A Tragic Hero in Aristotle Definition Essay Example for Free

A Tragic Hero in Aristotle Definition Essay The word tragedy is when an event ends in misfortune. However, when the word tragedy is put in context within a play or a story it is a story circling around a protagonist who is of high power and stature. A tragedy is usually the development of a protagonist whose in conflict with a more superior force; the superior forces that the protagonist could be faced with is his destiny, free will and the Gods that rule over them. The end of a tragedy is usually the protagonist whose in a state of deterioration in which he loses everything. A tragic hero is meant to define his fate by himself, usually by actions that he inflicts on himself which then lead him to wreck his own life. Aristotle is considered as one of the many ancient influential philosophers there is and therefore his view of Oedipus being an ideal tragic hero is considered as highly powerful in the world of literature. Aristotle defines tragedy as the conflict between humans being good yet being defeated by reality as their actions done with good intentions can actually bring back outcomes that were not initially wanted. In the play Oedipus by Sophocles, Oedipus is classed as a classic tragic hero by Aristotle for many of the characteristics he possesses. According to Aristotles definition of a tragic hero; the tragic hero has to be realistic, true to life, consistent and true to themselves, consistent within the context of the narrative and has to make errors of judgement throughout the play but the results of what has been done should be the opposite of what was initially intended. A tragic hero should be able to arouse feelings of pity and fear; this is because, the feeling of pity is aroused by our deep sympathy for someone whose life is falling out of place whereas that person is neither too good nor too evil to have deserved such a misfortune, and the feeling of fear is aroused by the sheer horror that such a tragedy can fall upon anyone regardless of their stature. According to Aristotles definition Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a man of great power and influence over the city he rules and his life begins to deteriorate in front of everyones eyes as he goes on a quest to find out who he is. Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be the one to cause their own downfall in which Oedipus persistently decides to carry on asking questions about his origins. Also, the tragic heros fate is not deserved and his punishment exceeds his wrongdoings and  that a tragic hero must be someone important and influential and he must be someone who makes an error of judgement. This error of judgement is seen when Oedipus forces Tiresias in anger to answer his questions of who his parents are, â€Å"Who? Wait; who are my parents?†, it is Oedipuss own mistake in forcing answers in which he does not wish to hear or know.

Dracula as the Persecuted Outsider in Bram Stokers Dracula Essay

Dracula as the Persecuted Outsider in Bram Stoker's Dracula Bram Stoker's Dracula is highly acclaimed and has received many different interpretations which deal with complex symbolisms and metaphors. These interpretations often require a great deal of knowledge in psychology, political science, anthropology, and other non-literary disciplines. These interpretations may be valid, as they are related to the disciplines on which their arguments are based, but the true power of the novel is due to a very simple theme that lies beneath the other, more convoluted interpretations. This theme is the universal concept of identity: us versus them. This criticism sets aside outside disciplines and focuses on the literary motif of identity. John Allen Stevenson gives an in-depth criticism of this work based mostly on anthropological ideas, but he states that Dracula is a representation of "fears that are more universal than a specific focus on the Victorian background would allow" (141). He brings up the concept of "universal" ideas but fails to pursue t hem on a universal scale. The truly universal theme involves the perception that Dracula is a monster. But Dracula is not a monster - he is simply a persecuted outsider. In this interpretation, it is important to seperate the actions of the characters from what those actions represent in relation to the theme of identity. Count Dracula is shown to be a vampire - a monster who engages in horrific, violent acts, but these acts of violence are merely Stoker's vehicle for presenting the difference between the Count and the other characters. His vampirish actions are not to be taken literally. "Dracula" is not a work of fantasy - it is primarily a realistic novel with one fantastic charact... ...safe once Dracula left, but the pursuit and slaying of him represents society's wish to remove him entirely from their minds. The killing of Dracula is not literal--he is only dead to society because they refuse to acknowledge his right to be different. Thus, Dracula is the victim of this story, not the ones society felt he victimized. Works Cited Arata, Stephen D. "The Occidental Tourist: Dracula and the Anxiety of Reverse Colonization." Victorian Studies 33.4 (Sum. 1990) : 621-45. Stevenson, John Allen. "A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula." PMLA 103 (1988) : 139-49. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992. Wasson, Richard. "The Politics of Dracula." English Literature in Transition 9 (1966) : 24-27. Zanger, Jules. "A Sympathetic Vibration: Dracula and the Jews." English Literature in Transition 34 (1991) : 33-44.

