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1. The works of literature that exhibit a tragic hero, an anti-hero, and a modern hero are as follows: Julius Caesar, A Separate Peace, and Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
2. The tragic hero in Julius Caesar is Brutus. His flawed character is what makes him a tragic hero. His tragic flaws consist of honour, poor judgement, and idealism. Brutus says that “If it be aught toward the general good, set honour in on eye and death in the other, and I will look on both indifferently. (act 1 scene 2 lines 85-91). Brutus is asking what Cassius wants and says that he will do anything as long as it benefits the Roman Empire. Brutus is only taking into consideration Cassius and what he wants. This is an example of Brutus having poor judgement. Almost everyone took advantage of his flaws and this is what causes his ultimate downfall. At the end of the play Brutus’ flaw of honour makes him kill himself instead of being captured. Brutus is also a character with high social status which is a characteristic of a tragic
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hero. Because of the qualities he demonstrated this is why Brutus is a tragic hero. 3.
Next, the anti-hero is Gene in A Separate Peace. Gene exemplifies the traits of a anti-hero because he is flawed and awkward. This hinders his ability to become a hero. Although Gene is a capable athlete and an excellent student, he is unable to prevent the dark side of his inner self from distorting his enjoyment of the world and the people around him. As he admits to himself in chapter 7, he always finds something bad in the things around him; or, if he does not find it, he invents it. This subconscious force, results in paranoia. So much so, that at one point in the novel, Gene has the idea that Finny is deliberately trying to destroy his scholastic success. Gene’s personal insecurity is such that it drives him toward somehow getting even with Finny, which he eventually does by causing Finny’s fall from the tree. Even though Finny’s accident and subsequent death liberate Gene from his dark interior impulses, something vital inside him also
dies. 4. Lastly, there is Peter Pevensie who acts as a modern hero in Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Peter has traits such as always doing the right thing and completing his journey not alone but with help which showcase him being a modern hero. As the oldest, he is the natural leader, notable for his bravery and good judgment. Peter takes responsibility for his failings: he admits to Aslan, without being asked, that his treatment of Edmund may have contributed to Edmund's betrayal: "That was partly my fault, Aslan," Peter says. "I was angry with him and I think that helped him to go wrong". Peter's bravery consists, not in how he feels, but in how he acts. In spite of his fears, Peter pulls himself together and fights. Similarly, when Aslan leaves him in charge of the battle against the Witch, Peter rises to the occasion. 5. To conclude, three examples of literature that demonstrate the tragic hero, the anti-hero, and the modern hero consist of: Julius Caesar, A Separate Peace, Narnia: The lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. These examples all have one character who show the qualities of the different types of hero. Each character has different aspects and qualities that make them unique in their own way.
In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar could definitely be thought of as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character in a story that is high standing in society, but has a flaw that inevitably leads to their downfall. Julius Caesar definitely fits this description. He is a leader in Rome and has everything he could ever want. However, he does have a weakness which will be devastating to his life. There are many people who would like to kill him but Caesar is not worried. Julius Caesar’s flaw is arrogance and believes he is invulnerable. He also, right before his death discovers a discernment more devastating than the knife wounds, and finally he is and unsympathetic character because of many reasons.
The definition of a tragic hero is perceived as on who is neither wicked nor purely innocent, one who “is brave and noble but guilty of the tragic flaw of assuming that honorable ends justify dishonorable means”. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus takes the role of the tragic hero. Brutus’s honor, nobility, and self-righteousness makes him “a tragic figure, if not the hero” (Catherine C. Dominic).
In conclusion, Brutus is the real tragic hero because throughout the play he is battling himself over good vs. evil. Even though he has tragic flaws he is still seen as a noble and respected figure in Rome both by those who wanted Caesar dead and those who did not. His ability to be easily manipulated led to the death of Caesar, himself, and countless others. If he had made his own decisions, he would not have ended up causing the chaos and tragedy he did. But, on the other hand he did have his own personal reasons for killing Caesar.
In the play the Life and Death of Julius Caesar (just as in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies) there is much death, much tragedy, and of course, a tragic hero. However unlike most of Shakespeare’s plays this time the tragic hero is not particularly obvious. Throughout the play a few main characters present themselves as possibilities for being the tragic hero. But as being a tragic hero is not only having a tragic flaw but also entails much more, there really is only one person to fit the mold. The character Brutus is born into power and is higher/better then we are. He has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and at the end he realizes his mistake (a trait none of the other characters can really claim).
