Introduction “A hero deserves admiration due to his inherent goodness. If he succumbs to unmerited suffering‚ he becomes a tragic hero.”_1 In Aristotle’s own words‚ “a man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” This statement gives the gist of Aristotle’s concept of a tragic hero. A hero must fall from grace and must be able to clearly comprehend the cause of his fall. The “fall” must take place due to an error in judgement that arises out of some flaw (hamartia)
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English 102 4/14/14 Death of a Salesman Tragic dramas have been around for years‚ but the tragic hero has changed drastically. The classic tragic hero is someone of royalty or high status‚ and He is famous or adored for doing something great. The biggest trait of a classic tragic hero is that he has a character flaw. This flaw doesn’t make him evil‚ but it strongly affects his decisions‚ and eventually leads to his downfall. While modern tragedies have very similar qualities to the classics‚
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According to Aristotle‚ a Greek philosopher‚ a hero must five different characteristics to be considered a tragic hero. First‚ they must be of noble birth or they must be wise. Second‚ they must have a “fatal flaw” or a trait that is unchangeable. The protagonist has to undergo a reversal of fortune where their life gets turned around into a different direction. They must realize that their flaw caused the reversal of fortune before the plot ends or the character dies. Lastly‚ they must receive a
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In the novel The Great Gatsby‚ Gatsby is a tragic hero because he displays the fundamental characteristics of modern tragic hero. He is a common man‚ he contains the characteristics of a tragic flaw‚ and he eventually has a tragic fall. Although at first glance Gatsby might not seem to be the everyday man‚ in reality he actually is. At one point Gatsby’s past is being examined and his parents are described as “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” which shows the readers that he came from humble
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Antigone: Not the Tragic Hero Sophocles‚ a great tragedian‚ was the one who gave Greek tragedies their traditional form. An important part of traditional Greek tragedies is the presence of a tragic hero. All tragic heroes should have the characteristics of rank‚ a tragic flaw‚ a downfall‚ and a recognition of mistakes. The seemingly tragic hero is Antigone. She wants to bury her brother Polyneices even though this would be going against Creon‚ who is her uncle and the king. When Antigone buries
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The genuine tragic hero is Creon‚ as his power‚ actions‚ and flaws are what set the tragedy into a downward position. What Antigone lacks is remorse for her actions. A huge part of being a tragic hero is knowing the wrong-doing and showing remorse for the act weather it be criminal or on an immoral level. Creon is a king‚ a very wealthy and powerful human‚ but he still is a human with flaws nonetheless. His people follow him loyally; this loyalty is shown when they follow his order about Polyneices’
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The modern definition of a tragedy is any serious accident‚ crime‚ disaster‚ or great misfortune (“tragedy‚ 2009). However in order to classify a play as a tragedy‚ the more formal definition constructed by Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. must be used. Aristotle defined a tragedy as “an imitation of an action of high importance‚ complete and of some amplitude; in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties; acted not narrated; by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these
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a Tragic Hero? Elizabeth Howell English 102- B33 Professor Katie Robinson Liberty University October 12‚ 2012 Oedipus‚ a Tragic Hero? Thesis: Using Aristotle’s five different descriptions of a tragic hero‚ we will show that Oedipus in Oedipus the King is in fact a tragic hero and how his decisions led to his downfall. Outline: I. Introduction and Thesis Statement II. Is the character of noble birth? A. King of Thebes B. Real father was king III. Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently
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Lucia Chimienti-Castro Mr. Bottos ENG-3UP January 2‚ 2015 Seeing Tragic Heroes Through a Sequence A sequence is a set of related things‚ but obviously some things are more relative than others. Let us say you had two circles and one oval‚ sure an oval could join the sequence since it is spherical with no sharp edges but the other circle is more related
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Hamlet The Tragic Hero The playwright William Shakespeare reveals a tragic hero in his greatest tragedy "Hamlet". This hero is the young prince Hamlet. He fulfills all of Aristotle’s requirements for a tragic hero. Three key events in the play demonstrate these requirements: First‚ when Hamlet does not murder Claudius at his first opportunity after being asked by his father’s ghost‚ Secondly‚ his confrontation with Ophelia regarding her returning his gifts‚ and lastly his reaction to Claudius’s
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