As humans, we all make mistakes for self fish reasons, it is in our nature as humans to make mistakes and to learn from them. A tragic hero is a character that is made for three main purposes. These include the way that the character makes the audience not only think about themselves and their lives but also reflects the general society of today. They show us how we as a population have flaws in our culture and behaviours and also highlight what they are. Throughout studying tragic heroes and the kinds of traits they have along with what they represent, regardless of the time period it makes us think about oursleves and human nature as a whole. They all carry the same traits and same flaws, they all make a fatal mistake in their lives that changes their story and their fortune. Through many different examples of different characters, like Citizen Kane in the early 1900s, Maximus from gladiator in the roman ages, King Lear from the Shakespearian time period and also John Proctor from the crucible and the witchcraft. All of these men are examples of a character that has made mistakes that have resulted in them losing most things if not everything, including their family and titles. Because making a mistake is something that is so natural for us as humans, this is what makes the texts so popular and drawing to audiences, regardless of the time period, type of character and the type of text that it is.
Citizen Kane directed by Orso Welles. Also known as Charles Foster Kane, is a prime example of what is described as a tragic hero. We are initially introduced to Kane at his death, we are then taken through a timeline of what his life was and the fatal decisions he made that determined his final fate. When we see Kane get taken from his family by thatcher, we begin to see the decisions and many marriages that fail throughout his career both politically and socially. His characteristics and decision making throughout his life are what makes him a prime example of why is considered a tragic hero, he experiences and has to go through issues many people would not have to face. Kane goes from a man who is living the American dream and being one of the most known and loved man in America to a life that is full of loneliness and results in him losing everyone in his life that ever meant something to him. We see Kane at both his best and worst, when Kane says “People will think what I tell them to think” this shows the power and command that he has over his followers and all of the people that at the time love him. From this point, we see the slow spiral down into the state that is his death at the end of the film. The last ever word that Kane said was “rosebud” we finally discover what this means at the end of the movie, which reflects the tragic hero element of Kane in the movie. “Rosebud” shows the ‘what could of been’ if he hadn’t of made the choices he did and realises that where he was now in his life was his fault and no one elses, this is the part that us as the audience and also humans can see and relate to. The choices and mistakes that Kane made throughout his life and careers makes it quite clear to us as the veiwer that he makes the choice of choosing his mistress over his family for the reason of selfishness and what was in the best interests of him rather than his family and career. This, how us as a human race can see Kane and sympathise with him, because us as a society all have our own greed and selfish choices that we have had to make in our lives.
Maximus of Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, is also a man that shows the peripetiea the same way that Kane does. From a story set in the Roman Ages and set around the story of fighting and a man going from being at the top to then having to work his way back up, there are many points and aspects to Maximus and his story that reveal his tragic hero characteristics to us. As the audience we see Maximus as a man we can trust and respect, turn into a man who looks to violence and selfishness to get what he wants in the end. As the audience, this is something everyone can see and relate to regardless of the time period. This makes the audience feel as though they can sympathise with Maximus and we can start to see his hamartia revealed to us. Maximus’ excess pride is revealed to us when he is told to take his mask off by Commodus, but refuses and goes onto say ” I am a father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next”. Explaining that after everything Commodus has put Maximus through, he will have his revenge it is made clear to us the motive and ending that Maximus wants for his and Commodus lives. This shows the excessive pride in Maximus and also shows how he could be considered a tragic hero in a different time period. Kane and Maximus have very similar qualities in the way that they are both proud men and go from having everything to having nothing. Through this, it shows how tragic heroes can not only be relatable to each other but also have a relationship with the audience no matter the time period the tragic hero is set in.By Maximus showing his excessive pride, this has a big impact on the audience and a wider society by showing the audience the aspect and part of themselves that they don’t recognise every day. The tragic hero aspect of Maximus and the turning point we see in Maximus reflects not only his story but reflects Kane as well. Kane and Maximus experience simillar issues and experiences of losing everything they have that means something to them. Because they have this experience this shows the similarities between them and also shows how a tragic hero from the Roman Ages compared with a man from the 1940’s American dream era can have a similar story and tell the audience the same message.
