the True Tragic Hero Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is one who is in power or associated with power. They have a hamartia‚ or flaw‚ that will ultimately cause their own downfall. Many would use this and claim that Antigone is the tragic hero of the self-named play‚ but one character has a much more grand fall from the heavens after he losses both wife and son to Antigone (isn’t exactly their main reason‚ but Antigone’s actions do lead to their untimely deaths.) The true tragic hero is
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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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To what extent can Othello be considered a ‘tragic hero’? The extent of which Othello is a tragic hero has been open to much debate; the basis on which he is judged falls to Aristotle’s established view of the crucial elements that distinguish whether a person is truly tragic. According to Aristotle‚ a tragic protagonist is a nobleman or person from high status‚ who contributes to his own demise and illustrates a flaw or weakness in judgment. The tragic protagonist must make a fall from a high state
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Throughout literary history‚ tragic characters have helped readers to understand human conflicts. Authors such as William Shakespeare and J.R.R. Tolkien have included tragic heroes in their novels in order to examine various flaws that lead to the protagonist’s death. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare‚ the main character‚ Macbeth‚ displays characteristics commonly present in tragic characters when he says “I am in blood stepped in so far that‚ should I wade no more‚ returning were as tedious
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A tragic hero‚ according to Aristotle‚ is someone who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In reading “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe‚ Okwonkwo is a tragic hero. Okwonkwo is the main protagonist in this book and is a leader and dedicated member of the Igbo Community of Umuofa whose tragic flaw is his vast fear of weakness and failure. These flaws eventually distract Okwonkwo from succeeding as a important member of the village and make him a tragic hero
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mad‚ or have a loved one taken away from him. However‚ one Greek hero existed whose story did not end with tragedy: Odysseus. Homer’s The Odyssey is unique among all other Greek myths in that it is the only story in which the hero does not meet a tragic end; why is this so? From his words to his actions and from his companions to the way he handles certain situations‚ Odysseus is vastly different from all other mythical Greek heroes‚ a uniquity which leads to his story’s eventual cheerful ending
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Othello a Tragic Hero Othello is one of the most famous plays by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare develops the characters into fully realized human beings‚ with their own names‚ personalities‚ and ways of looking at the world. Othello is the protagonist of the play. He is a combination of greatness and weakness‚ in his own words "an honourable murderer". He is a general in the Venetian defense forces. Although he is a foreigner from Africa‚ he has been promoted this position by excellence
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In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart the protagonist Okonkwo can be compared to a Greek tragic hero. Throughout the novel we see many heroic qualities as well as a tragic flaw that allows Okonkwo to be associated with a Greek tragic hero. There are many positive attributes given and attributed to Okonkwo‚ but it is that tragic flaw that humanizes him and allows us to decipher his growth and how he personally changes. From the very beginning of the novel Okonkwo is described as very strong
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Faust as a Tragic Hero In the story of Faust‚ written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe‚ Faust is whirled into an adventure of sin and deceit. The further Faust follows the devil the closer he comes to his own demise‚ taking down with him the innocent Gretchen. As Faust goes on he embodies the characteristics of a tragic hero in a sense that he is borderline good and evil‚ constantly battling his conscience. The one major flaw that initiates his self-destruction is the fact that he feels he is extremely
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Introduction Death of a Salesman reveals the story of an American man confronting failure in a success-driven society and shows the tragic path which eventually leads to his suicide. Willy Loman believes in what he considers the promise of the American Dream wholeheartedly‚ which is based on the Declaration of Independence stated by Thomas Jefferson in 1776: "We believe that all men are born with these inalienable rights - life‚ liberty and the pursuit of happiness."(Malone‚ 28) However‚ Willy
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