Not only does this demonstrate his inclination to rule through force but it shows he believes himself above fate. However in reality, his threats further alienating the one immortal who can help him avoid his doom. These obedient immortals represent Zeus’s brutality, stubbornness toward fate, and exemplify his tyrannical method of rule. The immortals compassionate to Prometheus’s plight express their sympathies but also express their fear of Zeus’s wrath. Hephaestus, who is extremely troubled by having a hand in punishing his friend, still executes Zeus’s orders stating, “…it is a dangerous thing to treat the Father’s words lightly.” (lines 16-17).
Using Oedipus as an ideal model, Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be an important or influential man who makes an error in judgment, and who must then suffer the consequences of his actions. Those actions are seen when Oedipus forces Teiresias to reveal his destiny and his father's name. When Teiresias tries to warn him by saying I say that you and your most dearly loved are wrapped together in a hideous sin, blind to the horror of it (Sophocles 428). Oedipus still does not care and proceeds with his questioning as if he did not understand what Teiresias was talking about. The tragic hero must learn a lesson from his errors in judgment and become an example to the audience of what happens when great men fall from their social or political positions.
He feels that our instinctive character is to be selfish, only caring of those pertaining to us. The savage man was not an animal, but rather had beast-like qualities, creating a world of violence and constant war. Locke had a very different ideology on the nature of man. In my opinion, Locke views man through rose-colored glasses, Locke suggests humans naturally follow the moral law, (which can be discovered by reason) he also states that forms of government and society are natural to us, and that war and conflict that ravage our world, occur simply for the reason that we were fighting for what we believe in, and each side believes they`re just. Rousseau suggests that humans were simple; without speech, culture and mature thought prior to our social and cultural development.
Fall from high to low estate, from power and from happiness g. Shakespeare created the character Othello; Arthur Miller fashioned Willy Loman; and Sophocles gives the audience Oedipus as examples of Aristotle’s tragic hero. III. A Look at Oedipus as a Nobleman h. Oedipus is the King of Thebes (Kennedy & Gioia, 2010, p. 859) iv. Is the supposed child of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, v. Who came to the throne of Thebes after defeating the Sphinx, vi. Thus fulfilling the criteria of tragic hero being of high estate.
Machiavelli’s philosophy about the nature of man is that man as a whole is mostly bad and while retaining a few good qualities will lean towards his own self-interests when all things are equal; “that man has qualities that will bring him either praise or blame”. He also portrays men as selfish and fickle creatures as he writes, “..this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous..”. Hobbes on the other hand, views men in a “state of nature” as being completely self-centered and willing to do anything to get what they want; mankind lives in a dog-eat-dog world where everyone looks after only themselves and has no regard for others. Hobbes describes this self-centered way of life as being "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." He also shows men as incapable of conserving or prolonging their life without living under a ruling body, “augmentation of dominion over men being necessary to a man's conservation, it ought to be allowed him.” It is evident that both Machiavelli and Hobbes’ views of man greatly influence the way they think that man should be controlled.
Chris risks his family, his secrets, his position gained in the high class society. “ The innocent are sometimes slain to make way for the grander schemes.” Chris Wilton. Here we see that Chris is being controlled by his ambition. He is unable to see what is truly important and is controlled by his longing desires. Macbeth realizes that his ambition is too great.
Othello destroys his hopes by giving it to a less deserving man. Obvious antagonist as he seeks to destroy another mans dreams for no good reason. Up until this point Iago can be seen as a clear, prospering protagonist. Intelligence – The plan he devises is very complicated ( I will explain plan). Although it is dangerous and risky, Iago is driven by passion to see out his well though
Loyalty to the gods is first shown in the end when Creon is choosing what to do with Oedipus. Creon and Oedipus were not on good terms, because just hours earlier, Oedipus threatened to have Creon killed. Creon could have easily had revenge, but, instead chooses to “learn from the God the course of action I [he] should follow” (Sophocles 468). Creon shows his allegiance by not taking the chance he has, doing whatever he wants with Oedipus, and choosing to ask the gods how Oedipus should be punished. Creon’s steadfast act proves that he puts the gods before himself.
Unlike Hamlet, Laertes is ablaze with motivation and action, and says that he will throw “conscience and grace to the profoundest pit” (4.5. 132). Laertes is very shallow and Hamlet is a genius in comparison. Yet, it is his intelligence and tendency to overthink and not act which is Hamlet’s problem. When Laertes learns of his father’s death he immediately assumes it was Claudius.
Aristotle believed that a tragic hero must have been a man of greatness and nobility, while still being flawed in essence to his personality. Causing his own demise, the character must suffer far worst then one might think he deserves, at the same time gain insight of this and accept his failure to complete himself and achieve a more righteous self. In my opinion Creon is, according to Aristotle a tragic hero. Creon, being next in line for the political post as King of Thebes, was known for his outstanding beliefs and morals. Creon states, “I say to you at the very outset that I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid/ for whatever reason/ to follow the course of that he knows is best for the state…I have no use for him…” (Antigone.