Matt Howe
Mr. Casey
Hamlet tragic hero
30, March 2018
Hamlet as a Tragic Hero According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must have tragic flaws in their character or judgment that leads him to his own downfall or death. In shakespeare's play Hamlet, there are many tragic flaws in the main character such as Hamlet's indecisiveness, and excessive concern with death. A tragic hero is defined as “a literary character who makes a judgment error that leads to that characters own downfall”. Throughout the history of literature, characters such as Hamlet and Jay Gatsby and Romeo have fit this role perfectly. Aristotle once said “A man doesn't become a tragic hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. These characters and people couldn't see
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Gatsby has endless wealth, power and influence but is never selfish with any of it. Everything he owns exists only to attain his vision. Gatsby's tragic flaw lies within his inability to see that the real and the ideal cannot coexist. Gatsby ideal is Daisy. He sees her as the “perfect human being”. He believes she is worthy of all his money and affection when In reality she is undeserving through her actions throughout the book, she shows the reader she is pathetic rather than honorable in my opinion. When Daisy says "Sophisticated-God I am sophisticated”, she contradicts herself and the reader sees the irony in this, knowing she is far from subtle, superficial, ungenerous and pathetic. Gatsby's vision relies on his belief that the past can be repeated, Gatsby's disregard to reality creates his dream of making enough money to be with Daisy. Gatsby believes staying young and winning her back for a second try could happen if only he had enough money. Gatsby being too generous and letting people walk over him to get what they want was in my opinion this characters downfall. Gatsby and Hamlet are much alike. Hamlet goes through this same thing with Ophelia. In the beginning of the play you see Hamlet has history with Ophelia. He claims he loves her but with trying to avenge his father's death and everyone thinking he’s going mad he didn't get anywhere and it ended up driving Ophelia mad as
Gatsby's dream leads him to the destruction, of both the dream and himself. Gatsby wants to be loved by everyone. He does want to have to earn Daisy. He constantly wants to be the center of attention and have a reputation as a pillar of society. He wants to be wealthy and almost “god-like”.
As the novel advances, Gatsby is portrayed as someone who relies so heavily on his dreams; only to realize that they are not worthy of him. He thinks of Daisy as some sort of perfect person and is let down when he understands that she cannot fulfill that dream in reality. He pursues her with such passion that it keeps him from seeing her humanly
Gatsby's tragic flaw lies within his inability to see that the real and the ideal cannot coexist. Gatsby's ideal is Daisy. He sees her as perfect and worthy of all his affections and praise. In reality she is undeserving and through her actions, proves she is pathetic rather than honorable. When Daisy says "Sophisticated-God I'm sophisticated" (18), she contradicts who she really is. The reader sees irony here, knowing she is far from sophisticated, but superficial, selfish and pathetic. Gatsby's vision is based on his belief that the past can be repeated, "can't repeat the past? Why of course you can" (111)! The disregard for reality is how Gatsby formulates his dream (with high expectations), and the belief that sufficient wealth can allow one to control his or her own fate. Gatsby believes youth and beauty can be recaptured if he can only make enough money. To become worthy of Daisy, Gatsby accumulates his wealth, so he can rewrite the past and Daisy will be his. He establishes an immense fortune to impress the great love of his life, Daisy, who can only be won with evidence of material success. Over the five years in which Gatsby formulates this ideal, he envisions Daisy so perfect that he places her on a pedestal. As he attempts to make his ideal a reality things do not run as smoothly as he plans. Daisy can never live up to Gatsby's ideal, though
His lack of personal growth is evident in his ambitions and dreams. His selfless devotion towards Daisy shows us that, despite his age, he is still an idealistic, romantic teenager at heart. Daisy is his ‘raison d’etre’, his motivation, the reason why he accumulates such wealth, lives where he does, throws his great parties and buys ‘beautiful shirts’. Everything he ever did since they met was to please her and win her over. However, from the point where Gatsby finally meets her again, we see that it was all a delusion, akin to the ‘American Dream’. Gatsby has believed for his entire life that with enough money, you can do amazing things - bring back the past and keep moments frozen in time. This kind of romantic idealism and selfless devotion for love gives the reader a sense of sympathy for Gatsby. Even though he is in illegal business, that whole side of him
According to the Aristotelian view of tragedy, a tragic hero must fall through his or her own error. This is typically called the "tragic flaw", and can be applied to any characteristic that causes the downfall the hero. Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark can be seen as an Aristotelian tragedy and Hamlet as it's tragic hero. Hamlet's flaw, which in accordance with Aristotle's principles of tragedy causes his demise, is his inability to act. This defect of Hamlet's character is displayed throughout the play.
