The characters of Victor Frankenstein, from Frankenstein (Shelley, 1818), Heathcliff, from Wuthering Heights (Bronte, 1847), and Jay Gatsby, from The Great Gatsby, (Scott Fitzgerald, 1925) can be seen as tragic heroes. Each of these characters displays characteristics of a tragic hero, as outlined in Aristotle’s Poetics (1895). The characteristics, as well as characters that display them will be discussed.
The first characteristic of a tragic hero is that the character evokes feelings of pity or fear in the audience. “It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation (Aristotle, 1895). The characters in the three novels elicit feelings of pity, fear or both in the audience. …show more content…
“The character between these two extremes – that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by a vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty” (Aristotle, 1895). Victor Frankenstein can be seen as a tragic hero in this regard in that his intentions were good but he is also evil in that he abandoned his creation. “I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time [...] renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” (Marklund, 2010). This shows the good side of Victor, that his intentions were pure. His evil side is shown by him creating life and then disregarding his creation. “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (Shelley, 1818). The symbol of an abortion shows that Victor does not want his creation. Heathcliff is also neither completely good nor completely evil. “[...] he seemed ready to tear Catherine in pieces [...] when of a sudden his fingers relaxed; he shifted his grasp from her head to her arm, and gazed intently in her face (Bronte, 1847). This quote shows that Heathcliff can be evil as he is aggressive, but also that he can be good as he let Cathy go because she reminds him of Catherine. Gatsby is not completely good because he is involved in illegal dealings but he is certainly not completely …show more content…
“The change of fortune should...come about as the result not of vice, but of some great error or frailty...” (Aristotle, 1895). Victor Frankenstein’s character flaw is that he has hubris, an excessive amount of pride or self-confidence. “I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (Shelley, 1818). This shows that Victor is overly self-confident and self-assured which leads to his downfall – his entire family dying. Heathcliff’s character flaw is his ambition and temperament. “...he grew bitter...” (Bronte, 1847). Heathcliff’s bitterness means that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, regardless of who he destroys in the process. As a result, he is not loved and dies alone with hardly anyone at his funeral. Jay Gatsby’s flaw is that he loves the idea of Daisy too much and would do anything for her. “...but now he had found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail” (Scott Fitzgerald, 1925:142). Gatsby sees Daisy as a holy grail to be worshiped and thus would do anything for her, including taking the blame for killing Myrtle (Scott Fitzgerald, 1925:137). This leads to Gatsby’s downfall, which is him being murdered.
The characters in the three novels can be described as tragic heroes as they display the characteristics of a tragic hero. These characteristics are
The first characteristic of a tragic hero is that the character evokes feelings of pity or fear in the audience. “It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation (Aristotle, 1895). The characters in the three novels elicit feelings of pity, fear or both in the audience. …show more content…
“The character between these two extremes – that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by a vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty” (Aristotle, 1895). Victor Frankenstein can be seen as a tragic hero in this regard in that his intentions were good but he is also evil in that he abandoned his creation. “I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time [...] renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” (Marklund, 2010). This shows the good side of Victor, that his intentions were pure. His evil side is shown by him creating life and then disregarding his creation. “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (Shelley, 1818). The symbol of an abortion shows that Victor does not want his creation. Heathcliff is also neither completely good nor completely evil. “[...] he seemed ready to tear Catherine in pieces [...] when of a sudden his fingers relaxed; he shifted his grasp from her head to her arm, and gazed intently in her face (Bronte, 1847). This quote shows that Heathcliff can be evil as he is aggressive, but also that he can be good as he let Cathy go because she reminds him of Catherine. Gatsby is not completely good because he is involved in illegal dealings but he is certainly not completely …show more content…
“The change of fortune should...come about as the result not of vice, but of some great error or frailty...” (Aristotle, 1895). Victor Frankenstein’s character flaw is that he has hubris, an excessive amount of pride or self-confidence. “I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (Shelley, 1818). This shows that Victor is overly self-confident and self-assured which leads to his downfall – his entire family dying. Heathcliff’s character flaw is his ambition and temperament. “...he grew bitter...” (Bronte, 1847). Heathcliff’s bitterness means that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, regardless of who he destroys in the process. As a result, he is not loved and dies alone with hardly anyone at his funeral. Jay Gatsby’s flaw is that he loves the idea of Daisy too much and would do anything for her. “...but now he had found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail” (Scott Fitzgerald, 1925:142). Gatsby sees Daisy as a holy grail to be worshiped and thus would do anything for her, including taking the blame for killing Myrtle (Scott Fitzgerald, 1925:137). This leads to Gatsby’s downfall, which is him being murdered.
The characters in the three novels can be described as tragic heroes as they display the characteristics of a tragic hero. These characteristics are