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Scarface movie review essay
Aristotle's analysis of the tragic hero
Aristotle's tragic hero theory
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Aristotle is one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He is known for his research in science and philosophy. He is also famous for his theory of a tragic hero. According to the readings and assignments in class, Aristotle defines tragic heros that has hamartia or an error that leads to his/her downfall,fall from high esteem, and accepts his/her fate with honor. Tony Montana and Aristotle’s tragic hero traits have a lot in common. Character traits include tragic flaws, falls from great heights of power, and heroic qualities. In addition to the character faces their fate and death with honor.
The movie that I chose for this essay is Scarface. The movie starts with a protagonist named Tony Montana, who started out in a refugee camp. He’s
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Throughout the movie, Tony was climbing his way up to wealth and power. He started out as a common refugee then making his way up to the head boss of a mafia organization. Tony’s failure to complete the job assigned from other mafia organization has lead to Tony’s death. This shows the rise and fall that Tony demonstrated in Scarface, He had it all, money, drugs and power. But his excessive greed for money and power got the best of him, and made him notorious. Thus his only option was to make a deal with other mafia organizations. Tony’s death was caused by his inability to assassinate the journalist.
Another Tragic hero trait that Tony demonstrated in Scarface is his heroic qualities. Throughout the movie it seems like all that Tony does are unlawful acts, such as killing and drugs. However Tony has his own code of conduct that has made him demonstrate heroic qualities. In the movie he saves his sister from having sex in the restroom from some stranger, and he tells Manny that he can’t date his sister. This shows Tony is overprotective when it comes to his sister, as he realizes that she is the most purest and innocent person in Tony’s
A tragic hero is an individual who possesses a fatal flaw in their character that will bring about their own destruction or suffering. Aristotle believed that “A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. (Aristotle #1)” This Ancient Greek philosopher also believed that each tragic hero has four characteristics. The first of these characteristics is that a tragic hero is born with either wisdom or high integrity, and in some cases both.
He takes a necklace for his Gina, who is now grown into a beautiful young women and one thousand dollars’ cash for his mother. His sister is very excited to see him, but his mother not so much. His mother knows how he is making his money and is disgusted. She refuses the money he tries to give her and throws him out. This part of the movie shows a small glimpse into Tony’s past. A conversation between him and his sister, reveals that he was in the army with the communists and that is father abandoned them. It shows his deep love and protection for his sister as well as hers for him. He is able to sneak the money to her. Manny makes small comment about how beautiful Tony’s sister has become and Tony’s rage surfaces, instructed Manny to keep his mouth shut and to stay away from his
“Look! He pointed to the church where the priest desecrated the altar by pouring the blood of dead pigeons into the holy chalice…When the golden carp appeared Cico struck with his spear and the water ran blood red. What is left? I asked in horror… The magic of Ultima! I insisted. Look! He pointed to the hills where Tenorio captured the night-spirit of Ultima and murdered it, and Ultima died in agony”(244).The passage is one of Tony’s dreams, where all the things he believed in were crushed. This loss makes him feel lost, not knowing what to believe in anymore. Tony also shares his feelings with the reader through the questions he asks Florence in his
In the end, Tony plays the role of both hero and villain. His wife, Marcela, represents both the whore and the virgin Mexican-American. The both prove unfaithful: Tony to America and Marcela to Mexico. Herein lays the schizophrenic world in which good and bad coexist across the borders of two emerging world countries struggling for control of land and culture. There’s a price to be paid for such human greed and unrealistic expectations. Ultimately it proves to be a place where virtue doesn’t remain intact and villains abound, even among the good guys!
