Some of the characteristics of a tragic hero include greatness, a weakness or a flaw, an undeserved fate, and a punishment exceeding the deed committed. Jay Gatsby encompasses all of these characteristics as a tragic hero. The most tragic of the three protagonists studied is Jay Gatsby because all he wanted was to be loved by Daisy, although, there were few who actually liked him, and his fate was ill timed and one his actions were not deserving of. There are many characteristics that identify Jay Gatsby as a tragic hero. Some of the characteristics of a tragic hero include greatness, a weakness or a flaw, an undeserved fate, and a punishment exceeding the deed committed.
His sense of pride prevented him from admitting to the adultery. Thus, the town did not understand Abigail’s motivation as did Proctor. He could have also prevented his demise if he had chosen to sign the paper. However, he feels that his name is “not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang” and chooses death over humility. This play exhibits tragedy because, though Proctor had many opportunities to change his fate, he chooses his demise because his tragic flaw prohibits him from doing otherwise.
Antigone was also doomed from the beginning. She was doomed from the beginning despite her noble intentions to bury her dead brother. Antigone from the play “Antigone”, by Sophocles, is a tragic her because she exhibits all the qualities of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a protagonist in a tragedy who must have a tragic flaw. Antigone from the play “Antigone” indeed does have a tragic flaw.
At the end of every tragic play, the audience must feel pity or remorse for the deceased hero. This is also known as catharsis, which means purging of emotions. However these negative emotions are washed away because the tragic hero's death is an example of the axiom of true Puritan values. John Proctor, a character in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, is a classic tragic hero because he contains all the elements of a tragic hero such as hamartia, peripeteia, catharsis, and despite not being born into nobility, he possesses many noble characteristics. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor's fatal flaw was his overwhelming hubris that made him eventually succumb to his death.
Medea, an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides has Medea, a female character as the tragic hero. Many people consider her a wicked villain but they overlook her positive individualities. Medea has three vital characteristics described in Aristotle’s Peotics that makes up a tragic hero. Thus, Medea is a tragic hero with heroic code, superhuman skills and most important of all a tragic misfortune. Every hero requires having certain code of conduct which distinguishes him among ordinary people.
A tragedy is a story of a person’s demise brought on them by the specific flaws in their character. The “Tragedy of Othello” by William Shakespeare tells a story of deceit and revenge. Othello, the central figure of the play, is a man noble to his country and people. He is an amazing character, a tragic hero, who has befallen to undeserved misfortune and folly. While it may seem, that the tragedy of Othello was caused by the evil villain Iago, I believe that he was not the only one to blame.
Oedipus exhibits a noble birth in which he is born into a wealthy family. He also indicates that he has a character flaw in which the audience realizes that he has a flaw in his role. His character also has a change of fortune in his flaw in correlation to realizing that his downfall was his own fault. The first characteristic of a Greek hero is that he must undergo a noble birth. Oedipus displays this trait in the play because he was born to King Laios and Queen Lacaste indicating that he was born to a wealthy home.
Hamlet: Tragic Hero or Big Baby? A tragic hero is defined as “an exalted character of high repute who suffers a fall from glory” (Notes from Mr. Cadwallader's drama class). Dictionary.com defines tragic hero as, “a literary character who makes an error of judgment, or has a fatal flaw that combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy.” Both definitions fit the character of Hamlet in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. Hamlet is a tragic hero because of his indecisiveness to act. Hamlet's tragic flaw is his indecisiveness to act on his thoughts.
A Shakespearean tragic hero is defined as ‘an exceptional being of high degree’ whom has a fatal flaw. Macbeth’s character is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. In many of Shakespeare’s tragedies, the main character starts off as a very brave, heroic person whom everyone praises. However as time passes by, the character loses his reputation because he faces a moral dilemma. He also loses reputation due to his fatal flaw.
A man’s cynical actions are under no circumstances justified; unless such actions have a clear justification; therefore, although the action is bad, but the motivations behind it make it justified. In the play written by Shakespeare, Othello, the antagonist Iago is a cynical figure, and has committed many deeds in which results in everyone around him getting hurt. However, humans are never born evil, and the only way for a cynical man to be born, is when the individual submerges in justifications of his own evil deeds. Iago is no different from any other antagonist; he grew up as a low class citizen, which made him very vengeful; therefore, when he suffers a single fall, he will seek revenge. During the Othello era, noblemen are among the highest ranks in every way, which in turns made them very well educated, and polite.