Nicholas Moccio Ms. Mattos Period Seven December 1st, 2017 Sydney Carton: Romantic or Tragic Hero? Sydney Carton is a pitiful, emotional, and selfless character. These are all true, but there is a line between two archetypes. In this formal essay, I will attempt to discover this line. A Romantic hero is an archetype that embodies romanticism. Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual. A tragic hero is a person of noble stature, and of outstanding quality and greatness. They both die young, and they both have self awareness. One key factor in difference is that romantic heroes already have self awareness, and tragic …show more content…
A trait in every romantic hero is a big ego. Sydney is known for self-hatred, and we discussed it in the previous section, so we can cross that out. Some common traits of a romantic hero (arrogant, rebel, mysterious, and secret past) are completely off. We know that he isn't a rebel, since he fought against, and was ultimately killed by the resistance. And we know that he isn't mysterious because, although he does it cryptically, he occasionally shares his feelings. Right before he dies, he writes this letter, “Dear Lucie, When you read this letter, I won’t be breathing anymore, my soul will be flying peacefully in the air, and my heart will be an angel and always protect you...Charles Darnay is perfectly a great man full of kindness for you. I’m a loser in my heart... I’m a drunkard, and I will do everything as a drunkard... However, this is the time, the time for the last word, the time for my love, and the time to say good bye. Adieu, my dearest love. The man who will always sacrifice for you, Sydney Carton” This quote shows the feelings he has, and how, though hesitantly and difficult, he does eventually share his thoughts. This evidence also shows his lack of ego when he calls himself a loser and a
Everyone can relate to an archetype character in a movie, book, or television show. An archetype in literature is a typical character with an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature. Common archetypes of characters are: a hero, caregiver, rebel, damsel in distressed, lover, villain, or tragic hero. In the play, The Crucible, there are several kinds of characters with archetypes. Tragic hero normally are in tragic plays which also can be called tragedy. “Tragedy is a drama in which a character that is usually a good and noble person of high rank which is brought to a disastrous end in his or her confrontation with a superior force but also comes to understand the meaning of his or her deeds and to
In many works of Literature, a character comes forth as a hero, only to die because of a character trait known as a tragic flaw; Hamlet from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Okonkwo from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Winston Smith from Orwell’s 1984 all exhibit that single trait, which leads, in one way or another, to their deaths. These three tragic heroes are both similar and different in many ways: the way they die, their tragic flaws, and what they learn. All three characters strongly exhibit the traits needed to be classified as a tragic hero.
Sydney Carton is also shown in the novel to be somewhat immature in his actions
Over time, history has given society many to whom we call true heroes. There are many reasons these heroes have been looked up to such as: bravery, dedication, confidence, and inspiration. However, a tragic hero requires a few different qualities. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as a “member of royalty,” someone who “must fall from tremendous good fortune,” and someone who creates pity for him or herself (“Connections: A Theory” 2000). In Greek drama, Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Medea both contain several possible tragic heroes including Medea, Jason, and Creon. More specifically, in Antigone Creon exemplifies the qualities of a tragic hero best due to his prominent power as king of Thebes, the way he holds strong to his stubborn pride, and the sympathy felt for him in his tragic downfall.
…The tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing -- his sense of personal dignity. …The underlying struggle is that of individual attempting to gain his "rightful" position in his society. … Tragedy…is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly.
When people hear the word “hero” they usually don’t think about the word “tragic”. A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a tragedy, destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Aristotle also thought about the ideas of a tragic hero. William Shakespeare proves this through his character Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo’s family is of high status and virtuous. Romeo’s punishments exceed his crimes and his tragedies arouse many “unhealthy emotions of fear and pity. Romeo’s actions prove he is a tragic hero. The story of Romeo and Juliet entices the reader as the tragedy proceeds through the scenes.
