Nixon's Hamartia During The Watergate Scandal

Hamartia
Nixon’s hamartia, a fatal flaw that leads to the character’s downfall, was his hunger for power and insecurity. Many people have reported that he would lash out at his enemies. The cause of the Watergate Scandal, the incident when burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee’s office and tried to wiretap phones and steal documents, was Nixon’s insecurity. He didn’t think he was going to be reelected and resorted to unethical actions. This event forced Nixon to resign from office, thus displaying that his insecurity led to his downfall.

Hubris
Nixon showed hubris, which is also known as egotistical behavior or exhibiting too much pride. He thought that he deserved to be reelected as president, even if in order for this to occur he had to behave in an unethical manner. The Watergate Scandal proved that Nixon was confident in his ability to pull off a major crime, although he was caught. This event also shows prideful behavior because he thought he could control the law and the election, even if he wasn’t the rightful winner.

Nemesis
Nixon displayed nemesis, a

downfall caused by an inescapable agent, when he resigned from office in 1974. He was forced to do this or he would have been impeached. In Nixon’s resignation speech, he said he couldn’t continue as president because of a lack of support for him to continue. This action indicates that he recognized his fatal error, which was when he tried to bribe the FBI to stop their investigation of the Watergate Scandal. Nixon was fully aware that he would have to resign or he would be impeached. Therefore, his downfall was inevitable. After his insecurity led him to make a fatal error, his fate of being removed from office was unavoidable.

Peripeteia
During the Watergate Scandal, peripeteia was clearly shown.

Peripeteia is when a situation suddenly changes. After the Burglars broke into the DNC’s office and Nixon tried to pay off the FBI to stop the investigation, Nixon’s connection to the crime was still unclear and hard to prove. Although, Nixon had taped all of his conversations in the Oval Office and in 1974, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn in all of his tapes. This was when his situation suddenly changed, as before this occurred Nixon had successfully hid most of his involvement in the scandal. After being forced to turn the tapes in, Nixon’s involvement was easily seen and shortly after he resigned. Although many were highly suspicious of Nixon ever since the Watergate Scandal, he was able to hide most of his involvement. Yet, the tapes that Nixon had to turn over to the Supreme Court highlighted his suspicious

activity.

Anagnorisis
Anagnorisis is defined as the moment when a critical discovery is made. This trait was exemplified throughout the Watergate Scandal. Ever since the break in occurred, many suspected Nixon was involved. Although he had sworn he wasn’t involved and was reelected, many continued to doubt him. Some of the first reports of the Watergate Scandal were published by the Washington Post. The American citizens were shocked when they discovered what had happened during the Watergate Scandal. Although Nixon himself didn’t have a sudden critical discovery, the American people (the “audience”) did.
Catharsis
The American people felt catharsis, or the release of suppressed emotions, after the Watergate Scandal. Even though Nixon never officially took responsibility or said he was involved with the break in, most American citizens had difficulty trusting the government after this incident. As soon as they discovered what had happened, many citizens no longer supported Nixon. In his resignation speech Nixon said that this lack of support and trust from America was the reason why he could no long he president.