Paper 1: The Tragic Hero

Paper #1 The Tragic Hero  

    Fate is the development of events beyond a person's control. Fate is regarded as being determined by a supernatural power and can also be influenced by the decisions people make. Fate could be either be good or bad as it is the result of events that occurred in the past. Regularly in literature we see fate as being grouped with death. Sophocles once said, "The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves." When people guide themselves or others to their downfall it is one of the most compelling control of fates. This can be proven in the literature works of "Antigone" by Sophocles and "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. Where characters like Antigone and Blanche are tragic heroes and what makes them, tragic heroes are both of their respective downfalls. 

   A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. The tragic hero should be neither better or worse morally than normal people. This is to allow the audience to identify with them. This introduces pity, which is crucial in tragedy. If the hero was perfect the audience would be outraged/upset with their fate or they wouldn't care since they are perfect. The audience wouldn't/couldn't relate to a character like this. However, if the hero was imperfect, then the audience would feel that he/she had gotten what they deserved. It's important to strike a balance in the hero's character. 

    The tragic hero usually dies a tragic death, having fallen from great heights and having made an irreversible mistake. The hero must courageously accept their death. The tragic hero always suffers more than he/she deserves. In addition, the hero must have a weakness, usually their weakness is their excessive pride. The hero must be noble in nature, but imperfect so that the audience can see themselves in them. He/she must be faced with a very serious decision that they have to make. 

    Antigone, the main character from the play, "Antigone" by Sophocles, may be perceived as a classical Greek tragic hero for many reasons. First off, Antigone begins the play in a prosperous position, as nobility. Her uncle, Creon is king of the land. Secondly, she is killed at the end of the play, resulting in catharsis for other characters and the audience. Antigone could be considered a tragic hero because she sticks to her beliefs in the gods and towards her brother and dies because of her loyalty to them. Also, Antigone contains multiple traits of a tragic hero. These being: possesses excessive pride, fate is not entirely deserved, and they accept their death with honor. 

    In both respective pieces of literature, Antigone from "Antigone" and Blanche from "A Streetcar Named Desire", both suffer downfalls. Both of their downfalls however, draw parallel similarities. The first similarity being that both of their downfalls happened because of their actions. Another similarity being is the actions they both took they believed in. They thought they were in the right when performing these actions because it put them at ease. Blanche can be seen as a modern-day anti-hero. An anti-hero can be defined as someone who lacks altruism, courage, and nobility. Blanche can be a modern-day anti-hero because she is someone who lacks courage, she doesn’t want to be seen in the light because she is afraid of what others think about her. Blanche's lack of altruism made Mitch dislike her because her lies covered her image. 

     

    Elements that contribute to the downfall of the tragic (anti) hero is their hubris, beliefs, and most importantly their actions. There were many conflicts that contributed to the downfall of Antigone. The first part of Antigone's downfall was going against Creon's rule. Creon had put an order demanding that no one bury Polyneices because he of his actions as a traitor. Antigone buries her brother in defiance of the law, insisting that she answers to divine law. "I dared. It was not God's proclamation. That final justice that rules the world below makes no such laws" (Sophocles, 1142). Antigone's excessive pride and beliefs sent her to her downfall. Also, her stubbornness didn't help either because she didn’t think about how it would affect others around her. 

    There were multiple conflicts that contributed to the downfall of Blanche. The first one being her delusions. Her delusions control how she acts and how others perceive her. Which is important to her because she is very self-conscious and sensitive. Her own sister, Stella, lies to her sister to get along with her. This only furthers Blanche's delusions that she is yearned for constantly and Stella even made her husband Stanley say something nice about Blanche. "Tell her that she's looking wonderful. That's important with Blanche. Her little weakness!" (Williams, 33). Another conflict that contributed to Blanche's demise were her lies. Once Stanley brought out the truth about Blanche and Mitch found out, Mitch isn't interested in Blanche anymore and ultimately rejects her.  

    Today, there are hundreds of modern-day tragic heroes that could relate to Antigone and Blanche. One of them being Professional golf player, Tiger Woods. Tiger woods enjoyed much success during his golfing career. At the age of 21 he won his first Masters Tournament and was the first African-American to do so. He has won 79 PGA tournament events and in 2008 was one of the top 10 paid athletes in the world. However, like all tragic heroes, Tiger had a downfall. Tiger cheated on his wife with over 100 women and was criticized by the media. Tiger lost many sponsorships and his public image was ruined. Tiger was like Blanche because they both felt unwanted and both of their public images were ruined. In addition, Tiger was also like Antigone because he broke the law not a government law like Antigone but a moral law, for cheating on his wife. 

    Fate is destined to happen, turn out, or act in a way. Fate can be determined by a higher power or by the actions of people. Tragic heroes are essentially doomed from the start but bears no responsibility for owning their flaw. Their story should arouse fear and pity. Such as the case with Antigone and Blanche. Their flaws, beliefs, and actions led to their downfalls and affected others around them and cemented themselves as tragic heroes.