John Proctor of the Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a man who not only reveals and shows the aspects of a tragic hero, but also is a man that caused not only himself but others around him to get hurt. John Proctors hamartia is revealed to us when he is caught having an affair on his wife and also caught lying to the court. In him doing this, it reflects the characteristics that make him a tragic hero to the audience. We see his whole life go from something amazing to watching him die still fighting for what he thought was right. Because of this as the audience, we can see him as someone that made mistakes like we all do today. This is why watching from today’s society and point of view, we can still watch and follow him as a person who had to suffer the consequences of his choices and actions like our lives in society today. Proctor was a man who not only showed his excessive pride but also his lack of judgement in what he thought was right. To show the pride and love for himself that proctor has, this quote of when john proctor says “Because it is my name! because I cannot have another in my life! because I lie and sign myself to my lies! because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang how may I live without my name? I give you my soul: leave me my name!” this proves the amount of pride he has for himself and his family, and also the amount of love he has for his name and reputation. By proctor saying this, it enables us to see the truth in how much pride he has and also the realisation of how much he has hurt the people around him. We see proctor realise his mistakes when he is caught having an affair and caught lying to everyone in the village. This shows how Proctor can be seen as an example of a tragic hero and also links to Maximus and his story. Maximus and Proctor experience the same battles with them both having to lose their families as a result of their attitudes and actions. By analyzing these two characters we are able to identify their hubris and the flaw of excessive pride through all of the men. As the audience being able to see their pride and mistakes that get in their way, it enables us to have an experience with our own personal mistakes and makes the audience think about not only what the characters are going and have gone through but also what they have gone through in reality.
A man that demonstrated these qualities as well as these others, was King Lear written by William Shakespeare. Lear had many flaws including his arrogance, his misjudgements and his ignorance. These all saw him lose people or things that meant something to him, including his daughters and eventually his kingdom. Lear is considered a tragic hero for the way that he acted throughout the text and for the things that he lost in his story. King Lear’s experiences show the audience that despite Lear being from a different time period, there are still lessons and mistakes that both Lear and the audience can take something away from. Even though Lear was a king, this shows how tragic heroes can still be relevant to a modern audience of today. Although Lear has many flaws, the trait of his excessive pride is very evident throughout the play. This is shown when Lear is dividing up the kingdom between his daughters and chooses flattery over capability. He banishes people that are not only important to him but the kingdom based on them not showing him enough love. This is proven when Lear banishes his daughter Cordelia from the kingdom because she wasn’t expressing enough of her love for him. In response to this, Lear said “Nothing will come of nothing, speak again “. This quote is meaning that if she continues to say and do nothing that nothing will happen to her in return, so the only way that she must speak again to try and save herself, this shows that she will only get something from her father is by expressing her love for him. Lear’s pride and vanity is very clear to us in that moment, because by his daughter not telling him how spectacular he is, he considers this as betrayal and a crime. He decides that he doesn’t want anything to do with anyone who can’t see how special he is and banishes them, regardless of how special they are to him. This relates to John Proctor from the Crucible in a similar way. Along with Lear, Proctor is a man who sees himself as the leader of his village and considers himself to be above anyone else. These are the same traits and characteristics that is seen in Lear and is why both these men are considered to be tragic heroes.
All of these men show the same traits and characteristics as each other which prove and expose their fatal flaws. They all experience some kind of consequence for their actions and all loose something or people that mean a lot to them. They all learn about themselves and all make the audience reflect about something they have gone through or experienced. Even though all of their stories are set in very different time periods and are different, they all share the same messages and reflect the same ideas that teach us something and force us to reflect on what is important to us.
2 Comments
Add Yours →Hi Grace,
I would like you to go back to your intro and read the first four sentences. See if you can spot the places where you have used a comma instead of a full stop. Also identify the moments where you are repeating ideas using slightly altered phrasing. If you can spot it in there, you will begin to see it through the rest of your essay.
Before you go any further, I encourage you to write down the headings for each of your paragraphs. Also, make a list of the things that you want to cover for each text. At the moment, I feel as though you are dancing around the point in your paragraph about Kane. What is it that you see as his defining, connecting feature? You need to identify, describe and analyse this.
Avoid relying on the plot to guide your reader to your idea.
Mrs. P
Hi Grace,
You need to read this work out loud to yourself as at the moment, I am struggling to make sense of it.
Your use of vocabulary makes your points inaccurate. You need to check your grammar and punctuation very carefully.
You need to make your connecting feature very clear. At the moment, you have many of them. Look to be consistent with this feature (or features) throughout your work. Increase your discussion of WHY the feature is significant, what it does for the genre, the audience and our society as a whole.
You must avoid relying on the plot for evidence. Use quotations that give us more than just a plot overview and ensure you analyse these. You need to explore HOW the quotation you have selected presents the feature you are discussing (hamartia, hubris etc.).
Mrs. P