Tony also stands up against a mob for Florence; everyone wants to punish Florence for "not believing in God" (214) and Tony pushes the crowd away and refuses to give Florence the penance that Florence does not deserve. Although Tony knows that he will be given the "Indian torture" (214), he still speaks up for his friend. Anaya often presents Tony as a dependent character, never wanting to "be away from the protection of [his] mother" (51); in fact, he's so close to his mother that it seems that he's going through Oedipus's Complex. Anaya actually does this to increase the impact of Tony's bravery. One might expect Tony to stay in his undercover bushes when Tenorio is standing so close; however, when Tony hears that Tenorio knows the way to kill Ultima, the thought to warn Ultima supercedes his fear and encourages his legs to pick up and run home (255).
In Bless Me Ultima, Tony embarks on a rocky journey to discover who he is and what he believes. Tony must make the transition from a naïve six year old boy to a mature man. His experiences continually call his basic beliefs into question, and chip away at his innocence. For example, when he witnesses the brutal death of Lupito, he starts to question many ideas; sin, good and evil, punishment, and his faith. He begins to see the world of man as violent and sometimes ruthless, not the friendly, loving world where he had previously resided. He even becomes concerned about his own father's salvation because of Gabrielle's involvement in Lupito's death and begins to see his father as less than perfect. Death continues to haunt him when Narciso, a good man, is killed defending Ultima, while Tenorio, an apparently evil man, is spared. These outcomes are not what he believes should have occurred and yet again, a piece of his innocence is stripped away as he sees life is not always fair. He is beginning to realize that he must define his own beliefs.
A main mobster in America that shares many traits with Vito Rizzuto is Joseph Massino, Boss of Bonanno crime family. The ruthlessness shown by Massino is a complete resemblance to Rizzuto's, in his fight for power and Vito's struggle to be back one top after his sentence. "Massino soon took drastic steps to eliminate any opposition." (Grimm, French and Pak, 2014) which is exactly what Vito did after his return. They both had a way with words which is what got Joseph a position in the mafia through Salvatore Vitale. Although Rizzuto never had to make a name for himself as his father was head before himself, he did make it clear he was capable of anything. Responsible for making alliances with other organized crime gangs such as the Hells Angels.
After the first attack, Tony stated that Carmela was not supportive and further, made the comment that if Tony didn’t change the way he was living his life he would burn in hell. Tony stated this caused him to feel neglected and depressed as well. Tony has a daughter, Meadow, who is going to be a senior in high school. Their relationship is stable, other than the usual father/daughter riffs. He also has a son, AJ, who Tony describes and lazy and troublesome.
Tony could’ve averted his death. If Tony had not wandered around in an alley late at night, and worn a Royal’s jacket, he would not have been stabbed and would still be alive. He was stabbed because he was a Royal, not because of his identity. He tried to be something he is not. People refused to help him because he was a part of the Royals. Also, if he wasn’t out late at night in an alley, he wouldn’t have been in a position to get stabbed. He went out late to get cigarettes, but the cigarettes could have waited another day. Although we don’t know it yet, decisions we make in our lives can come back to haunt
On the other hand, another type of tragic hero exists, the modern tragic hero. This type of hero is a product of a clash between the individual and the social environment. Arthur Miller, the famous playwright, said, “each person has a chosen image of self and position, tragedy results when the character’s environment denies the fulfillment of this self concept.” (LATWP, 640). This is a contrast from Aristotle’s classic tragic hero because the hero is no longer born into nobility but gains stature in the action of pitting self against the cosmos, and the tragedy becomes, “the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world.”
“Tragedy is an imitation of an action of high importance . . .” states Aristotle in his book Poetics (as cited in Kennedy & Gioia, 2010). Without a doubt, he observed and analyzed countless plays throughout his life and in Poetics, he writes a broad description of what a tragedy should contain (Kennedy & Gioia). Specifically, to Aristotle, tragedies require a “Tragic Hero.” What makes this literary character unique from the other heroes of literature? The most obvious and central difference is that the hero in question always experiences a disastrous reversal of fortune, which follows the recognition of a previously unknown truth (Kennedy & Gioia). He must be “a man not preeminently virtuous or just” (Poetics part XIII, trans. 1909), yet he still must be a “good person” whom the audience grows to respect and because of this, deeply pities and fears for throughout the play (Poetics part XIII). Despite being a person of high estate and influence, surprisingly, the hero in the Greek tragedy is someone we can relate to in his humanness. Furthermore, his fall “from happiness into misery” is “brought upon him not by vice or depravity but by some error of judgment” (Poetics part XIII)—his hamartia. The Oxford English Dictionary translates this Greek word as, “The fault or error, which entails the destruction of the tragic hero” (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989).
