Hobbs character in the book gives a same role as it was given by the Greek tragedy characters; hubris like characters. Hobbs character was brought to suffer extreme sorrow like the Greek tragedy characters. Hobbs did not seems to learn from his mistakes, one of the biggest mistakes was him fallen in love with Harriet and in the second time he was fallen in love with Pop's niece Memo which is a clear example to show he does not learn from his mistakes. Roy Hobbs character in “The Natural” by Bernard Malamud is shown a guy of his dream. Roy Hobbs dream was to become a popular baseball player that one day he will break all the record of the books and will be "the greatest in the game."
The American Dream causes insatiable hunger and results in a never ending cycle of failure because Roy has a false sense of hope causing him to make the same mistakes multiple times. Despite Roy’s success in pitching against the highly respected Whammer, his dream to be the best in baseball causes him to get shot. The Whammer is one of the best players in baseball, therefore, young Roy Hobbs looks up to him. The Whammer represents Roy's aspirations to be the best, so when Roy strikes him out, he becomes concieded. After Roy and Harriet get off the train they go up to a hotel room together where she points a pistol at him and says, “‘Roy, will you be the best there ever was in the game?’ ‘That’s right’.
Oedipus personifies the ideal tragic hero. While he is a kind, caring and noble man, because of his impulsiveness and quick temper he makes a series of bad decisions that, if they had been thought out, he could have avoided. =Oedipus exemplifies what a tragic hero is, a person who tries to be the best person he can be but has one flaw that eventually will bring him down. Now that Oedipus has been established as a tragic hero does his journey follow a pattern that is similar towards what Joseph Campbell describes in the hero’s journey? In the previous paragraph Oedipus was defined as a tragic hero.
Shoeless Joe Jackson’s death wasn’t any better, as he died guilty of throwing the World Series which was the biggest sports tragedy to date. Tragedies are not uncommon phenomena, Ray Kinsella and Shoeless Joe Jackson have the unfortunate luck to go through a struggle fulfilled and uphill battle in what is suppose to be a wonderful thing, life. Ray Kinsella is a hopeless dreamer and when he hears the voice of an announcer he goes to make a baseball field in his yard.... ... middle of paper ... ... Series and banned from baseball forever. Rays father felt his son had the potential to also be in the major leagues, but it was too late as he passed away before he could even play a game of catch with his son. Ray is confused and lost internally because of the loss of his father on such bad terms; this becomes a bigger tragedy than he ever thought.
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. 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.
However, Roy is only in the game to make a name for himself and to break records. He would rather build a reputation as the greatest player in the game than win games for his team. In the introduction to the novel, written by Kevin Baker, he is described as: “Greedy, ruthless, and preoccupied with making the money he believes his talent entitles him to make” (Baker, xii). Roy Hobbs is a prime example of a man whose pride and self confidence eventually lead to his downfall. Roy Hobbs is a very self confident baseball player who is so sure of his abilities that he almost gives up a chance of playing in the majors.
The Natural Roy Hobbs was the best baseball player there ever was. He was a natural to the game. He could hit anything, catch anything and pitch to whoever he wanted and get the ball to do what he wanted it to. In the pre-game Roy is given the chance to pitch against one of the greatest players of the game, the Whammer. “The third ball slithered at the batter like a meteor…though he willed to destroy the sound he heard a gong bong and realized with sadness that the ball he had expected to hit had long since been part of the past; and though Max could not cough the fatal word out of his throat, the Whammer understood he was, in the truest sense of it, out”(23).
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero. According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a number of characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a tragic hero must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with his idealized self, but neither the grandiose nor the depressive "Narcissus" can really love himself (Miller 67).
This terrible scenario can easily be a future reality if steroid testing doesn’t begin regularly. In baseball the owner is allowed to test for steroids once a season and that’s all that is mandatory (Shaikin). This interests me because some of my favorite athletes in several sports are being accused of cheating the game and I just simply want the truth. Fans over the country agree that there should be more steroid testing, to get rid of the cheaters, but more importantly people believe they need more testing to help save lives. For instance, many people will be in favor of more steroid testing because they want all the dishonest players out.
Overweening pride and a haughty personality are faults of conscience according to what Aristotle perceives to be a characteristic of a tragic hero. Driven by partial-realizations, Willy Loman was a man whose miserable reality of his life was distorted and that led down to his mortal sacrifice for his family. Aristotelian law on the nature of tragedy takes the entire plot as the beginning, middle, and the end of the tragedy (Raymond 1). When filing in the requirements of a tragic hero, Willy’s downfall was flawed from the start for not being able to attain a realistic point-of-view, but overall, the climax of the tragedy is centered on the second act in the restaurant. Willy’s pride and dignity is transferred to his son, Biff.