Achebe’s novel is set in the Igbo tribe, in what we would today call Nigeria. Okonkwo, a respected member of the tribe, is the epitome of a self-made man, well anchored in his values of manliness and tradition. He made his own fortune through hard labor, is known to be a brave warrior, and cares about the strength of his world: capable of feeding his family, good status within the tribe. These characteristics are no less virtuous than his faults are great, namely the rage and intolerance for what he considers weak and woman-like. This outlines the series of peripeteia which lead to his downfall, throughout the second half of the book. One can admire Okonkwo for the very same reasons another can despise him (which is true for any great hero – Napoleon). It is this dichotomy which makes him human, and which makes tragedy even possible.
In his relationship with Ikemefuna, for whom he bears great love and respect, the virtues of Okonkwo are quite clear. He has pride in seeing the dynamic enterprise of his sons at farming and growing yams. He enjoys seeing Ikemefuna as a role-model to Nwoye. However, when the time comes to kill the adopted child, Okonkwo’s weakness – the fear of being considered weak – grows on him as he does the dirty job himself. This is a harsh blow to the reader, but it helps build up our knowledge of wild passions which make all men condemnable.
It is also interesting to note the complicity he feels towards Ezinma, his daughter, to whom he also bears much love and respect, saying that she should have been a man. He admires her strong character, cares for her when she’s sick, follows her through the night to assure himself of her safety.
Okonkwo’s disregard for his father’s life and life-long struggle to be different from him all falls to pieces in the end (which is the major theme of the book). We can feel in Okonkwo a deep disregard for the sheer goodness of people, their bear humanity, arguing that the main thing is strength, to feed one’s family, to be successful…It would be too far fetched however to say that he is devoid of humanity himself. In the harmony of the tribe, Okonkwo’s values and accomplishments make him great and admirable. His intolerance only contributes to seeing in him what Unoka had, a human flaw, a fatal one for Okonkwo. Had he not killed Ikemefuna, shot at his wife, rejected Nwoye, the reader would have no concept of the Roaring Flame’s true soul which lies in the midst of chaos and ashes…an admirable warrior.
In King Lear, the audience tends to condemn Lear for his actions in the beginning. It is hard to forgive him for banishing Cordelia and Kent, who appear most noble and just, in contrast with the two evil flatterers – Goneril and Regan. Shakespeare puts the emphasis right from the beginning on Lear's misjudgment, to grasp the man in all his flaws. We nonetheless understand his reaction as he feels solemnly betrayed by his daughter. This first mistake is the trigger to all the horror which follows; his initial mistake (giving up his responsibilities and leaving full responsibility in the hands of his evil daughters) is what defines him as a human and will later build him into a hero.
We admire Lear because he is noble and has "the countenance of a king--authority." He knows how to give orders and make things happen. However he is not heroic to the point where the audience idolizes him or turns him into a god-like stature. Like any man, he makes mistakes. Furthermore, we feel his growing human goodness towards others as his pains grow stronger. he is able to care for others he depends on. "Art thou cold, Fool?" (As a king he was widely praised and followed by sycophants and servants.) He is also admirable in taking his fate into his hands when confronted with a dilemma (which differentiates him from Gloucester's weakness); he is responsible and charges into life consciously until the moment he goes mad.
In the end, when Lear comes out with Cordelia in his arms, howling to the skies and to the world, we reach the climax of the admiration towards Lear. His pain appears so great that the audience identifies with the human feeling of despair. The crash, like a thunderbolt of lightning, hits us straight to the heart and Lear's tears, which he tried to hold in the whole play, drip on everyone's laps.
In conclusion, the author of a tragedy must create a compelling character in goodness and sin. It must become a heroic struggle which imples both sides of the spectrum – a person's most condemnable side and most beautiful side. A tragic hero could neither be Hitler or D'Artagnan. They are filled with too much of one and the other. The hero must be someone the reader can identify with in reality, to accompany his struggle and find a better truth.
