A tragic hero is a literary character of great virtue who has a fatal flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. What makes the character a tragic hero is a self-awareness and reversal of the tragic flaw that draws the empathy of the reader. In The Crucible‚ by Arthur Miller‚ John Proctor is the tragic hero because of his indiscretion and his conceit to maintain his good name which leads to his demise and eventual death. One trait of a tragic hero is that the character must be noble
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English 2 14 Sept. 2015 True Life: Creon is the Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. Because the tragic hero simply cannot accept a diminished view of the self and because of some personality flaw‚ the hero fails in this epic struggle against fate (csus.edu). In "Antigone" written by the infamous Sophocles‚ the characters‚ Antigone and King Creon‚ can both be deemed as tragic heroes despite of their beliefs differing immensely
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In Macbeth by William Shakespeare‚ Macbeth could be considered as a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. Namely‚ Macbeth is of noble stature and although he has a character flaw‚ his fate is not wholly deserved. Too late‚ Macbeth realises that he has been tricked; leading the readers to pity him. According to Aristotle: “a tragic hero is a character of noble stature”. It is seen that Macbeth is a respected nobleman as he is titled “Thane of Cawdor and Glamis”. “Brave Macbeth” is a mighty warrior
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King Lear: Lear The Tragic Hero The definition of tragedy in the Oxford dictionary is‚ "drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event‚ serious accident‚ calamity." However‚ the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive. Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity‚ but in fact‚ it refers to a series of steps which leads to the downfall of the tragic hero and eventually to his tragic death. Lear‚ the main character in King Lear was affirmed
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Scott Fitzgerald’s fictional novel set in the 1920’s The Great Gatsby the protagonist Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero. Jay Gatsby has three noticeable characteristics: a tragic flaw‚ is responsible for his own downfall‚ and is from noble birth. Therefore‚ in F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920 book The Great Gatsby the protagonist is a tragic hero. As a result of Gatsby having a tragic flaw he is a tragic hero. Gatsby is incapable of letting go of the past and moving on. “‘You ought to go away‚’ I said. ‘It’s
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How far do you agree that John Proctor is a tragic hero? John Proctor‚ the main character in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible can be classified as a tragic hero. The term tragic hero was made by Aristotle who was a Greek philosopher that lived between 384BC and 322BC. He said that the main characteristics that a character must have to be a tragic hero is having a noble status‚ a flaw that will lead to their downfall when they make a mistake‚ the audience must be able to feel empathy towards the character
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Beowulf is an ancient tale about the heroism and adventures of a young warrior Geat. Far off in the kingdom of the Danes‚ a terrible monster named Grendel attacks and kills several innocents. Beowulf hears about this and‚ being the hero he is‚ decides that he is going to kill the beast. This launches him into an epic quest‚ presenting several challenges and tests of character. Throughout these challenges‚ Beowulf displays many heroic qualities. The first quality Beowulf possesses is an incredible
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What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a great character in a dramatic tragedy that is destined for downfall‚ suffering‚ or defeat. A tragic hero is someone coming from great nobility; they must exemplify their nobility as a part of the character. Throughout the play the tragic hero is someone who isn’t perfect‚ they aren’t easy to recognize‚ and they share the same characteristics as you and I. The tragic hero’s downfall is usually their own fault; they usually cause the tragedy by a fault in
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English 2 28 October 2011 Jason Tragic Hero In the tragedy Medea by Euripides‚ Jason faces the death of his new wife and two sons that have been killed by his ex-wife Medea. Jason leaves Medea to marry the king of Corinth’s daughter; therefore‚ Medea takes revenge on him. Jason wasn’t always bad he was a good husband before he did what he did. Jason is a tragic hero because he fits the characteristics of a tragic hero. First of all Jason is a tragic hero because he helped Medea when she didn’t
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A tragic hero is a character within a story whose defined characteristics precipitate the downfall of the plot. By Aristotle’s definition‚ a tragic hero is one who possesses a characteristic flaw‚ leading to his wrong actions‚ careless personality‚ and realizes his mistake towards the end of the story. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet he creates the story of two lovers from brawling families who wish to be with one another more than on side with their families. It can be argued that
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