Sakespear's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar holds two possible candidates for a tragic hero, however Brutus fits the persona best. The true definition of a tragic hero, as found by Aristotle, is a character who falls from a high standing to a low standing. They suffer enourmous loss, but are eventually enlightened of their own flaw or flaws. Initially the play begins with Caesar returning to Rome from defeating Pompey. Meanwhile, the first seeds of conspiracy are begining to take root. Although Brutus ignores Cassius's chiding to join the conspirators his tragic flaw of being easily molded and persuaded lead him to fall prey and join. As time progresses Brutus makes many grievous errors, and his flawed logic leads him to become bereft of all he once held dear. In the end, preceding his death, Brutus grasps the fact that he has no one to blame for his loss but himself; thus the enlightenment. All of these characteristics classify Brutus as the tragic hero of this play.
The tragic hero is defined by Aristotle as "a great man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake” (Aristotle n. pag.). There are a few principles that Aristotle believes to form a tragic hero: the protagonist should be a person of power and nobility, who makes a major error in judgment and eventually comes to realization of his or her actions (Aristotle n. pag.). In Arthur Millers’ play, Death of a Salesman, he has twisted Aristotle’s belief of a tragic hero, and has created his own. Although Miller has twisted Aristotle’s belief, Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, has a tragic hero (Oedipus) that follows the flaws, dignity, and acknowledgment of the truth that Aristotle believes in to make a tragic hero. It is essential for them to recognize their position and role in the play. Due to the fact that Willy Loman and Oedipus experience tragic flaws throughout their respected plays, they both have nobility, and they both realize the fact (anagnorisis) that they made an error in their life (hamartia). 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.
In his classic work "Poetics" Aristotle provided a model of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is more admirable than the average person. This results in the tragic hero being admired by the audience. For the audience to accept a tragic ending as just, it is crucial that the tragic hero be responsible for their undoing. At the same time though, they must remain admired and respected. This is achieved by the tragic hero having a fatal flaw that leads to their undoing. One of literature's examples of the tragic hero is Achilles from Homer's The Iliad. However, Achilles is different from the classic tragic hero in one major way - his story does not end tragically. Unlike the usual tragic hero, Achilles is able to change, reverse his downfall, and actually prove himself as a true hero.
The Iliad, the Greek epic documented by Homer that describes the battles and events of the ten year siege on Troy by the Greek army. Both Trojans and Greeks had their fair share of heroes and warriors, but none could match the skill and strength of the swift runner, Achilles. Achilles had the attributes of a perfect warrior with his god-like speed and combat abilities. However, even though he was Greek’s greatest warrior, he still possessed several flaws that made him fit the role of the Tragic Hero impeccably. Defined by Aristotle, a Tragic Hero is someone who possesses a high status of nobility and greatness, but must have imperfections so that mere mortals cannot relate to the hero. Lastly, the Tragic Hero’s downfall must be partially their own fault through personal choice rather than by an evil act, while also appearing to be not entirely deserved of their unfortunate fate. Achilles is a true Tragic Hero because he withholds all of these traits. Achilles proves to be a good man that puts his loved ones first, reveals his tragic flaws of pride and anger, shows dynamic qualities as a character when his flaws are challenged, and has a moment of clarity at the end of his rage. Achilles truly exemplifies the qualities of a Tragic Hero.