F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy.” Aristotle was the first to use the term a “tragic hero.” A tragic hero is a character who obtains a flaw but only realizes it after it is too late to change the course of events. In the book A Separate Peace, one of the main characters, Finny, would be considered a tragic hero. Finny is a tragic hero because he shows virtuous qualities, he has a flaw that leads to his downfall, and he recognizes this only after it is too
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"Fallen Angels", written by Walter Dean Myers, is a story of young teenagers’ struggling throughout the Vietnam War. A destruction of their boyhood takes place and their manhood is created. This transformation is the main theme in the novel, also identified as the loss of innocence. War isn’t about honor and heroicness as they are in the movies. Instead, war is substituted with the reality of terror and chaos. Immature life goals make an appearance as they have thoughts about losing their virginity
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Throughout literature, there are characters, through their own pride and ambition, that eventually cause their own failure. Hubris, first coined by the Ancient Greeks, is defined as, extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall" (Literary). This character flaw can be used to analyze works, and the characters within them. One such example is within The Elephant Man, a character named Treves. Through his own strivings for accomplishments, he not only leads
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Whenever I think of the events that have occurred in the past, I always seem to remember more tragic events than the blissful moments. Even in literature, the tragedies are more remembered than other stories. For example, the story of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most notorious plays, despite its appalling ending. Authors have made it a point to sell tragedy in order to make money. However, my perspective on that opinion has been changed. I read The Great Gatsby during my sophomore year in high
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The Death of a Salesman is quite the melancholy tale. It is to be expected that a reader's initial reaction to the character Willy Loman would be to label him as a tragic hero. As much as he may appear to be a tragic hero, he is not, at least not in accordance to Aristotle's requirements for a tragic hero. Several of the requirements that Aristotle laid out are not met by Mr. Willy Loman. Two clear requirements Willy Loman does not fulfill is the requirement of learning from his mistakes due to his
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The Tragic Hero in Antigone According to the dictionary, a tragic hero is 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. In the story "Antigone," by Sophocles, Antigone has all the necessary traits to be qualified as the tragic character of the story. She is an honorable and important person, she has a fearless attitude, and she ends up facing a downfall because of her deeds. Antigone
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Othello Coursework Question 1: 'I took you for that cunning whore of Venice/ that married with Othello'. Looking again at Act 4 Scene 2 and Act 5 Scene 2 consider to what extent the presentation of Desdemona is that of a sufficiently convincing tragic heroine? William Shakespeare's ''Othello'' is a complex tragedy, with many conflicting desires, jealousy and memorable characters. As the audience, we are able to see the changes the characters face throughout the play. These differences can
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The popular 1961 film, West Side Story, follows the adventure and triumph in New York City, of two star-crossed lovers, born into opposing dichotomies. Although the movie may seem like nothing more than a musical about two feuding gangs in the 1950s, this story dates back to the sixteenth century, during the Dark Ages. It is perhaps even more ancient, developed by Ancient Greeks. The exact tale did not originate that far into the past, but its basic plot of a literary tragedy was invented long ago
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Myth." The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology. Ed. Roger D. Woodard. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 23 February 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL9780521845205.005 Wiles, David. "Aristotle’s Poetics and ancient dramatic theory." The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Theatre. Eds. Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton. Cambridge University Press, 2007. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 23 February 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL9780521834568
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Antigone Essay The Tragic Hero in Antigone According to the dictionary, a tragic hero is 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. In the story "Antigone," by Sophocles, Antigone has all the necessary traits to be qualified as the tragic character of the story. She is an honorable and important person, she has a fearless attitude, and she ends up facing a downfall because of her deeds
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