The Webster dictionary defines tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.” (Webster Dictionary) So a tragic hero is a character who goes through a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a direct result of his choices. You will see throughout this story that the character Hamlet is a clear example of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.
Shakespeare's play, Hamlet illustrates the tragedy of a young prince's pursuit to obtain revenge for a corrupt act, the murder of his father. As the exposition unfolds, we find Prince Hamlet struggling with internal conflict over who and what was behind his father's death. His struggle continues as he awaits the mystic appearance of a ghost who is reported to resemble his father. Suddenly it appears, proclaiming, "Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing / To what I shall unfold" (1.5.5-6). The ghost continues to speak providing an important clue: "The serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown" (1.5.38-39). In short, this passage reveals evidence leading to the identity of whom
His inconsistent treating of Ophelia eventually drives her to insanity. The actual recognition of his love for Ophelia can only come when Hamlet realizes that she is dead, and free from her tainted womanly trappings “I lov’d Ophelia”. This is without doubt one of the most villainous qualities of Hamlet.
“A tragic flaw is an error or defect in the tragic hero that leads to his downfall.” (http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_t.htm) In the history of literature, if the question of who was the most indecisive character was brought up, Hamlet would be a prime candidate. Hamlet had numerous chances to reap revenge for his father’s death but was only able to follow through after the accidental murder of his mother. Hamlet’s inability to make a decision ultimately leads to his demise, and for that is his tragic flaw.
Because Gatsby is standing alone, searching for the elusive Daisy, he is shown to not be content. He finds no joy in having all these people here if he cannot find his Daisy. He views Daisy as the person that will bring him to an even higher social class, because even though he is rich, he still remembers the social value Daisy encompasses because of her abundance of lovers. Ultimately he wants to swell his ego, to tame the wild beast, because Daisy wasn’t settled down before with any one man. Even though she is now married, he still views her with the same awe of when he first laid eyes on her at camp, even remarking that “‘Her voice is full of money’”(127) in reference to his percieved value of her when they first met. Quintessentially, Gatsby has narcissism flowing through his veins because he is attempting to recreate a past to soothe his remorse from when he initially left Daisy to fight in the war.
must be brave and noble. Hamlet is the perfect example of the tragic hero. Hamlet has all the good traits needed to be a tragic hero. He is brave and daring. One example of this is that when he went to England, he was taking a big risk and knew they were out to kill him. His loyalty to his father, was the reason he was so angry with Claudius and his Mother.
The tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and greatest tragedy, presents his genius as a playwright and includes many numbers of themes and literary techniques. In all tragedies, the main character, called a tragic hero, suffers and usually dies at the end. Prince Hamlet is a model example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Every tragedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero must own many good traits, but has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. If not for this tragic flaw, the hero would be able to survive at the end of the play. A tragic hero must have free will and also have the characteristics of being brave and noble. In addition, the audience must feel some sympathy for the tragic hero.
Hamlet, the titled character of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare’s most prominent play, is arguably the most complex, relatable, and deep character created by Shakespeare. His actions and thoughts throughout the play show the audience how fully developed and unpredictable he is with his mixed personalities. What Hamlet goes through in the play defines the adventures encountered by a tragic hero. In this timeless tragedy, despite Hamlet’s great nobility and knowledge, he has a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his ironic death.
As defined by Aristotle, A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet is the tragic hero. Prince Hamlet can even be considered a quintessential tragic hero due to how closely he relates to Aristotle’s definition. Initially he has noble motives which were to avenge his father’s death but by the end, his flaws and bad decisions lead him to his death. The fact that Prince Hamlet’s best trait is also his downfall makes him one of the most tragic heroes in Shakespeare’s work. In these ways and more, Prince Hamlet fulfills Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a Shakespearean tragedy, tells the story of Prince Hamlet, who gained the knowledge of a terrible incident that his kingdom had suffered. Claudius, the king of Denmark and Hamlet's uncle, had killed his own brother, the king, who was also the father of Hamlet, and married his brother's widow. Hamlet suffered these traumas to a severe degree, and his only relief was to defeat his human weaknesses and correct the wrongs created by his uncle.