Tragic Heros Throughout History
English 2A
5/21/12
Tragic Heroes over the Course of History in Literature In the works Oedipus by: Sophocles, Macbeth by: William Shakespeare, and The Natural by: Bernard Malamud, the main protagonists, Oedipus, Macbeth, and Roy Hobbes, all find themselves in the unfortunate situation of being a tragic hero. They strive to do great things, but in the end meet their downfall through an unfortunate hamartia, or tragic flaw. Although they all live in different time periods and locations (Oedipus, hundreds of years before Christ in Greece, Macbeth, the Middle Ages in Scotland, and Roy Hobbes, the early Twentieth Century in America). They all possess a flaw that brings them down. They all have multiple flaws, and coincidently are all cursed by one hamartia, excessive pride or hubris. Oedipus thought he could solve any problem placed before him, when in fact he himself was the problem. Macbeth thought he deserved to be King of Scotland more than anyone else, and was driven to do horrible and heinous crimes to accomplish this. Roy Hobbes thought he was going to be the best baseball player there ever was, and was concentrated more on his own performance rather than the whole teams. Supporting characters did not help any of the protagonists either. Roy Hobbes was manipulated by women into doing things for them, and Roy’s fatal vulnerability ruined him in the end. Macbeth was practically forced to kill his own king by his wife, who was more ambitious than he was. Oedipus was driven to do bold things because of the mystery and his dependence on oracles. It was all the precautions he took that eventually lead to his downfall. All of these characters are united by their fatal flaws that define their actions and destiny. Though the characters lived in different time periods, they all have flaws that bring about their downfall. In the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by: Sophocles, a heroic king falls as a result of poor actions, horrible luck, and fate. All of these
5/21/12
Tragic Heroes over the Course of History in Literature In the works Oedipus by: Sophocles, Macbeth by: William Shakespeare, and The Natural by: Bernard Malamud, the main protagonists, Oedipus, Macbeth, and Roy Hobbes, all find themselves in the unfortunate situation of being a tragic hero. They strive to do great things, but in the end meet their downfall through an unfortunate hamartia, or tragic flaw. Although they all live in different time periods and locations (Oedipus, hundreds of years before Christ in Greece, Macbeth, the Middle Ages in Scotland, and Roy Hobbes, the early Twentieth Century in America). They all possess a flaw that brings them down. They all have multiple flaws, and coincidently are all cursed by one hamartia, excessive pride or hubris. Oedipus thought he could solve any problem placed before him, when in fact he himself was the problem. Macbeth thought he deserved to be King of Scotland more than anyone else, and was driven to do horrible and heinous crimes to accomplish this. Roy Hobbes thought he was going to be the best baseball player there ever was, and was concentrated more on his own performance rather than the whole teams. Supporting characters did not help any of the protagonists either. Roy Hobbes was manipulated by women into doing things for them, and Roy’s fatal vulnerability ruined him in the end. Macbeth was practically forced to kill his own king by his wife, who was more ambitious than he was. Oedipus was driven to do bold things because of the mystery and his dependence on oracles. It was all the precautions he took that eventually lead to his downfall. All of these characters are united by their fatal flaws that define their actions and destiny. Though the characters lived in different time periods, they all have flaws that bring about their downfall. In the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by: Sophocles, a heroic king falls as a result of poor actions, horrible luck, and fate. All of these