The Tragic Hero Paper
Grace DiMuccio
Professor J. Migano Brady
EGL 101
11 March 2018
The Tragic Hero
Throughout literature, there are certain characters portrayed as “Tragic Heroes”, or the central character in a tragedy. These are very important characters because somehow or someway they are intended to teach the audience a lesson. These tragic heroes often have flaws that cause conflict for them later on within the play. These tragic heroes are responsible for their own fate and more often than not, it leads to a tragic death. The plays “Antigone” by Sophocles , and “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams show great examples of characters who have the traits to be considered the “Tragic Hero” and some who may be considered the “anti-hero”.
Sophocles once stated, “ The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.” People who end up in situations they don’t want to be in, put themselves in that position in the first place. No matter what obstacles come our way, we have the power to decide how to handle it, therefore avoid a situation. Within the play “ Antigone”, the main character Antigone is the tragic hero. Though Antigone is flawed with many characteristics such as stubbornness, and breaking the law, she is still considered a hero because to her she was fighting for what she believed in. She had courage, was brave, and loyal to her family. It was against the law to give her brother a proper burial because he was considered a “traitor”. Antigone states “Creon has sworn no man shall bury him, no one shall mourn, the penalty is stoning to death in the public square, I am going to bury him” ( Sophocles 1427). This quote shows her determination throughout the play. She admits to her actions and is willing to face the consequences. It’s clear throughout the play that Antigone is doing what would be considered morally correct today. Even though Antigone was defying King Creon, many of the characters in the play seemed to be on her side. Haimon, the king’s son said, “They say no women has ever, so unreasonably died so shameful a death for a generous act” (Sophocles 1440). The kings own son did not believe she deserved to die for her actions. Antigone’s actions were so powerful that others committed suicide after hearing about her death. Antigone is considered a “tragic hero”, because even though her actions brought her death, she was till seen as a hero in many people eyes.
Creating illusions in your mind and not facing reality can have people twisted and put them in situations where they have a downfall. Throughout the play “A Streetcar named Desire”, by Tennessee Williams, the main character Blanche uses the power of illusion to live a false reality that leads to consequences later on. Blanche would be considered a modern day “anti-hero”. These characters are made to be the opposite of what a tragic hero is portrayed as. They lack strength and courage as seen in Blanche. Blanche tries to hide her past as she meets new people throughout the play creating an illusion of who she is.“I don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell truth, I tell was ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! Don’t turn the light on”, stated Blanche (Williams 1854). She wants to be portrayed as this young beautiful woman who is used to high class things, but in reality she has many flaws. She is an alcoholic who lies about her age and has to stay out of direct light to hide her true identity. A tragedy in the play occurs when Blanche gets raped by her brother-in-law Stanley, but no one believes her because of the lies she told in the past. Her downfall ended in a lesson for the audience but she was never seen as a heroic figure to characters in the play. Blanche can be see as a modern day anti-hero because she even goes against the morals of today’s time period.
Both characters face tragedy within the play due to their flaws letting them influence their decisions. With Antigone’s strong-headed/rebellious attitude and Blanches tendency to make illusions and lie, they create problems that they have to suffer from farther down the road. The idea of perception is a reoccurring theme in the plays. King Creon perceives Antigone’s actions as rebellious and unlawful. Antigone’s character traits and personality cause her to perceive herself as someone who is doing the right thing, no matter what the written law is. The idea of false perceptions create conflicts between the characters. Blanche has a very specific way of how she wants to be viewed by others. Her lies create false perceptions in the other characters minds also leading to many issues when people start to find out the truth. Within the play, Stella states “I couldn’t go on believing her story and live with Stanley” (Williams 1862). Stella had a false perception of reality after hearing her sister was raped by her husband and didn’t believe it. Blanches own actions of not telling her the truth in the past led to her consequences of her sister not believing her.
Tragic heroes can be seen in modern day life as well. Tiger woods is an example of a modern day tragic hero. Tiger woods spent years building his reputation and career of being a professional golfer. He was the first African-American and youngest person ever to win the U.S Masters in 1997. After that, he went on to win the U.S PGA, U.S championship, and U.S Masters multiple times each. In 2005, he won six championships and continued on to be PGA Tour Player of the Year 7 times in 9 years. After all his hard work, he ruined it with his excessive pride. He had an affair thinking his actions would not affect him. He later ended up losing his wife, family, career, money, and his pride. After this tragic downfall , woods came to admit to his actions years later. Woods stated “The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame”. Tiger woods realized what he did and took complete fault for his actions. He was a role model in many people’s eyes but ruined it due to his mistakes. He later tried fixing his mistakes by attending therapy sessions. Unfortunately, it will never change what he did in the past. Tiger woods’ actions led to consequences that were far more extreme.
