In class today we learned about several character traits of heroes that define who they are and how others perceive them. My favorite example of a character that sums up all of these elements of behavior was Oedipus. He defeated the Synphx and solved its riddle and thus became a heroic figure. Because of this great feat and how much he was extolled in his society, he developed hubris was means excessive pride. Oedipus, who does not know that the king and queen are in fact his real parents, creates a plot where he murders the king and then marries the queen and assumes power. This is an example of his catharsis and anger. We also see this when Oedipus is accused of it by the old man and he gets very angry. Harmartia is the tragic flaw in a hero and that was Oedipus was so power hungry that he ended up destroying himself and after he finds out the truth that he really did marry his mother and kill his father, he gauges his own eyes out and lives in shame.

An example of another hero that we did not discuss in class is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a former President of the USA. He demonstrated great strength in leading the country and getting us out of the Great Depression, a tremendous feat. In addition to this he was stricken by Polio and was in a wheelchair but still overcame this and demonstrated the strength to lead the country in a tremendous fashion anyway.

When we were discussing what makes a good tragic hero in our groups, the terms such as hubris, hamartia, irony, and catharsis stuck out to us. All these terms contribute to the plight of a good tragic hero. When we were discussing the movie, The Matrix, the biggest term that stuck out to us was the irony of Thomas Anderson’s story. For example, he spent most of his life as a computer programmer, but ironically he is hired by another individual to fight these intelligent machines that have taken over the Earth.

When I first learned the characteristics of what makes a good tragic hero, I thought of the actor, Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger was a superior actor. He was well known for his performances in The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain. He received numerous awards for his controversial roles in movies – such as the crazy Joker in Batman and a gay cowboy in Brokeback. Thus, he was known in Hollywood for his expertise in acting. Unfortunately, his death was a tragedy, but ironic at the same time. Many speculated that the cause of his death was his role as the Joker in the Dark Knight. Many of his close friends said that he tried to become so much like the Joker, that ironically, the excess of pills he took – because of the the stress and depression of trying to fit the role – ended his life. Unfortunately, his death would probably not have occurred if he had not accepted the role of the Joker. Thus, his desire to delve into controversial roles ended up being his hamartia or “tragic flaw”. People in Hollywood, such as fellow actors and actresses, pitied his death, but also feared that something similar might happen to them if they too followed the same career route that he did.

I think the most interesting aspect of a tragic hero we have discussed is the concept of hamartia. We feel more compelled to follow a hero’s story by allowing a hero to have some characteristic that makes them seem human, as if their abilities aren’t so far out of reach. A fatal flaw makes a character interesting because it takes away the notion of immortality and leaves the story open for suspense or anticipation of the climax and fall.

I recently barreled through the first three seasons of “The Walking Dead” on Netflix. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show, the plot (based off of a comic book series) follows a group of survivors as they fight for their lives in a quasi post-apocalyptic world where an infectious disease turns the deceased into zombies. The leader of the group, Rick Grimes, assumes the role of hero based on his authority among the other survivors.

Rick has multiple flaws which develop and change over the course of different seasons. In season 1, Rick struggles with indecisiveness, often allowing his compassion and moral compass to guide his judgment rather than the basic idea of survival. The audience sees his viewpoint shift slowly, as he knows his morality must ultimately be sacrificed if he is to keep the group alive. By season, his flaw has changed. He has developed a better sense of survival, however, as the deaths of members of the group continue to plague his conscience, Rick begins to allow his anger  to overpower his emotions, and cloud his rational thought.

During class today while talking about tragic hero’s, a unique character came to my mind.  Paul Vitti from the film “Analyze This” actually fit the profile quiet well.  The movie itself is not a drama so much as a comedy one could argue, but at its core it illustrates all requirements for a tragic hero.  Within this film Robert DeNiro’s character, Paul Vitti, is a feared Mafia Don that seeks out a therapist to help solve his anxiety attacks.  Throughout the film there are several comedic scenes that ultimately lead up to his exiting of the illegal underworld.

Within the requirements for a tragic hero are that they must be superior to the average man, must evoke both fear and pity, suffer due to hamartia, and ultimately suffer at the hands of irony.  Although Paul Vitti’s results could be argued to be positive, ultimately he ends up in prison for them and get his therapist (Billy Crystal) shot.  Vitti is superior to the average due to his power and influence throughout New York and within the mafia world which is quite explanatory with his title.  He also attracts both fear and pity.  Fear due to his position and profession within a Mafia family; and he attracts pity throughout the movie as the audience learns more about his past and the things that make do the things he does.  Ultimately, by the end of the movie the audience feels for Vitti and will more than likely support his decisions.  Throughout the movie, Vitti, suffers from his reputation and pride.  He even states his flaws throughout the movie and the image the he must maintain for not only himself but for his “family.”  At the end of the movie the audience finds out the truth about why Vitti originally sought out a therapist, to cope with the fear that he may be killed in front of his son like his father was in front of him; which again brings the audience to support Vitti.  However, as stated his decisions get a lot of people killed, gets him into prison, and gets his therapist shot.

While I was not in a small group today to discuss specific heroes, through reviewing my notes from yesterday and my understanding of the prompt, the terms we have discussed in class apply lead me to label Bill Clinton as a modern day tragic hero.  Under the Clinton administration, the United States saw extreme economic improvement. Most frequently I hear that “Clinton balanced the nation’s checkbook,” which made him hero in the eyes of many.  Additionally, people often appreciate a humanizing characteristic of those who they deem as heroes, as we discussed in class. Some could argue that his infamous confession regarding marijuana, in which “I did not inhale” became the infamous tagline, humanized him to many Americans.

