- Aristotle

"A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall."

TRAGIC HERO CHARACTERISTICS1. His downfall is usually due to excessive pride (hubris) or another flaw in his character which both aids and harms him.

2. He is doomed from the start. He bears no responsibility for possessing his flaw but bears responsibility for his actions.

3. He has discovered his fate by his own actions and not by things happening to him. 4. He is usually a king, a leader of men - his fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or number of people. Peasants do not inspire pity and fear as great men do. His sudden fall from greatness to nothing provides a sense of contrast. 5. The suffering of the hero must not be senseless: it must have meaning!

Tragic Hero Characteristics

6. The heroes of classical tragedies are almost all male: one rare exception is Cleopatra from Antony and Cleopatra. 7. The hero is neither good nor bad. The audience should be able to connect with/identify with him. 8. The hero should face his tragic end with honor.

Tragic Hero Characteristics

My Tragic Hero: Bart Simpson

Flaw: Pride/PerfectionismHis high-standing: Homer has become the

CEO of the Nuclear power plant. Through nepotism Bart is made a high level engineer entrusted with the emergency shutdown procedures.

His flaw helping him: When kept after school, he spends a crazy amount of time perfectly writing the sentence over and over again until it fills the board. The teacher is so impressed he never has to stay after school again.

My Tragic Hero: Bart Simpson

His flaw leading to tragedy: When taking notes during his emergency shutdown engineer training, he does not focus on what he is writing but on how perfect he can write it. Therefore, he misses a good chunk of what he needs to know when an emergency happens.

The tragic end: When an earthquake hits Springfield, he does not know what to do and redirects a toxic cloud directly to his family’s mansion. When he comes home he finds all his family dead. His perfectionist nature kicks in again and he must sit his family down on the couch in front of the tv like the sit every night. In positioning their bodies Bart is poisoned and slows dies on the couch with the rest of his family.

Now Make Yours!

1. Fictional character from popular culture.2. Give your character a flaw that could

both help him and hurt him.3. Create a high-standing for your

character.4. Create an example of the flaw helping

the character.5. Create an example of the flaw leading to

the character’s tragic end.6. Create a tragic end for your character.