The second reason why Brutus should not be a tragic hero is because he has a tragic flaw and this flaw leads to his ultimate downfall. The tragic Flaw for Brutus is his idealistic view of the world. He contracts this view about Caesar after Cassius persuades him by saying that Caesar will be a tyrant. Because of this, Brutus joins the conspirators and kills Caesar. This shows that Brutus, like other tragic heroes uses his tragic flaw and thus will cause his eventual defeat. Later in the play Brutus directs, as any ideological man would, to charge rather than wait for the enemy to attack. This is an excellent exemplar of the Brutus’s tragic flaw since Brutus did this so that he would not lose support in Rome.
A tragic hero is defined as a person of high social rank, who has a tragic flaw or flaws that lead to their downfall. These heroes’ downfalls are usually either complete ruin or death. Tragic heroes face their downfall with courage and dignity. While many characters in Julius Caesar could fit these conditions, the person who fits the role of a tragic hero the best is Marcus Brutus. Brutus develops into a tragic hero throughout the play, and this is shown though his qualifications of a tragic hero, his high status, his tragic flaws, and his courage in the face of his death.
The tragic hero is one of literatures most used (and sometimes abused) characters. The classical definition of a tragic hero is, “a person with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. The person is doomed by the Gods or some other supernatural force to destruction or suffering. The hero struggles against the fate, but due to a personal flaw, ultimately fails in the battle against fate. It is my personal opinion that Brutus,as he is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is a tragic hero by this definition. I came to this conclusion due to the fact that Brutus shares many similarities with other tragic heroes in literature such as Oedipus, Hamlet, and Ralph from Lord of the Flies. All four characters share the two critical traits that are needed to be tragic heroes: a tragic flaw that eventually leads to a tragic downfall. The tragic hero was defined by Aristotle, yet the “invention” of the tragic hero goes to Sophocles.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
Brutus’ tragic flaws are part of what makes him a tragic hero. In Julius Caesar, Brutus is a great example of a tragic hero. His tragic flaws are honor, poor judgement, and idealism (Bedell). In Shakespeare’s plays, the tragic hero and his flaws cause the downfall of the play (Tragic Flaws).
In conclusion, Brutus is a tragic hero in this awe-inspiring play because he is burdened with countless character flaws that engender his inevitable awakening, enlightenment, and death. They also lead to his dramatic change from a despicable fiend, to a loved companion of Rome. Through massive loses, and profound change in character, Brutus is transformed into a kingly tragic hero.
A tragic hero is the character whose actions deeply affect the other characters and who creates a series of events that eventually lead to the character’s downfall and the downfall of his loved ones. Such a hero possesses a flaw in character that influences his actions and thinking and especially his judgments. In logically determining who the hero in Julius Caesar is, one simply must find the one character who fits the above guidelines. Marcus Brutus is the only one, and, thus, he is the tragic hero.
Julius Caesar may have been a noble person, but the people of Rome did not think so. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare shows the Caesar comes to an unhappy end when he is murdered by the people he loved most. Within this play Julius Caesar is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as “the main character of a tragedy [who is] usually dignified, courageous, and high ranking” (Novel Study Guide). Also vital to defining a tragic hero is that, “the hero’s downfall is caused by a tragic flaw” (Novel Study Guide). It is evident that Julius Caesar is William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a tragic hero given that he is of noble stature, has a fatal flaw and comes to an unhappy end.
In tragedy plays, there is a character who suffers from a tragic flaw in his or her personality may it be excessive pride, poor judgement, or both which eventually leads to the hero’s downfall and makes the character the tragic hero. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of the play due to his tragic flaw which is his naïve and over-trusting personality, which he eventually realizes too late but still aims to prevent his loss of dignity.
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar there are many characters, but few of them can be considered as tragic heroes. What makes a tragic hero? For a tragic character to be a tragic hero, they must have fallen from a high standing in society by their own hands. In other words, they must be self-destructive. This is not the sole requirement though. They must also at the end, when they can’t fall anymore, have a moment of enlightenment in which they have clarity or they realize that their fall is their own fault. They should also get a sympathetic or regretful response from the audience. The character that most would think of as a tragic hero in this play is Brutus, the backstabbing friend of Caesar, but what of Caesar himself? He, too, falls from high-standing. He, too, has himself to blame.
For a time, the main characters in a story, poem, or narrative were easily classified as either being a hero or a villain. A hero would be easy to identify by the traits he'd possess, such as bravery, honesty, selflessness, trustworthiness, courage, leadership, and more. The villain would be easy to identify as well, possessing traits such as maliciousness, deceitfulness, immorality, dark, wishing harm upon others, and more. But what if the character lacked the natural heroic qualities but wasn't a villain either? What if the person displayed personality flaws that would traditionally be associated with a villain, but has heroic intentions? These questions were finally answered with the emergence of the anti-hero in literature.