Jordan Belfort Tragic Hero

Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, was the architect of tragedy. He believed that each story should intensely evoke emotions in the reader, so that whether or not the resolution is positive or cynical, the audience still experiences a catharsis. He crafted this idea so that each tales would have a noble hero who experiences a downfall caused by nothing but his own undoing, also known as a hamartia. Although centuries later this definition has transformed, modern tragic heroes still hold similar ideals. Additionally, this archetype does not have to be limited to literature. For example, infamous stockbroker, Jordan Belfort, is portrayed as a tragic hero in the highly stylized film, The Wolf of Wall Street. His character is based upon the real Jordan Belfort, who was arrested after cleverly creating an investment scam that made him millions of dollars. …show more content…
Traditionally, a tragic hero’s pride, or doubt in his fate becoming true is the tragic flaw. Meanwhile, Jordan’s weakness is his “inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity,” which is what Arthur Miller wrote in his essay “Tragedy and the Common Man”. This weakness is evident because Jordan does not seem to think that what he is doing is wrong; he believes that the money he was laundering from the ignorant lower class “‘was better off in my pocket. I knew how to spend it better” (Scorsese). In fact, unlike Aristotle and Miller’s ideas that once justice is served a lesson should be learned, Jordan never truly comes to terms with what he has done wrong. Although he went to prison, the film ends with a scene from a seminar for aspiring millionaires, in which Jordan is a motivational speaker. It is as if Jordan has not learned from or repented for his wrongdoings, and is continuing with another scheme to make