Nixon's Hamartia During The Watergate Scandal

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Recommended: Explain the watergate scandal

Hamartia Nixon’s hamartia, a fatal flaw that leads to the character’s downfall, was his hunger for power and insecurity. Many people have reported that he would lash out at his enemies. The cause of the Watergate Scandal, the incident when burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee’s office and tried to wiretap phones and steal documents, was Nixon’s insecurity. He didn’t think he was going to be reelected and resorted to unethical actions. This event forced Nixon to resign from office, thus displaying that his insecurity led to his downfall. Hubris Nixon showed hubris, which is also known as egotistical behavior or exhibiting too much pride. He thought that he deserved to be reelected as president, even if in order for this to occur he had to behave in an unethical manner. The Watergate Scandal proved that Nixon was confident in his ability to pull off a major crime, although he was caught. This event also shows prideful behavior because he thought he could control the law and the election, even if he wasn’t the rightful winner. Nemesis Nixon displayed nemesis, a …show more content…

Peripeteia is when a situation suddenly changes. After the Burglars broke into the DNC’s office and Nixon tried to pay off the FBI to stop the investigation, Nixon’s connection to the crime was still unclear and hard to prove. Although, Nixon had taped all of his conversations in the Oval Office and in 1974, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn in all of his tapes. This was when his situation suddenly changed, as before this occurred Nixon had successfully hid most of his involvement in the scandal. After being forced to turn the tapes in, Nixon’s involvement was easily seen and shortly after he resigned. Although many were highly suspicious of Nixon ever since the Watergate Scandal, he was able to hide most of his involvement. Yet, the tapes that Nixon had to turn over to the Supreme Court highlighted his suspicious

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