How Blind Devotion Leads to the Tragic End of Character Heros

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Recommended: Themes in Oedipus the king

(Better Grabber) In the Harry Potter Series, the character Snape is a tragic hero. Just like Oedipus, he has too much pride in himself when he only helps Harry because his true love was Lily Potter, Harry’s mother. This later leads to his downfall when he ends up dying. Despite their good intentions, the two characters are blinded from the impact of their actions as they unknowingly harm their families. In the play All My Sons by Arthur Miller, Joe Keller’s blindness of the larger society and In the short story Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Oedipus the King’s arrogant attitude lead to his downfall. Joe Keller’s tragic flaw was more tragic because his flaw impacted more than just himself but it impacted other people around him.

In the stories, the two character's tragic flaws lead them to cause harm on their families. In the play All My Sons, Joe Keller ships out faculty airplane parts, and blames it on his co-partner Steve Deever. Joe Keller begs his son to take over the company, when he says “A business, and business for you (Miller 70.) This evidence shows that Joe Keller lied about the airplane parts to save his family. He gave up his morals for the wellbeing of his family. He knew it was wrong to ship out the damaged airplane parts, but he did it anyways because his family was the most important aspect of his life, and wanted to make sure they are taken care off. His tragic flaw is his obsession with his family. His life is devoted to helping his family, mainly his son Chris. Furthermore, Oedipus the King’s arrogance leads him to hurt this family. Unknowingly, Oedipus does not know how lucky he is to see the truth. He knows that disease is corrupting the city, but he is angered when Teresis will not tell him informatio...

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...scape his fate. The only way to deal with his flaw was to find some comfort. Piercing out his eyes gave him a sense of comfort in the sense that he can see the truth all along. It also showed the readers that he realizes he is the one really blind. Overall, the two characters tragic flaw leads them to harm the outside world.

Overall, Joe Keller’s tragic flaw impacts the world around him as well as his family. Oedipus’s tragic flaw blinds him from the surroundings that he lives in. Keller is obsessive of the wellness of his family, and Oedipus is blind to truth that he does not notice the curse placed upon him. In this society, people are obsessed with the idea of being perfect. They do not understand that each person in this world has flaws. In reality, people become blinded by the media and other outside sources to distract them from the real truth. (Zinger)

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