essay-
on-things-fall-apart.html

Zhao, Jiping ."The Tragedy of Kurtz--An Analysis of Kurtz in Heart of

Darkness". Assain Social Science Vol. 4. No.6. (2008): 588.Web.