ipl-logo

Aristotle Tragic Hero Analysis

2102 Words9 Pages

Aristotle’s tragic figure is a character that is very prominent in many classic works of literature. A tragic hero is defined as a character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to their own destruction. Aristotle specified certain characteristics that these tragic hero’s usually possess, which includes hamartia (a tragic flaw, such as an error in judgement, that leads to their downfall), hubris (disrespect for the natural order), peripeteia (a reversal of fate), anagnorisis (the hero’s recognizing that their own actions caused their situation), nemesis (punishment the hero cannot avoid), and catharsis (feelings of pity and fear felt by the audience towards the character). Two well known tragic heroes include Hamlet from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Nora Helmer from Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. However, According to Aristotle’s definition of a Tragic Figure, I believe Nora Helmer from Henrik …show more content…

After the events of the play, Nora decides to take the initiative on acting towards the duties she has to herself and stops acting like the “doll-child” and “doll-wife” she had been conditioned to be. In Act 3, page 111, after being told that her main job as a woman is to be a wife and a mother, Nora states: “I don’t believe in that anymore. I believe that before all else, I’m a human being, no less than you -- or anyway, I ought to try to become one. I know the majority thinks you’re right, Torvald, and plenty of books agree with you, too. But I can’t go on being satisfied with what the majority says, or what’s written in books. I have to thin over these things myself and try to understand

Show More
Related

  • Creon's Tragic Hero In Sophocles Antigone

    660 Words  | 3 Pages

    Almost always, in Greek tragedies a “tragic hero” has a hamartia, or tragic flaw, which will cause their concluding demise. In the Greek playwright, Antigone written by Sophocles, the interesting character, Creon, is a prime example of this. According the Aristotle’s theory, to be a tragic hero you have to have three traits: a flaw, a fall, and acceptance of your current situation. Creon’s flaw is his ego, which blinds him and lures him to do rather profane activities. Due to Creon’s ego, him losing everything caused by that very hamartia, and acceptance of the series of unfortunate events that occurred; Creon is the tragic hero in Antigone

    Read More

  • Walter White Character Criticism

    761 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Ancient Greek tradition, a tragedy includes Hamartia which is, Peripeteia, Nemesis and Hubris. Hamartia is the hero’s tragic flaws. Peripeteia is when the hero has a reversal of their fate, nemesis is the consequences of the hero’s actions and hubris is an overwhelming pride. An example of a tragic hero would be Walter White from Breaking Bad. Walter White goes from loving family man to a drug kingpin in a short couple of years, showing his ultimate undoing and demise.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Okonkwo And Oedipus

    1679 Words  | 7 Pages

    In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, both protagonists possess tragic flaws which lead to their demise. Distanced by years in literature, Okonkwo and Oedipus are remarkably similar, however display aspects of their personalities that make their epic journeys of fate quite different. Both characters are arrogant and refuse to be told they are incorrect about anything. They are considered admirable at first, especially in the eyes of the other characters, however by the end of both stories, they are considered outcasts. Both men possess an egotistic attitude and have an overwhelming sense of pride in their achievements.

    Read More

  • Tragic Flaws In A Streetcar Named Desire

    1366 Words  | 6 Pages

    According to Aristotle the characteristics of a tragic hero are to provoke sad emotions, such as pity or fear, from the audience. When these sad emotions are provoked from the audience, it is hoped that after seeing the tragic hero leading themselves to downfall or death it will transform the audience into good human beings. The characteristics of a tragic hero are shown through Blanche in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, showing tragic flaws. Hamartia is when a tragic flaw causes downfall for a hero.

    Read More

  • Creon Tragic Hero Essay

    701 Words  | 3 Pages

    As defined by Aristotle, a tragic hero is one who is not entirely good or evil. They are an individual who experiences a “reversal of fortune through a fault of character or an uncontrollable accident” (Boucquey). He or she undergoes a dramatic change from happiness to misery (Boucqyey). In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon is the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero should contain four traits: goodness, appropriateness, lifelike, and consistency, which Creon most prominently displays.

    Read More

  • The Crucible John Proctor Tragic Hero

    1027 Words  | 5 Pages

    What is a tragic hero? The best definition of a tragic hero comes from a Greek philosopher, Aristotle. When depicting a tragic hero, Aristotle stated, “The change in the hero’s fortune be not from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery, and the cause of it must not lie in depravity, but in some great error on his part.” In addition, Aristotle explained the qualities that a tragic hero should possess. Qualities that are best shown through the play The Crucible by Arther Miller, where the protagonist is an excellent example of a tragic hero.