However, his extramarital affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky led to his decline in popularity and ultimate impeachment by the House of Representatives. He allowed his power and position to control him and he grew very prideful and really believed he would not get caught cheating. My opinion on why he had the affair (extreme power and pride) exemplifies hubris. His hamartia is the actual affair with Monica Lewinsky.  After details of his affair were discussed publically, Clinton lost a great deal of respect and admiration from the American population. It only grew worse when he lied under oath and obstructed justice to conceal his wrongdoing. After that, it was a steady downhill turn for the Clinton administration, an example of catharsis.

My group discussed Martin Luther King Jr. as a tragic hero. MLK did not suffer from hubris because he put the well being of others before the well being of himself. He did not bask in the attention he received from the things he was doing or promote himself as a great person or example. He merely did what he thought was right and peacefully disobeyed man’s law because he followed God’s. MLK’s hamartia was the fact that he always put everyone else before himself regardless of the risk involved. Even after several assassination attempts he still did not take precautions to protect himself. While putting others before oneself is not a flaw it did ultimately lead to his murder.

MLK’s monomyth was his entire life and times. He was a reverend and he might not have known he was going to help lead a major movement in history but it was what he was destined to do. While I do not know the complete extensive history of MLK I’m sure there were times in his life were he doubted himself. MLK’s monomyth was not complete until he was killed because that is when his message and following became the strongest. I think MLK’s catharsis was the moment when he decided to start taking the steps he did towards desegregating the nation. His life and the way he saw the world was never the same after that.

Fat Albert is a good example of a tragic hero. He was superior to the average man in that he was a very large kid but he had a bigger heart than the average kid. He always stood up for others and was constantly solving peoples’ problems for them. It could be anything from how to play baseball to not having any friends. He evoked pity from people because he was so fat and bullies feared him because he was a voice for those who could not speak up for themselves. His tragic flaw mirrored MLK’s in that he would go to any length to stand up for others. He faced humiliation and even physical abuse from the meanest bullies but he never backed down. He suffered from situational irony in his television shows and movie because the viewers would often know things about his situation he did not.

Today, during our class period we all discussed multiple factors that define a hero. Some of those qualities are hubris, hamartia, monomyth, catharsis, and fate. My group decided that Neo from the Matrix was a great choice for an epic hero; our reason being that he has some major qualities that affect him, such as monomyth and fate. Monomyth because he endures a great journey and his sacrifice benefitted the greater good. Fate is also a major factor with Neo because his entire life was destined for him to be the chosen one to serve retribution and save mankind. He had absolutely no control over his future because it was already pre-determined. Although, he accepted his fate and became the hero he was destined to be, even at the cost of his life.

                Neo is above the common man because he is and will always be the chosen one whose future contained the absolution for all of the machines that had dark intentions. While he is indeed an epic hero, I believe that he is also a tragic hero. Though he was the chosen one who was meant to deliver the human race, it was at the cost of his life that it would be accomplished

Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) in The Butterfly Effect, I think plays a different sort of tragic hero. He fits the criteria in differing ways and is a hero in an aspect most people may not call heroic. He is certainly superior to the average man in that he has the ability to concentrate on a certain event in his life with the mind he has as an adult, and change the future. However he finds out after attempting to get his life, and the life of his friends perfect, that changing 1 thing will ruin multiple other things. Seems like a very tragic way to live. The audience feels pity for Evan because he goes through mentally and physically ill phases every time he changes his life. He only tries to help everyone and yet he only makes the life of others worse. The audience feels fear in that we never know the outcome of what has been changed as soon as he goes back in time. Relatives or friends could be dead or have completely different personalities and relationships towards him. The people in the film are also fearful of him because it is such a dangerous ability to have, almost prophet-like. It is a very scary and powerful concept. His hamartia is his inability to let history be, especially with his love interest and life long friend Kayleigh. He does not realize that we all have 1 life to live, so the decisions we make are permanent and carve our paths. As attractive as changing history for a better life is, it takes him many tries to realize this. By the end of the movie he suffers from irony because he learns that although he has tried to change and improve Kayleigh’s life many times, the best life for every one involved is for he and her to have no relationship at all. Pretty tragic if I do say so myself.

In class today my group discussed Batman as the hero specifically in the second movie the Dark Night . We discussed in our group why we thought he was such a great hero, yet also discussed many of the sacrifices he had to give up to make sure that the city and people of gotham were as safe as they could be. In class we talked about various terms that can be related to these heroes, one major thing that I can relate to batman is fate. Batman was madly in love with the character Rachel in the dark night. However due to the fact that Batman had the role of saving gotham and being known as Gotham cities “Hero”, he had to make the sacrifice of a social life of any kind. That being said I think that it was fate that Rachel ends up dieing and Batman doesn’t get to have the love of his life after all because that was never his primary purpose in life while saving the city of Gotham was.

A modern hero that comes to my mind immediately when I think of a Hero is Rosa Parks. Rosa parks was an African American Civil rights activist who changed the lives of african americans forever. Rosa Parks had a lot of pride and self confidence which is otherwise known as hubris being able stand up for the african american people by refusing to get up from her seat because she was in the wrong section of the bus. By doing this she let out a release of emotion or catharis standing up not only for herself and to this bus driver, but for all of the African American people in the early 20th century. Overall I would consider Rosa Parks as an Epic hero because she will always be admired for her great achievements and will always be known for her bravery and courage.