In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and the Malian epic Son Jara, Son Jara and Okonkwo were both characters superior to their times and in the stories. His son Jara was by nature a superior figure in his society because he was born with the title of the next king of Manden and was mistakenly called the "first" born. Okonkwo became famous for what he did, for his actions, rather than a birthright, which was not present in this modern text. In the ancient text Son Jara, what makes Son Jara an exceptional man in society is his being the leader of his tribe for the advancement of all his people. However, in the modern text, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo becomes a larger-than-life character not to help his people, but to accomplish personal goals. Thus, the modern text transcends the values ​​of the ancient African society represented in Son-Jara through a new idea of ​​what it means to be an exceptional member of a group, whether it is leading others by example or further separating oneself from rest, the modern text that promotes the individual rather than the group. Son Jara is an exceptional character destined not to become famous and prove himself superior, but to become a leader of his people and save the devastation of his land. From the moment Son Jara was born, he was destined to become the king of Manden as his birth came to his father's ears first when in reality he was born second. When he overcomes his inability to walk, Manden certainly seems like he would be his, but his brother's mother exiles him from her land so that her son can become ruler. As the years pass, a non-Manden-like leader, Sumamuru, throws out Son Jara's brother and rules. Sumamuru and previously Son Jara's brother felt that Son Jara was a threat because the land was...middle of the road...better than other members of his clan as in areas determined by titles. In theory, if someone receives all the titles of the tribe, he is certainly better than all the other members of his clan who do not have the titles. Therefore, not having a king, a leader, in modern African society implies that one leaves room for other men to find their way to a distinct position that a king like Son Jara could fill. While Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart seems like the extremist of his tribe, his people are not much different in redefining and emphasizing the role of the individual. More importantly, if the old idea of ​​a leader and cooperative tribesmen were still present in Things Fall Apart, would the European people still have had the chance to destroy the Igbo clan or would the new concept of the individual have inadvertently weakened the African people??