Antigone by Sophocles

Can A Tragic Hero exist in the Hero’s Journey? The tragic hero was a staple of Greek Drama. This type of hero forced audiences to fall in love with the character, only to have their heart broken when the character falls. Every tragic hero has a flaw that will eventually lead to his or her demise and this flaw is displayed through the play. For example in Oedipus Rex Oedipus’s flaw is that he is quick to anger.

Through their fatal mis-steps, their pride and ego, predominately affect their familial lives, which in turn causes them to realize the truth that they are tragic heroes. The noble characters, Oedipus and Willy rely on things of substantial value in their lives, but then unfortunately fail, further deepening their harmatia. In Arthur Millers’ essay “Tragedy and the Common Man,” he does not believe that just nobility and power over others is inadequate to just judge a select few: Insistence upon the rank of the tragic hero, or the so-called nobility of his character, is re... ... middle of paper ... ...before something happens?” (Miller 133). Biff is getting frustrated with Willy because he is trying to turn his son into somebody that he does not want to be. Willy’s tragedy is due to the fact that the truth for him is far fetched, since he is always seeing life in a flashback, which leads to his demise.

Revealing that catharsis is created when the audience has pity or fear when they see that bad things can happen to good people. For this purpose, neither Oedipus nor Creon where good leaders because both were hypocritical tragic heroes. Initially, both Oedipus and Creon exert an overbearing determination that can be the tragic flaw that destroys their lives. However, both have contrasting motives. Oedipus was determined to find the killer of King Laius saying, "As for the criminal, I pray to God- whether it be a lurking thief, or one of a number- I pray that that man's life be consumed in evil and wretchedness and as for me this curse applies no less…" (World Lit 316).

This hero is always the person that the audience comes to love, however every tragic hero has to have some kind of a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. Many critics have different ideas of what Hamlet's flaw is, some believe it is his procrastination, others' his deep moral sensibility, or his high idealism, and so on. These flaws however, do not cause a downfall and a death of a hero. The flaw must be something that goes on inside the character's head, and something that torments him until his final breath. The flaw of Hamlet is that his nature is so excessively concerned about death that he no longer knows right from left.

Mr. Wilson is a critical character in the The Great Gatsby, which allows the reader to be convinced that Mr. Wilson is without question a tragic hero. Mr. Wilson possesses characteristics of a tragic hero since he is an innocent person with great goals and dreams, however, this leads his thoughts and beliefs in the wrong direction. Because of this, one can elicit pity and fear from Mr. Wilson because he is not able to clearly see what is really happening around him. Mr. Wilson is a simple man, but is able to thicken the plot when he shows his twisted personality nearing the last chapter of the novel. A tragic hero has characteristics such as the ones that George Displays.

But, as we know, no civil person can turn from being a decent human being to a murderer without any justification. A lot of people would say that Macbeth does have an ounce of goodness because he recognises that his actions are wrong; but would this not be a major flaw in his character as he continues to do the deed all the same? The thing that makes me feel that Macbeth is a partly good man and could never do this without outside interference is the guilt he feels after he has done these terrible things and indeed before them he is in doubt whether to do them (e.g. Act One Scene Seven lines ... ... middle of paper ... ...sh and indecisive as the play goes on. First he is swayed by Lady Macbeth, and then he seems to act very illogically.

Arthur Dimmesdale has a grand reputation and authority in his community, which worsens his downfall. The respect he had from his community makes them hurt worse when they see his decline. His excessive pride makes him ignorant to most, until the end when all things go downhill. He also made a life altering decision of whether to stay and face his guilt, or to run away from his mistakes. Arthur Dimmesdale, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, is an example of a tragic hero because of the downfall brought about by his guilt and necessity to uphold his authority in the town.

Oedipus has all of these qualities, which is what makes him a prime example of tragedy. Oedipus’ tragic flaw, his discovery of what he has done, and his consequential destruction because of his discovery are all necessary to be termed a hero of tragedy. Although Willy Loman has a tragic flaw that is even comparable to Oedipus’ in that it results in his blindness from reality, he, however, does not experience a revelation as to why his demise is inevitable. Without such an experience, Willy is not a hero of tragedy.

The general trend in plays frequently concludes with the death of the tragic hero. However, prior to death, the tragic hero experiences an anagnorisis, or a moment of clarity. An anagnorisis is a realization of situation when the tragic hero moves from ignorance to enlightenment. The change from ignorance to enlightenment includes the tragic hero’s realization of his tragic flaw, how it caused his downfall, how his actions have affected the lives... ... middle of paper ... ... which was paid, was to great for even Creon to bear. He has descended from his Hubris into a meaningless and worthless life.

Creon is the tragic hero because he uses his weakness pride to be looked as a great ruler and try to ignore his wrong judgment. But this makes it worse and causes something he does not want to expect. Creon expects that no o... ... middle of paper ... ...e because even if he has much power as king can have, he is insecure when it comes to choices. He does not have a side where the audience can see he cares, but instead he has self-importance and shows no pity because he is doing his own life. Antigone shows all she has got and takes risks on what she thinks is right out of love.