РефератыИностранный языкTrTragic Figure Essay Essay Research Paper According

Tragic Figure Essay Essay Research Paper According

Tragic Figure Essay Essay, Research Paper


According to Aristotle, a tragic figure is a human yet


better; having a misapprehension in circumspection which


causes a decline from a pinnacle; and claiming victory by


realizing their mistakes. The main characters in Medea and


Hippolytus, both Greek tragedies written by Euripides;


Oedipus, a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles; and Desire


Under the Elms, a twentieth century tragedy written by


Eugene O Neil are all great examples of tragic figures.


Each character, Medea, Hippolytus, Oedipus, and Abbie


exemplifies the definition of a tragic figure in his or her


own way. However, all four characters possesses a


strength which makes them better than the average person;


each character has a personal flaw or misstep that leads to


their downfall; and Oedipus and Abbie claim final victory


where as Medea and Hippolytus do not.


The Strength of Medea, Hippolytus, Oedipus, and


Abbie are exhibited in numerous ways. One of the


strengths that all of the characters share is determination.


The characters share this quality because, Medea was


determined to get revenge on Jason; Hippolytus was


determined to let his father know the truth; Oedipus was


determined to find the killer of Lauis; and Abbie was


determined to own the farm. Medea s and Abbie s


determination for selfish reasons. Medea proclaims, If I


can find the means or devise any scheme to pay my


husband for what he has done to me… This quote shows


how resolved Medea is to repay Jason. Abbie s


ascertainment is used to mostly to get material entities,


Abbie states how she only married Cabot for a home in the


following, Waal-what if I did need a hum? What else d I


marry a old man like him fur? This reference shows how


determined she was to marry just for material things. Now,


in the case of Hippolytus and Oedipus, their determination


was for the good of the family or country. In the tragedy


Hippolytus, Hippolytus pronounces to his father, Nor am


I, father, one that mocks his fellows, but loyal in their


absence as their sight; and above all, untouched by that one


sin of which you would convict me. To this day my flesh


is virgin. Hippolytus is telling his father, Theseus, the


truth and does so throughout the play. Similarly Oedipus


determination is for the good of the country. Oedipus


country is under a plague and he enumerates, I fight in his


defense as for my father, and I shall try all means to take


the murderer of Lauis the son of Labdacus the son of


Polydorus and before him of Cadmus and before him of


Agenor. Those who do not obey me, may the gods grant


no crops springing from the ground they plow nor children


to their women! Here, Oedipus is showing his persistence


to finding the murderer Lauis. These strengths may seem


worthy of recognition, but it is these strengths that lead to


their downfall.


The act of leaving their native home takes a toll on


Medea and Oedipus. But for Abbie it was her love for


Eben; and Hippolytus pride caused him to fall hard. After


leaving her home, Colchis, to marry Jason, she regrets her


actions. Medea declares, Oh, my father! Oh, my country!


In what dishonor I left you, killing my own brother for it,


In saying this Medea shows her agony for leaving Colchis


and marring the cowardly Jason. In Comparison


Oedipus left his home in order to avoid his fate. Oedipus


fled his town because of this, I was fated to lie with my


mother, and show to daylight an accursed breed which men


would not endure, and I was doo

med to be murderer of the


father who begot me. When I heard this I fled, and in the


days that followed I would measure from the stars the


whereabouts of Corinth-yes, I fled to somewhere where I


should not see fulfilled the infamies told in dreadful


oracle. On the other hand Abbie s misstep was falling in


love with Eben. This is her blunder because Eben is her


stepson and she tells him, Don t git feelin low. I love ye,


Eben. Kiss me. Now, as for Hippolytus, his


superciliousness causes him to repudiate Phaedra, thus,


causing her to kill herself. Hippolytus divulges, Curse


you! No never can I utter all my loathing of women!


Hippolytus is letting his pride come out and is speaking out


of disgust in this quote. These missteps may have seemed


like a good idea at the time but they all lead the characters


into calamity.


All of the characters eventually decline from their


social status. Hippolytus, Oedipus, and Medea were all


exiled from their countries, Abbie s downfall can be


compared with the other, but instead of ostracism from her


country; she is sent jail. Hippolytus is exiled because


Theseus, his father, believes he slept with his wife,


Phaedra. Theseus declares to Hippolytus, Yet not you


shall die!-Not by the penalty thus self-invoked (For speedy


death is kindest for the wretched); But as a beggared


outcast from your home. Oedipus is banished from his


land for the murder of Lauis and to relieve the country of


the plague. Oedipus cries, Drive me from here with all


the speed you can to where I may not hear a human voice.


Oedipus lamenting is due to the fact he is the cause of the


plague and the murderer of Lauis, whom he promised to rid


the city of. of course, Creon, being daunted for the lives of


himself and his daughter, he exiles Medea. Creon


expounds, Medea, I order you along with your two


children, and not to waste time doing it. As for Abbie, she


is not exiled but she is sentenced to jail for the murder of


her son.


When a tragic figure recognizes his or her wrong


doings they assert personal triumph. Not all tragic figures


claim this victory, Medea and Hippolytus are perfect


examples. Hippolytus never realized that it was his anger


that sent Phaedra over the edge. As for Medea, she


murders a great number of people including her


immaculate sons. Medea ruminated about desecrating


Jason so much, she really didn t have a conscious. On the


opposition, Oedipus and Abbie are true tragic figures.


They both realize what they have done wrong and is


willing to face the consequences. Abbie realizes she has


committed the worst crime and sin; she asks for


forgiveness and accepts her punishment. I ve got t take


my punishment-t pay fur my sin… she proclaims before


getting in the sheriff s car. Oedipus, like Abbie, also


realizes his crime and utters, But the hand that struck me


was none but my own. Oedipus says this because he


notices that it was his own doings that brought him this


pain and disharmony.


All of the tragic figures ventilated had similarities and


yet diverged in countless ways. Each character possesses a


strength, but the strength is used in different ways; each has


a flaw, and each flaw and fall deviates; and two out of the


four recognize their wrong, which lets them claim victory


that is not same. Tragic figures can be very complex yet


simplistic once studied. In today s society the actions of


Medea, Hippolytus, Oedipus, and Abbie would be justified


by a psychiatrist as a lack of attention or love.

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