A tragic hero is a man or woman of high standing who is capable of great mental of physical suffering and possesses many excellent character qualities. Despite the great character, the hero has a hamartia, or one fatal flaw that led to his or her downfall. By this standard of Greek philosopher Aristotle, Antigone is considered a tragic hero. Antigone’s father was Oedipus, King of Thebes. She was next in line for the throne; however, Creon, her uncle and great-uncle, took power after the death of Oedipus. This is her high standing, royally speaking. She is a princess of Thebes and would-be Queen. Despite the tragedy that befell her parents and their rule of the kingdom, she is admired and looked upon for her morality and strength. The people
…show more content…
Her hamartia is her will to commit suicide. She gave up as soon as Creon left her to die in the cave. As soon as she faced a death that seemed impossible to avoid, she let go of her life. If she would have waited just a little longer, she would have been released by the very man who detained her. By staying alive, she would have also saved her fiance, Haemon. He, too, committed suicide once he saw Antigone dead. I was really sad when I read about Antigone giving up. Her life could have resumed some sort of normalcy if she would have waited. She might have even become Queen of Thebes, and wouldn’t have left her sister alone. Antigone’s flaw of character led to her downfall, literally. We, the audience, accept this downfall because she was faced with a horrible decision that had no positive result, at least in her mind. She thought she was going to die either way; she figured committing suicide would be an easier and less painful way to go. We have to wonder, wouldn’t we choose the same thing? A tragic hero is a man or woman of high standing who is capable of great mental of physical suffering and possesses many excellent character qualities. Despite the great character, the hero has a hamartia, or one fatal flaw that led to his or her downfall. By this standard of Greek philosopher Aristotle, Antigone is tragic
Her hamartia is her will to commit suicide. She gave up as soon as Creon left her to die in the cave. As soon as she faced a death that seemed impossible to avoid, she let go of her life. If she would have waited just a little longer, she would have been released by the very man who detained her. By staying alive, she would have also saved her fiance, Haemon. He, too, committed suicide once he saw Antigone dead. I was really sad when I read about Antigone giving up. Her life could have resumed some sort of normalcy if she would have waited. She might have even become Queen of Thebes, and wouldn’t have left her sister alone. Antigone’s flaw of character led to her downfall, literally. We, the audience, accept this downfall because she was faced with a horrible decision that had no positive result, at least in her mind. She thought she was going to die either way; she figured committing suicide would be an easier and less painful way to go. We have to wonder, wouldn’t we choose the same thing? A tragic hero is a man or woman of high standing who is capable of great mental of physical suffering and possesses many excellent character qualities. Despite the great character, the hero has a hamartia, or one fatal flaw that led to his or her downfall. By this standard of Greek philosopher Aristotle, Antigone is tragic