In studying different types of heroes this semester, we have come across several examples of heroes and heroines. From the Trojan War to the Italian renaissance, tragic heroes have been consistently present in the stories we have read this semester. In this essay I will expose the similarities and differences between tragic heroes that we have encountered in The Iliad (as recorded by Homer), The Aeneid (by Virgil), Oedipus the King (written by Sophocles), and in The Prince (written by Niccolo Machiavelli).
actions of a character and the concept of the tragic hero. Comparisons are drawn to the tragedies
Sydney Carton is introduced as a pessimistic introvert who struggles with his id and superego. Although Carton’s past is never revealed in the novel, a traumatic event clearly haunts Carton and prevents him from leading a pleasant life. According to Sigmund Freud, “the memories and emotions associated with trauma” are stored in the subconscious mind because an individual cannot bear to look at these memories (Dever 202). One part of the subconscious mind is the id, or “basic desires”, of a human being (Baker 4). Carton desires to drink as a way to detach from his past, and because of his lack of emotional strength, he allows his id to take over and Carton becomes an alcoholic. Based on Carl Jung’s ideas, Carton is considered an introvert because he is described as the “idlest” of all men and is viewed by society as a worthless drunk (Dickens 91). This displays Carton’s struggle with another element of the subcon...
Throughout life, one encounters people who are to be pitied and people who don’t deserve to be pitied. Abram defined the term tragic hero as someone who is to be pitied, someone who is quite arrogant in his or her remarks, and who is influenced by his “error of judgment”, or tragic flaw. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, a respected soldier, Macbeth, is to be bombarded with the most awful misfortune. In this case, Macbeth has two out of the three conditions to qualify as a tragic hero; extreme arrogance and tragic flaw. Even though Macbeth qualifies for most of the conditions of a tragic hero, he does not deserve the remaining condition; pity.
On the other hand, another type of tragic hero exists, the modern tragic hero. This type of hero is a product of a clash between the individual and the social environment. Arthur Miller, the famous playwright said, “each person has a chosen image of self and position, tragedy results when the characters environment denies the fulfillment of this self concept.” (LATWP, 640). This is a contrast from Aristotle’s classic tragic hero because the hero is no longer born into nobility but gains stature in the action of pitting self against cosmos, and the tragedy becomes, “the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world.” (LATWP, 640).
A variant of the Romantic hero, the Byronic hero, appropriately named after its creator, George Gordon Byron, is a character who displays antisocial qualities. A Byronic hero may be described as the following: arrogant, adaptable, cynical, disrespectful, emotionally conflicted, intelligent, mysterious, self-destructive, dominant, and an exile by society. For an example of a Byronic hero, Byron himself describes Conrad, protagonist of The Corsair, as:
There are many heroes in this world, whether it’s a fireman or a doctor. A hero is defined based on their courage, nobility and strength. In contrast, there are tragic heroes. According to philosopher, Aristotle, the definition of a tragic hero is one that is of greatness and dignity but, despite their greatness, makes an error, otherwise known as the hero’s “tragic flaw” or “hamartia” which leads to his downfall. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, the main protagonist and round character, Macbeth starts as a man of greatness and dignity. His assumed loyalty to the country and king earns him respect from a variety of men and the title “Thane of Cawdor.” But, unfortunately because of his tragic flaw he is corrupted by his overwhelming ambition and destroys himself and the natural order of man. Macbeth transitions from the savior of his country, “Bellona’s bridegroom”, a “brave” and unbeatable man to a man of endless brutality. Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero.
Otis Wheeler describes how the surge in sentimental dramas was a direct reaction to the coarse comedies of the Restoration wherein man was depicted as ridiculous and nonsensical. In contrast “the drama of sensibility” was a display of the infinite promise of man. In this way the beginnings of the Cult of Sensibility is inextricably linked to the birth of Romanticism, yet where Romanticism preferred the superfluous and exaggerated the Cult of Sensibility preferred the delicate, softer emotions that would bring people together in harmony. As such it is fair to say that although these two styles were borne of a similar distaste for the neoclassical, they developed into very different types of drama. Romanticism created antagonistic protagonists, such as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights.
Dickens shows that without a drive, Sydney Carton’s nature is lazy, filled with alcohol, depressed, and greatly lacking in self-confidence. When first being introduced to Carton, it is clear to the reader that he is not the best eligible bachelor in London. Sydney is addicted to drinking in order to keep his depression at bay. Upon meeting “with this Double” (84), the Charles Darnay that miraculously resembles Carton, Sydney tells himself that Darnay ...