Tim O’Brien

This paper examines the life of the American born, Tim O'Brien and affirms how his life influenced his writing techniques. William Timothy, the first of three children, well known as Tim O'Brien is an American Veteran writer, born on October 1, 1946, in Austin, Minnesota, United States of America (Herzog 14). He grew up in Worthington, a small shielded community near the borders of Iowa and South Dakota. He described himself as a vivid reader when he was young and had a thrilling interest in books and magic trick were evident realities on his storytelling power. This can also be linked to his parents who were enthusiastic readers. In other words, O'Brien must have learned some reading secrets from his parents when he was young. Some of his short and electrifying stories include, â€Å"The things they carried† as well as other classic novels like the war novel, going after Cacciato produced in1978, which indeed made him known best for his writing experience about Vietnam War (Raymond 102). Worthington town similarly played a significant role in nurturing his thoughts while developing the artistic sensibility of his life as an author. He attended Macalester College in 1968 and awarded bachelor's degree in Political Science. During his time in the institution, he was elected and served as the president of the student's union in college. Contrary to his criticisms against war, Tim O'Brien was recruited into United States Army and then sent to Vietnam where he served for two years. Following his return from the military service, he resumed his studies and graduated from Harvard University. He then worked shortly as an intern, national affairs reporter at Washington Post up to May 1974. The war experience he gained from his two-year combat inspired his chief publication, titled If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me up and Ship Me Home. O'Brien's history clearly reveals the depression and misery wrecked on soldiers by the Vietnam War. His mythical work, the things they curried of 1990, (O'Brien 816) is a combination of memoirs and fictitious stories in which he used the philosophical concepts of Verisimilitude to blurs the distinctions between two realms of the facts and the fictions in a unique way (Conan 2010). He incorporated the metaphysical approach attribute in his writing that flavored the quality of his stories. In his story, he discusses the distinction between ‘story-truth', the truth of fiction and ‘happening-truth', the truth of facts. From his works, Timothy suggests story truth is emotional truth thus the feelings generated by a fictional story is at times truer that what results from reading the facts thus making the literature more meaningful. Additionally, O'Brien wrote numerous novels based on the war experience he obtained in the US Army. He earned the 1979 National Book Award for his works on Northern Lights published in1975 and Going after Cacciato of 1978. The Northern Lights novel discusses two brothers against each other as foils in which one brother went to Vietnam and the other failed to. (Raymond 99) Through this, the brothers learned to struggle and comprehend each one's values and motives. Following his extraordinary influence of Joseph Conrad's works, he modified Conrad's concepts of human aptitude for good and evil in his literary works. In his works, O'Brien propounded timeless matter of the subject and its thematic range. He believed in his introversive idea, that literary works not only focus on the current affairs but also anticipates what the future holds for humankind, (Smith 34). Nuclear Age, which was published in 1985 was the third O'Brien's novel of his literary works and describes much from his personal experience. His expertise in creating an amusing look at the serious subject protagonist, a middle-aged man who grew under an atomic umbrella, and suffered severely from paranoia over the prospect of nuclear war and finds comfort in digging a hole in his backyard attempting to burry and quiet all the imaginations that antagonized him. O'Brien demonstrated this being the real fear and threat of the bomb.His creativity in writing approach of war blending fact and fiction is comparable to other technical war writers like Michael Herr and inspired eminent figures such as Truman Capote, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe. However, key elements of his works encompass the categorization and fascination of emotional subject matters. Owing to this traits, his fictional works are therefore considered to have made an immense impact on the readers of his novels. Other O'Brien's electrifying works are The Nuclear Age, published in 1985, In the Lakes of The Woods of 1994, Tomcat in Love of 1998 and July, July that was published in 2000, which took the world of literature with a storm. In a span of two years, O'Brien's short stories The things they curried, was first published in Esquire and in return, it received the 1987 National Magazine Award Fiction. The short story was again selected for 1987, best American Short story. The lake of Woods forms another interesting novel written by O'Brien and published in 1994. It took O'Brien's works into greater heights by agitating much on guilt, culpability, complicity and the moral courage, (Bates 265). He invents his protagonist John Wade, who is also a Vietnam veteran, aspiring to win a senatorial election seat. He later lost slightly as charges on his complicity in the Lai massacre became known during his campaign trail. O'Brien raises larger inquiries about the fallouts of war and its consequences after the fighting has ceased and the participants returned home. He wore James Fenimire Cooper Prize from the Society of American Historians and was selected as the best novel of 1994 by Times Magazine. His most recent Novel, Tomcat in Love, O'Brien generated a Veteran Vietnam protagonist, Tom chippering through a love subject contrary to war. O'Brien describes this as a comic novel about a politically incorrect hero, who was sexy. He strongly believed that his lovers will love the book, and his fans, the so-called junkies, the people who appreciate his writings liked it. He alludes that this was his best book ever and it stole the hearts of many who could not do without reading the novel. In conclusion, O'Brien has won several prestigious awards in his many fictional works and worth being called a veteran in the writing field. His experience in writing the short story novels are highly acknowledged. He is a master of creative storytelling, a manipulator of literary form and one of the most challenging authors in his time with an ample content. His major contributions include the Nuclear Age, In the Lake of Woods, Tomcat in Love and July, July of 20000 More recently, he received $100,000 with the Pritxker Military Library Literature Award. Currently, he teaches at the Texas State University-San Marcos.

What Does Ethnicity Affect A Person s Identity - 1735 Words

In a multicultural society like the United State, people are often defined by their ethnicity and background rather than their characteristics. It is often difficult to look past a person’s ethnicity because many people make these assumptions in their head before even knowing the person. This issue leads to the question to what extent ethnicity affects a person’s identity in the United States. I believe that ethnic background plays a big role in determining a person’s identity in the United States, these assumptions create phenomenon like institutionalized racism, redlining, and racial scripts. I conducted interviews with a Japanese American and a Mexican American to see how their ethnicity has affected them when it comes to interaction with other people. I am interested to see how big of an impact would being a model minority or being stuck in negative stereotype affect how they are treated. Through these interviews I believe that it will show how big of a role ethnicity plays in a person’s identity in a multicultural society. For the past decades, Japanese Americans have been considered as model minorities because of how well they assimilated into the United States culture and how they are financially stable (source). On the other hand, Mexican have a more difficult time with dealing with the American people. Mexican were racially scripted, meaning that they got the negative stereotypes from the African Americans (source). Statistically, they are not as economicallyShow MoreRelatedEssay about Race and Ethnicity in Social Sciences877 Words   |  4 PagesUse of the Terms Race and Ethnicity in the Social Sciences Defining identity can be complex and therefore we have to investigate the factors involved that make us who we are and how we are seen by others, collectively or individually. 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