    Read More

  • A Doll's House Breaking Free Analysis

    1418 Words  | 6 Pages

    Torvald tells her that Nora has a duty as a mother and a wife but Nora tells him that “she is an individual”, showing that she is finally putting herself on par with Torvald, and no longer allowing Torvald to control her, but instead she is trying to gain independence and liberation from social norms in order to break free from the “Doll’s House.” She tells him that she must leave him, because “for eight years [she’d] been living with a stranger”, emphasising how there was never any proper communication and mutual understanding between them, and hence no proper marriage, as she didn’t actually know what his true character was like up until that night, as she was convinced all along that Torvald would be the man to take everything upon

    Read More

  • Creon Is The Tragic Hero In Antigone

    798 Words  | 4 Pages

    He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through an error of judgment.” Notice that Aristotle uses the words he, man, and him and not she, woman, or her. This hints that the tragic hero must be a man, not a woman. A tragic hero must also have certain characteristics such as hubris, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, nemesis, and catharsis. These all mean that the character’s tragic downfall must have a beginning, middle, and end and emanate a feeling of pity and fear in the audience.

    Read More

  • Human Being In A Doll's House

    1172 Words  | 5 Pages

    It is mentioned in act 3 (pg.) when Nora says, “I’ve been your wife-doll here just as at home I was Papa’s doll-child.” She states that she was always objectified by her father and husband she was never being treated as a human being. There were always expectations set out for Nora to fulfill as women were given a submissive role in the society. Society’s expectations never stop towards women as they were judged in terms of purity and domesticity.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex Tragic Hero Essay

    409 Words  | 2 Pages

    Critic Northrop Frye claims that tragic heroes “seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them… Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” A perfect example of this assertion would be King Oedipus in the classical tragic play “Oedipus Rex,” written by Sophocles, where Oedipus, himself, becomes the victim of his doomed fate. As someone who was born and raised of royal blood, he becomes too proud and ignorant, believing that he was too powerful for his fate. Using the metaphor “great trees [are] more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass,” Frye compares the heroic but unfortunate Oedipus to the great trees as they both are apt to experience victimization of tragic situations

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Freedom In A Doll's House And A Rose For Emily

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nora is a married woman and has children to take care of. She really has little freedom because of the way Torvald treats her. She is not even I feel as if deep down she knows she is not free and wants something more in her life then to be a entertaining puppet for Torvald. She realizes at the end of the story that Torvald is not good to her because of the way he acted when she told him about forging the signature. When Torvald called her a criminal and other harsh words she realized that she had no true love from Torvald and wanted to be free from him.

    Read More

  • What Is A Literary Argument For A Doll's House

    1319 Words  | 6 Pages

    This brings in to question whether or not it is acceptable for a woman to simply walk away from a marriage, involving three children, and not attempt to work things out. Nora realizes she and the life she has been living has been a complete construct of the way society expects her to be. Nora is Torvald’s doll and her life has not amounted to anything more than making sure he and the world around her is happy. The result of the inequalities she is faced with results in Nora being completely unhappy. Torvald fails to recognize everything that Nora does to ensure his happiness.

    Read More

  • Social Expectations In A Doll's House

    759 Words  | 4 Pages

    During act III, Nora asked to speak to Torvald after her performance of the tarantella dance. The following conversation demonstrated her quest for autonomy and freedom, as well as Torvald’s inadequate responses to her arguments and demands; it also showed how deeply connected her unhappy situation is with society’s regulation of the relationship between the sexes. She asserts that she is “...first and foremost a human being”, and her strong conviction that her womanhood, and the expectations associated with it, are secondary, strengthens her resolve to make a radical choice: A break with both husband and, with necessity due to her legal position, her children (Ibsen, 184). During her conversation with Torvald, she proclaims, “I have other sacred duties... The duties to myself (Ibsen, 184).”

    Read More

  • Injustice In A Doll's House

    828 Words  | 4 Pages

    First, Nora is treated like a child by her husband Torvald. Torvald had nicknames for Nora like squirrel or skylark that was often accompanied by demenors like sweet or little. At the end of the play, Nora tells her husband that he treated her like a weak, fragile doll just like her father. Nora’s feelings about Torvald’s attitude is evident in the quote from Nora and Torvald’s conversation ”I was your little songbird just as before- your doll whom henceforth you would take particular care to protect from the world because she was so weak and fragile. ”(Pg.

    Read More

  • A Doll's House Psychoanalytic Analysis

    820 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nora takes pride in thinking of herself as the perfect housewife and mother. She, just as every other wife, plays often with her children and attends formal parties on her husband’s arm. She is told

    Read More

More about Aristotle Tragic Hero Analysis

Open Document