The Tragic Hero– A Common Thread of Two Colonialist Works

Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” are two well-established literary works stemming from colonialist efforts that overtook Africa in the 1890s. These works portray the conflict between Nigeria’s new-founded white colonial government and the traditional culture of the native African, Igbo people. Through analyzing main characters from each work, Okonkwo and Kurtz in both novels, respectively, portray the role of the tragic hero. Both are introduced in their stories as high-ranking characters, each corrupted by their individual, tragic flaws, which ultimately leads to their fall (or death). In considering their individual plotlines, Okonkwo, however, provides the best depiction of what the idealistic tragic hero ultimately encompasses. Three differences to be accounted for within this common framework include their difference in point-of-view in the storylines, and their resulting tragic flaws, where Okonkwo is a African man within the Igbo tribe; whereas, Kurtz is an upper-class, white European, who becomes obsessed in his exploitation of Africa for its resources, mainly ivory. Secondly, while both men could be considered civilized characters, who acted in abiding to the norms of the African community, Kurtz had more a invasive and corruptive, ’god-like’ power in the story which influenced the African peoples as a whole, where; on the other-hand, Okonkwo was portrayed as more of a leader with control that really didn’t exceed his direct family. Finally, while these two characters ultimately face death in the end, Okonkwo loses his internal battle and ultimately commits suicide, while, Kurtz actually becomes both mentally and physically ill, eventually leading to his deteriorating death.
The first significant difference between these two characters and their portrayal