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A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. ” Aristotle A tragic hero is someone great, but not perfect. He or she walks towards his or her own death. The Heroes downfall is a result of the hero’s actions and decisions. However, his misfortune is usually is not deserved and is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. This error or frailty can be illustrated as his tragic flaw, or his hamaratia. The tragic heroes own destruction is sometimes for a greater cause or principle.
In a sense, his destruction truly makes him a hero because it results in greater knowledge and awareness which benefits the greater good. Often, the tragic hero tends to be somebody who is either born into nobility or has gained respect and stature through his ideas and actions. Furthermore, Aristotle establishes that” The change of fortune should be not from bad to good, but, reversely, from good to bad. ” Aristotle also establishes that the hero has to be “virtuous” that is to say he has to be ‘a morally blameless man.
A tragic flaw represents a flaw in a character of tragedy, where the flaw ultimately leads to the character’s downfall. The hero must not deserve his misfortune; however it can be brought on by an error or frailty. This error, may involve the flaw and imperfection of the character, but this flaw shall not change the fact that he or she must still be regarded as morally blameless. The downfall that was brought on by the characters flaw and his fatal decision caused the inevitable downfall of the character.