There is no perfect character. Even the strongest character who seems invincible have a flaw. Whether it be a minor flaw or a major flaw. Sometimes, that flaw alone is can contribute towards a happy ending, or in other cases, it can lead to the character’s sorrow. Major character flaws are often seen in tragedies. In “Theseus’s Habitual Letter Entries” is my creative work directly inspired by Theseus by Edith Hamilton. It summarizes Theseus in a satirical way. Instead of illustrating the story from a third person point of view, it takes on a first person point of view by having the story formatted as a diary. The story includes what Theseus is thinking throughout his journey. And his thoughts follow a more contemporary language. This work reveals …show more content…
In entry 5, it is supposed to show Theseus’s attempt to remember to switch the flags depending on the outcome between him and the minotaur. So when Theseus writes “[w]hite alive, black dead”, is is attempt to remember, but even when he tries to remember what he is supposed to do, he still forgets to change the flag. As a result, that leads to his father’s death. Theseus’s character flaw of forgetfulness affects people around him, his father who commits suicide, and also affects him, becoming the new king of Athens. Although becoming the king of Athens does not seem like a bad event, in Theseus’s case, becoming the king of Athens does not directly lead to his success. Oreo by Fran Ross also parallels the same character flaw of forgetfulness. Towards the end of the book the main character Oreo forgets to wave to her father to indicate she is fine (Ross, 192). And because of her forgetfulness, this causes her father to die and have Mrs. Swartz lose her husband and the father to their …show more content…
What he thinks is the right thing to do may seem like a positive aspect but can lead to complications when there are misunderstandings. Under entries ten through twelve, It illustrates the situation of Theseus assuming that his son is seducing his wife. And because that is his conclusion, Theseus think that the right thing to do is to banish his son. Banishing his son in theory would not really help the situation. The reason why Theseus banishes his son is because he feels he has been betrayed by him. But Theseus does not realize how this affect the Hippolytus. Hippolytus feels remorse because his own father will not believe what he says. Also when his father dies in Entry Twelve, Hippolytus feels distraught that his father dies and wishes to take his place. Theseus’s sense of justice is more of what he thinks is the right thing to do rather than what should actually have been done and this is what causes problems for him. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, Maggie makes the same flaw when she says things that she thinks is right. She makes an announcement to the family and says “I have Brick’s child in my body” (Tennessee 169). Even though that announcement is a lie, she makes that announcement because she thinks that because she has the baby, any inheritance from Big Daddy will go to her and Brick. She think that Brick and her deserve the inheritance. Maggie thinks that Mae and Gooper do
The protagonist is strongly representative of the context in which a text was composed. “The Penelopiad” provides a contrasted perspective of Odysseus portrayed in Homer’s “The Odyssey”. It is critical to analyse the characterisation of the protagonist, as it stands as the composer’s primary means through which to convey his messages about the society and culture that existed during their context. In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is praised for his various courageous and noble tasks, such a...
Literature is the key to our world or language. Many writers have emerged from this subject such as Homer who wrote The Odyssey and Euripidies who wrote about the evil Medea. Also mentioned in this paper are the Thousand and One Arabian Nights which is a collection of folktales and stories that are compiled into one. Each of these works of literature has a woman character that has many similarities in solving their problems. In The Odyssey the woman character that will be in comparison is Penelope which is Odysseus’s wife. In the story of Medea, Medea is of course the character we will be discussing and Shaharazad is the woman character from the Thousand and One Arabian Nights that will also be in comparison. Each of these women find themselves in a particularly “sticky situation.” However, Penelope, Medea, and Shahrazad are three strong women whose perseverance and cleverness help them to attain their goals.
In this assignment, I will be analyzing the characteristics of Odysseus and Penelope based on Homer and Ovid’s accounts. By exploring this element, we can compare and contrast how Odysseus and Penelope behave in certain situations. Although they have many similarities, they are both different as well, in which each displays a series of their own wisdoms in their encounters.
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex introduced the one of the most important tragic heroes of Greek literature. First performed in the fifth century B.C.E., the play is centered around Oedipus, the king of the Greek city-state Thebes, and his struggle to conquer his emotions as he seeks out the true story of his life. This work, inspired by a well-known Greek myth, scrutinizes both the tragic flaws of Oedipus and his heroism. Examples of Oedipus’ tragic flaws abound in the play. In his condemnation of Tiresias and Creon, Oedipus is controlled by his emotions. However, the heroism of Oedipus is also an essential theme of the drama, though it is often downplayed. Despite this, careful analysis can uncover many instances in which Oedipus exhibits his heroism by attempting to control his emotions and discover the truth of his origins. In his finest moments, Oedipus is in complete command of his emotions as he searches for the truth, while at his nadir, Oedipus is completely controlled by his emotions and is absolutely unpredictable. This contrast is, in large part, what makes Oedipus a tragic hero. Oedipus, King of Thebes, is among the greatest Hellenistic tragic heroes because of his fight to overcome his greatest flaw, his uncontrollable anger, as he heroically searches for the truth.
