Tragic heroes are found everywhere throughout literature. A tragic hero is a character who makes a mistake that leads to his or her downfall. According to Aristotle‚ “A man does not become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” In The Crucible by Arthur Miller‚ the protagonist John Proctor is a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. Proctor makes mistakes and eventually admits what he has done‚ which leads to his death. Tragic heroes must have certain characteristics‚ including error
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When Abigail threatens to accuse yet another innocent soul of witchcraft in her plot to have him to herself‚ John Proctor breaks forth‚ shouting‚ “It [Abigail] is a whore!... I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name—you will believe me‚ Mr. Danforth! My wife is innocent‚ except she knew a whore when she saw one!” (Miller 3.3). John Proctor‚ the protagonist of the play‚ The Crucible‚ by Arthur Miller‚ has an affair with Abigail Williams‚ a seventeen-year-old orphan‚ which
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most tragic stories are those of the average person “who is ready to lay down his life‚ if need be‚ to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity.” It is often believed that the reason not many tragedies are written today is because there is no tragedy to be found in today’s common man‚ Miller believes the exact opposite to be true. He believes that “the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were.” A novel that shows the journey to selfhood of a tragic hero
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the Poetics‚ a tragic hero should be “between these two extremes—that of a man who is not eminently good and just‚ yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity‚ but by some error or frailty.” The ultimate purpose of a tragic hero is to construct catharsis. Doing this by making the audience commiserate with the protagonist producing emotions by having a rise and a plummeting downfall in the character’s life. Some would quarrel that Antigone is certainly the tragic hero because her fate
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Othello as Tragic Hero William Shakespeare has written many plays. His most tragic play is Othello. Othello is also the name of the main character in the play‚ he is quite hard to understand. Othello is a noble man‚ one who has grace with the ladies but also possesses all the virtues of a military leader that he is. Yet Othello has many traits and tragic flaws that make him a tragic hero. Othello is a noble man who is well known and respected‚ for his position as a general. He is a general
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According to Aristotle’s theory‚ there are six basic and specific characterization of a tragic hero and the most essential one is tragic flaw which is called the Hamartia. Given the enough information from the story‚ it is safe to say that Claudius had some desires that he never got due to life circumstances like being a king. These unfulfilled desires built his pride and selfishness to the extent that it became his tragic flaw. His pride as part of the nobles and his excessive desire to be in highest position
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Caesar What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a person of great respect and wisdom. They have a wonderful reputation with their people or civilization‚ but they have to possess a great flaw in character as well. A tragic hero suffers a reversal in his/her fortune‚ and discovers in own downfall was brought on by his own actions or inactions. The audience feels sympathy for the tragic hero‚ for his actions lead to misfortune toward himself and the people he loves. A tragic hero in Julius Caesar is
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Tragic Hero Paper By:Sam Scott pd7 Saint Louis Hawaii 12/8/15 Do you know one of the greatest tragic heros of all time? I believe Creon is the greatest tragic hero of all time because he learned from his mistakes‚ he didn’t deserve what was put upon him‚ and his interactions with antigone proved that he was a tragic hero. Creon is a tragic hero because he learned from his mistakes. ‘In that prayer I included everything i most desired”.(1482-1483)This quote shows that Creon changed as a person
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Jennifer Leung 10 English Literature April 7‚ 2014 Ms. Britte Is Okonkwo a tragic hero? Okonkwo is the protagonist in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. He was one of the Igbo people and he was also one of the most important men in his society. I would like to define the term tragic hero before I discuss whether Okonkwo is a tragic hero or not. A tragic hero is a literary character who had noble life at first but eventually died because of his own wrong judgment about something and his judgment
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A tragic hero is a character who used to do good deeds in the light of others but allows for his flaws or inner struggles to overcome him. As a result‚ this downfall leads to the character’s death. In the case of Troy Maxson‚ main character from the play “Fences” by August Wilson‚ it is clear that he constantly struggles to keep up with good deeds for his family‚ but unfortunately allowed his inner flaws to lead him to his lonely and tragic death. Therefore‚ Troy Maxson is indeed considered a tragic
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