Tragic Hero

Tragic heroes occur from a perfect storm of wrongs and a valiant fight against external pressures, ultimately resulting in an untimely death. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby explores the rise and tragic downfall of the novel’s protagonist, Jay Gatsby. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the play’s protagonist deteriorates from a well respected General to a delusional murderer. Ultimately, these two men have many similar pressures that impact their fate and encourage their downfall. Blinded by…

characters are faced with an overwhelming force of zombies and it seems that they will all die inevitably but the show continues and gives the viewers a suspenseful story line. An example of tragic style play would be the scene from Doctor Faustus. In this scene it is considered Elizabethan tragedy because the tragic hero (Dr. Faustus) has a flaw or makes an error in his judgement that eventually leads to his own doom. The entire time his error eats him alive. He shows his doubts with the…

By defination,the beginnig is that which does not presuppose anything else to have gone before it. Although Sophocles' play focuses attention only on the last day of Oedipus' long rule over Thebes, we do not feel the need of any information about what has gone before, when we read the prologue of the play. In fact earlier events are related by Jocasta and Oedipus in the liter part of the play. The middle is that which is necessary and logical sequence of the beginning. The first episode of…

In the tragedy, Othello, it has been widely controversial whether Othello is truly a “valiant” (1.3.47) hero with tragic flaws, or a robust general who is actually an aggressive coward. F.R. Leavis suggests that Othello “was responsible for his own downfall” (Warren, "Othello: York Notes for AS & A2"). While A.C. Bradley emphasizes “the newness of marriage makes his jealousy credible” (Warren, "Othello: York Notes for AS & A2"). Although Othello made irrational decisions, he was still a noble…

“ Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity”. Chimamanda Adichie relates how a story can damage, or fix cultural views of a group or an individual, that the world has on them. In Things Fall Apart the ibo culture has a stereotype of being strong that connects them as a whole, but, disconnects them from their own dignity. This stereotype of being strong leads Okonkwo, the protagonist, to make several mistakes throughout his journey. In Things Fall…

In one of the greatest play written by Shakespeare, Macbeth is a play about a hero meets with a tragic demise because of his own character and other external factors. Macbeth is a brave, strong and honourable warrior and a hero at the beginning of the play whose bravery leads him to the victory of a civil war. It can be noted that his bravery is one of the reasons for his tragic demise. Because of his bravery we could fight a war, lead his army to victory and the king of Scotland is forced to…

A tragic hero, as defined by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, is a character whose actions lead to their own downfall. A perfect example of a tragic hero is Oedipus Tyrannus. This character’s life is discussed in Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Oedipus tries to outrun a prophecy that states he is fated to kill his own father and lay with his mother. As a result of this running, he only seals that fate. Oedipus becomes a king, but he is never shown as heroic or villainous. He is only a flawed…

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare tells the story of Romeo a hopeless romantic and Juliet a girl who over exaggerates everything that she does. Their story starts at a party thrown by Juliet's family where these two lovers first meet. Everything seems to be perfect until they find out each other's lasts names. After they find out that their love is forbidden fights seem to break out for every little thing. With all of these fights breaking out death is surely no stranger…

In the play, “Fences”, by August Wilson, Troy is the protagonist. By many Troy can be seen as a tragic hero for his bravery to stand up for his black rights. As bad as the things Troy might do, still readers enjoy him as a character. This is because the author's technique to display sympathy for Troy avoids readers seeing him as a abusive father and an unfaithful husband. August Wilson makes us sympathize with Troy by talking about his past life when he was a child, How he personified death and…

Question 1 Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw, of arrogance, and he was in a high position in society. Then, due to his own decisions, had a great fall from his place. Oedipus’s downfall was caused by his decisions, his tragic flaw, his unwillingness to accept his fate, and his pride. Oedipus thought he had free will, but all of his actions were predetermined by the gods. Oedipus was extremely smart, but he was too arrogant, which was his downfall. Sometimes our destinies are…