Is Odysseus A Better Hero

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In Novella and Poem: Identifying How Odysseus is a better hero than Okonkwo When looking into the novella, Things fall apart, by Chinua Achebe, and the poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, one comes at a dilemma on how to argue which hero is the “better hero”. There is two ways one can go about this, you can either argue that said hero is better than the other because they fit the type of hero that they are better than the other hero fits the type of hero they are. Or on the other hand, you can argue who is better morally, thus making the hero better in society’s eye and therefore being a better hero. For the sake of this paper, I have decided to argue to who is the better hero judging by the morality of each. After looking through each epic the …show more content…
His most valuable skill is his intellect, and his strength lies in his intelligence, which enables him to escape from the Cyclops in Book 9. In order to not get into trouble at the end of the poem Odysseus uses his smarts and tells everyone to, “to dress in their finest and dance” (Homer 23). Out of awe and respect, the Ibo tribe refers to Okonkwo as "Roaring Flame" (Achebe 153). Fiery of temper with a blazing appearance, Okonkwo puts fear in the hearts of his clan members as well as his own family unit. Okonkwo's huge build, topped by bushy eyebrows and a very broad nose, gives him the look of a tornado on the warpath. His whole demeanor reeks of uncontrolled fury. In the example earlier about one of his wives not being home, Okonkwo was not supposed to be beating anyone because it was peace week. The book describes him accurately when it says, “ . . . Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (Achebe 30). He is always wound for fierce action. Take this example of how Okonkwo reacted when Nwoye came home from being at the church. “It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned. He went into the obi and saluted his father, but he did not answer. Nwoye turned round to walk into the inner compound when his father, suddenly overcome with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. ‘Where have you been?’ he stammered. Nwoye struggled to free himself from the choking grip. ‘Answer me,’ roared Okonkwo, ‘before I kill you!’ He seized a heavy stick that lay on the dwarf wall and hit him two or three savage blows. ‘Answer me!’ he roared again. Nwoye stood looking at him and did not say a word. The women were screaming outside, afraid to go in” (Achebe 151, 152). It can be seen the vicious and corrupt way that Okonkwo solves his problems in comparison to
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