In these essays, the authors are telling a story about the characters life. The stories are directed towards the audience to express the kind of pain and suffering the characters went through to learn and apply what they had been yearning for.
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that the events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, are the result of the hero’s self determination and restless attempt to escape a terrifying destiny predicted for him by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. My intention is to prove that although the Fates play a crucial part in the story, it is Oedipus'choices and wrong doing that ultimately lead to his downfall.
The greatest realization faced by a character is that of Oedipus who for many years has come to terms with his situation. The Prophet Apollo’s predictions that he will kill his father and have sex with his mother. The course of his life is shaped by this prophecy. What Oedipus has been told from the beginning of his life shaped his thinking, this also allows the reader to grasp that this myth is relevant to their lives. The physical actions of Oedipus are the results of a man with high principles and probing intelligence. The story can be separated into points where Oedipus gathers more information about himself. The “ignorance” that Oedipus faces is the foundation he was brought up by. He has believed that he lived with his birth mother and father and therefore when he learns of Apollo’s prophecy he leaves home so that it cannot come true. Slowly as the story progresses Oedipus discovers bits and pieces of his true-life story, as Oedipus learns that he killed Laius by the story of the shepherd. He continues on his journey to discovering the truth. When he pieces together what he has done he cannot face himself. The chorus best shows his true emotions
A tale of duplicity and impetuosity, William Shakespeare’s play Othello brings to life a cast of complex characters. The leading character, Othello, whose undoing the piece recounts, proves to be the quintessential tragic hero by fulfilling all required elements necessary to be labeled as such. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as one of a noble stature who experiences misfortune and commits a culpable act as a result of his own free will; however, the misfortune is neither entirely deserved nor does it result in an absolute loss, as the hero experiences an awakening to the disagreeable facts while accepting defeat (Arp and Johnson). Othello, a vanguard of his day, is beguiled by a confidant and ensnared by the lies that ensue. This causes Othello great mental anguish. He is plagued with the question: Is his love unfaithful, or does she remain true? Eventually, unable to discern fact from fiction, Othello repudiates his bride and their recent marriage. Misplaced trust and a jealous heart soon cause Othello to lose his composure, his dignity, his most loyal counterpart, and ultimately his life.
Stylistically, the book is arranged in rotating chapters. Every fourth chapter is devoted to each individual character and their continuation alo...
This analysis of Oedipus’s character shows how Oedipus, the protagonist and the antagonist against himself, dealt with unfortunate situations which sealed his fate. Oedipus was a strange round character that was really interesting and mysterious. Oedipus’s life was a good example of a true Greek tragedy; he worked himself up to be a great king and ultimately in the end he died with only his perception on life. Oedipus was once a man of power who falls impoverished. He goes from having much respect in his great position to being impure, blind, and expelled from the land that he once ruled.
Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero exemplify Willy Loman and Oedipus Rex very well in both their respected plays. They struggle to make the right judgment (hamartia), and with certain flaws throughout their plays, make it hard for these characters to realize the truth (anagnorisis). However, through certain evidence and different obstacles Oedipus and Willy’s demise is caused by their hamartia. Although these characters experience hope along the way, their pride and egotistical lifestyles outweigh the hope that they receive to get their life back on track.
This paper aims to study two significant playwrights, Sophocles and Euripides, and compare their respective attitudes by examining their plays in respect to plot and character structures. To achieve this goal, the paper is organized into two main sections. In the first section, we provide a brief biography of both Sophocles and Euripides. The second and last section includes summaries of Sophocles’ Electra and Euripides’ Electra which were based on same essentials and give an opportunity to observe the differences of the playwrights. This section also includes the comparisons that are made by our observations about the plays.
The ineffaceable impression which Sophocles makes on us today and his imperishable position in the literature of the world are both due to his character-drawing. If we ask which of the men and women ofGreek tragedy have an independent life in the imagination apart from the stage and from the actual plot in which they appear, we must answer, ‘those created by Sophocles, above all others’ (36).
Tragic heroes tend to have very pre-determined paths; usually making the most virtuous of characters destined to suffer. The hamartia or ‘tragic flaw’ is the typical reason the hero falls. Shakespeare was noted to be one of the best writers of tragedies, one of his most prominent to be Othello. In Othello, we find a number of tragic flaws two including pride and ambition. In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, pride and ambition are used to identify the outcomes for the main characters in the play when seeing the resolution of the play, perceiving those who survive and those who don’t, and considering each character’s role in the turn of events.
Oedipus is depicted as a “marionette in the hands of a daemonic power”(pg150), but like all tragic hero’s he fights and struggles against fate even when the odds are against him. His most tragic flaw is his morality, as he struggles between the good and the evil of his life. The good is that he was pitied by the Shepard who saved him from death as a baby. The evil is his fate, where he is to kill his father and marry his mother. His hubris or excessive pride and self-righteousness are the lead causes to his downfall. Oedipus is a tragic hero who suffers the consequences of his immoral actions, and must learn from these mistakes. This Aristotelian theory of tragedy exists today, as an example of what happens when men and women that fall from high positions politically and socially.