Hamartia

Even though both ended in tragedy inflicted by the individual’s themselves; they both differed greatly from each other, due to the different contexts. In “Oedipus”, the play had ended in tragedy, a fate brought upon by the Gods, a result of Oedipus’ hamartia of hubris. In contrast, the tragedy of Willy’s death in “Death of a Salesman”, was caused by Willy’s delusion, of the American…

Aristotle’s view is that a highly esteemed hero falls due to a hamartia, or a fatal flaw. When people look at the play with the mindset of trying to find Oedipus’s fatal flaw, they see someone who is over-confident, proud, and quick to judge. How Oedipus speaks to Teiresias and Creon is what people use to determine these…

Macbeth: At War with Himself Aristotle once said, "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." This can be related to the tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The protagonist of the play, Macbeth, depicts the role of a hero for various reasons. Not only is he bold enough to change his life completely, but he trusts his fate so much that he lets it kill him. On his suspenseful journey to success, Macbeth only has one goal, and that is to become King of…

philosopher who proposed a set of characteristics or traits which are to be used as criteria when evaluating characters and their status as tragic heroes. Put in a condensed manner, they are as follows: a tragic hero must have noble stature, be a victim of hamartia, be responsible for his own downfall, be admirable and pitiable, gain wisdom and repent before death, and conjure a cathartic release of emotions from the reader. These traits will be used to evaluate, by form of comparing and…

the characters fall victim of their undesirable fate. The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi foretold that Oedipus would grow up to murder his father, marry his mother and father children with her. Oedipus destiny is inevitable but it was his free will and hamartia of hubris, anger, and determination that led to the complete undoing of Oedipus. In the beginning, Oedipus learns of the prophecy that said he would kill his father and wed his mother. In learning his future, Oedipus tries to escape his…

Torchy’s tragic flaw undermines his judgment that leads to his misfortune; however, it elicits fear and pity in the end that enables readers to experience catharsis.Ultimately, the readers learn the essence that money cannot buy happiness. Torchy’s hamartia, the lust for money and sex deprives him of his moral judgments, and contributes to his downfall. Torchy’s lust for money blinds him from realizing that gaining money from gambling does not overcome adversities. For example, after winning…

The United States justice system is corrupt. It has been and will be influenced by racial prejudice and biased toward the rich and famous. Orenthal “OJ” Simpson, born in poverty but raised to the status of an American hero, is the perfect example of this and of the archetype of the tragic hero. Simpson, once a beloved and celebrated sports star, experienced a fall from the limelight after his secret more sinister side was revealed in a transformative court case. Although he came from a…

Some people say that ignorance is bliss. In some cases, however, that may not be true. In Sophocles’ tragic play Oedipus Rex, the author uses a motif of sight and blindness through foreshadowing, in conjunction with Oedipus, and through irony to convey the idea that when someone thinks they know what is right but are actually ignorant to the truth, that will most likely cause their downfall. Sophocles foreshadows Oedipus’ future using the motif of sight and blindness through prophecies and…

realization that they made a mistake, and the audience must feel empathy that this character died. In William Shakespeare 's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, all of these traits are attributed to one character, Brutus, he is born of noble birth, he has a hamartia, a peripeteia, an anagnorisis, and the audience feels catharsis when he reaches his demise. Marcus Brutus firstly fits the definition of a tragic hero because he is born of noble blood, which fuels his noble personality. In act one, scene…

audience” and “it is his/her downfall that evokes the feelings of pity and fear among the audience.” Some of the basic characteristics of a tragic hero are: Noble birth, Hamartia, Hubris, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and Catharsis. Noble birth is described as “the hero beginning the story in a position of social and/or moral power. Hamartia is described as the tragic flaw that causes the downfall of a hero.” Hubris is described as “a typical flaw in the personality of a character who enjoys a…