Tragic heroes are humble when it comes to their actions. They realize they made a mistake but usually the damage is too harsh when they realize it to be undone. Not being able to undo their mistakes is what causes a lesson in the end. Tiger woods who is considered a modern day tragic hero stated, “The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today… There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today, I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better.” Tragic heroes are characters used in plays intended purposely to make the audience feel a certain way. Old greek plays took huge advantage of this during that time. These historic Greek plays that include tragic heroes are still read and cherished to this day. These important works of literature have continued to influence and affect people’s lives.
Sophocles once stated, “ The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.” People who end up in situations they don’t want to be in, put themselves in that position in the first place. No matter what obstacles come our way, we have the power to decide how to handle it, therefore avoid a situation. Within the play “ Antigone”, the main character Antigone is the tragic hero. Though Antigone is flawed with many characteristics such as stubbornness, and breaking the law, she is still considered a hero because to her she was fighting for what she believed in. She had courage, was brave, and loyal to her family. It was against the law to give her brother a proper burial because he was considered a “traitor”. Antigone states “Creon has sworn no man shall bury him, no one shall mourn, the penalty is stoning to death in the public square, I am going to bury him” ( Sophocles 1427). This quote shows her determination throughout the play. She admits to her actions and is willing to face the consequences. It’s clear throughout the play that Antigone is doing what would be considered morally correct today. Even though Antigone was defying King Creon, many of the characters in the play seemed to be on her side. Haimon, the king’s son said, “They say no women has ever, so unreasonably died so shameful a death for a generous act” (Sophocles 1440). The kings own son did not believe she deserved to die for her actions. Antigone’s actions were so powerful that others committed suicide after hearing about her death. Antigone is considered a “tragic hero”, because even though her actions brought her death, she was till seen as a hero in many people eyes.
Creating illusions in your mind and not facing reality can have people twisted and put them in situations where they have a downfall. Throughout the play “A Streetcar named Desire”, by Tennessee Williams, the main character Blanche uses the power of illusion to live a false reality that leads to consequences later on. Blanche would be considered a modern day “anti-hero”. These characters are made to be the opposite of what a tragic hero is portrayed as. They lack strength and courage as seen in Blanche. Blanche tries to hide her past as she meets new people throughout the play creating an illusion of who she is.“I don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell truth, I tell was ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! Don’t turn the light on”, stated Blanche (Williams 1854). She wants to be portrayed as this young beautiful woman who is used to high class things, but in reality she has many flaws. She is an alcoholic who lies about her age and has to stay out of direct light to hide her true identity. A tragedy in the play occurs when Blanche gets raped by her brother-in-law Stanley, but no one believes her because of the lies she told in the past. Her downfall ended in a lesson for the audience but she was never seen as a heroic figure to characters in the play. Blanche can be see as a modern day anti-hero because she even goes against the morals of today’s time period.
Both characters face tragedy within the play due to their flaws letting them influence their decisions. With Antigone’s strong-headed/rebellious attitude and Blanches tendency to make illusions and lie, they create problems that they have to suffer from farther down the road. The idea of perception is a reoccurring theme in the plays. King Creon perceives Antigone’s actions as rebellious and unlawful. Antigone’s character traits and personality cause her to perceive herself as someone who is doing the right thing, no matter what the written law is. The idea of false perceptions create conflicts between the characters. Blanche has a very specific way of how she wants to be viewed by others. Her lies create false perceptions in the other characters minds also leading to many issues when people start to find out the truth. Within the play, Stella states “I couldn’t go on believing her story and live with Stanley” (Williams 1862). Stella had a false perception of reality after hearing her sister was raped by her husband and didn’t believe it. Blanches own actions of not telling her the truth in the past led to her consequences of her sister not believing her.
Tragic heroes can be seen in modern day life as well. Tiger woods is an example of a modern day tragic hero. Tiger woods spent years building his reputation and career of being a professional golfer. He was the first African-American and youngest person ever to win the U.S Masters in 1997. After that, he went on to win the U.S PGA, U.S championship, and U.S Masters multiple times each. In 2005, he won six championships and continued on to be PGA Tour Player of the Year 7 times in 9 years. After all his hard work, he ruined it with his excessive pride. He had an affair thinking his actions would not affect him. He later ended up losing his wife, family, career, money, and his pride. After this tragic downfall , woods came to admit to his actions years later. Woods stated “The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame”. Tiger woods realized what he did and took complete fault for his actions. He was a role model in many people’s eyes but ruined it due to his mistakes. He later tried fixing his mistakes by attending therapy sessions. Unfortunately, it will never change what he did in the past. Tiger woods’ actions led to consequences that were far more extreme.
Tragic heroes are humble when it comes to their actions. They realize they made a mistake but usually the damage is too harsh when they realize it to be undone. Not being able to undo their mistakes is what causes a lesson in the end. Tiger woods who is considered a modern day tragic hero stated, “The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today… There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today, I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better.” Tragic heroes are characters used in plays intended purposely to make the audience feel a certain way. Old greek plays took huge advantage of this during that time. These historic Greek plays that include tragic heroes are still read and cherished to this day. These important works of literature have continued to influence and affect people’s lives.
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