Michael Jackson As A Tragic Hero

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Working Title A tragic hero, created by Aristotle, is a literary character who had a noble birth or has potential heroic qualities and inevitably suffers due to their tragic flaws, judgment errors, and experiences that lead to their eventual downfall. The tragic hero is the author's view on humans' destructive nature. Three main theories are the Aristotelian model, the Shakespearean model, and the modern tragic hero. Each model has five defining characteristics, which are notably, hamartia, downfall, anagnorisis, and suffering. In the Shakespearean mode of tragedy, the play Romeo and Juliet best models the tragic hero. For instance, nobility is characterized by being upper class and having an elevated character. Romeo satisfies both these criteria …show more content…

Before Michael Jackson became known as the King of Pop, Michael Jackson's parents had an affinity for music, so in 1964 his dad Joseph decided that his sons Jackie, Tito, Jeramaine, Michael, and later Randy who was only 3 at the time, would start a musical group known as the Jackson Five (William 1). After some time they would be discovered by Gladys Knight, this would lead to the Jackson Five signing a recording contract with Motown Records in 1968. Someone known as Berry Gordy Jr. would state that: “I predict the Jackson 5 will have three consecutive number-one singles” (Miller 2). Soon after this statement they would go on to do just that, releasing 3 well known songs like “ABC”. Due to this early fame, Michael Jackson wouldn't be able to enjoy his childhood. They would go on to release more songs until 1976 where the Jackson 5 members started to dislike the music they had to sing and the Jackson 5 would later leave Motown. Michael Jackson ended up meeting someone named Quincy Jones who offered to produce Michael Jackson's first solo album. To continue, Michael Jackson develops a Shakespearean tragedy because he possesses the fatal flaw of insecurity. His hamartia is that he let his insecurities get in the way, leading to a life of drug use and allegations of inappropriately spending time with minors, Collins (2). Despite his good intentions with his fame, …show more content…

It started back in 1990 when the first report of child sexual abuse came out, however due to lack of evidence he wasn't found guilty. Jackson would marry multiple women, whom he would divorce. He’d go on to have 2 kids with Debbie Rowe and a third one with someone who is publicly unknown. Later, he admitted to being addicted to Painkillers and Valium, which was likely due to his tragic flaw of insecurity. In 1996-1997 he toured the world to 4.5 million fans, this would show how his fame was seemingly unbreakable. In 2003, multiple accounts of child sexual abuse would come out and this would lead to another trial which again concluded with Michael Jackson's acquittal (Kassundra 3). His behavior after this would be bizarre; he’d dance for his fans outside the courthouse in his pajama bottoms and he seemed often intoxicated. Despite all this at the trial, Jackson's fans would scream and cheer for him. Throughout all of this, his suffering seemed to be pretty widespread to the public as everyone saw him fall to madness. His fame, however, transcends even the most deranged accusations of transgression. On June 25th, 2009, news got out that Michael Jackson had died, and even though he had all these problems and allegations, people years later still listen to his music (Collins

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