Tragic Hero

          

Assignment: Paper No. - 04

Name: Patel kavita

Topic: Tragic Hero

Roll No. – 11

Semester: III

Batch: 2011- 12

Tragic Hero

‘Tragic Hero’ is a literary term and specially applied to tragedy. The term is used for Greek literature and especially it is associated with great three dramatists: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Aristotle has broadly defined the term with special reference to Greek Tragedy. Let’s discuss, what is tragic Hero? What are the characteristic of Tragic Hero? How can we apply Tragic Hero to Greek Dramas?

 The term Tragic Hero is relevant to Modern Hero of   the drama. What types of circumstances do make the character Tragic? The Greek terms like Catharsis, Hamartia, Anagnorisis, Peripetiea, are deeply rooted in Tragic Hero.

  The action makes Hero Tragic. So, there should be a mistake or fault. Such a fault is always portrayed by action not by character. Without action there cannot be a Tragedy in the life of the character. Tragedy always happens, if the character has any evil, too much goodness, lack of taking good judgments, pride or over-confidence, etc. So, Tragic Hero should have certain good and evil qualities. He should have the amalgam of goodness and badness. Then and then, conflict takes place.

  Tragic Hero is always looked like serious, sad, conscious and hasty. Aristotle says about Hero of the Play that the Tragic Hero should be from Royal class, aristocratic family. There may be a reason behind it. Higher categorized Hero that tragedy always has strong effect if main character is from high pedestal then and then fall is taken place. The commonness in the character does not raise that much tragic effect as portrayed in “Death of a Salesman”.  There should be an awful end and it should raise two important emotions like pity and fear among the audience. In Aristotelian concept the Tragic Hero must fall from height of prosperity and glory. M.H. Abrams remarks:

                “…He is thoroughly good nor thoroughly

   Bad but a mixture of both; and also that

           This tragic effect will be stronger if the

              Hero is ‘better than we are.’ in the sense

      That he is of higher than ordinary moral worth.”

According to Aristotle, there should be four prime characteristics of Tragic Hero. He is good, must be appropriate to the character, a realistic and must be consistent. By good, Aristotle means that he should have a moral purpose. There should be appropriateness in his character.

Aristotle observes four attributes that are

                            i.            The hero must not purely a virtuous and true to life.

                       ii.      He should not be totally bad person. But there should not be 

          a combination of good qualities and bad qualities.

                       iii.            He is a rather good man that comes to bad end.

                       iv.             He should be a purely a virtuous and thoroughly bad.

   

      In ‘Hamlet’ the character speaks,

“To be or not be, that’s the question.’

Here, ‘to be’ is Hamlet’s morality while ‘not to be’ is his badness. Because he wanted to accomplish his goal of taking vengeance, to kill Claudius was moral task that was given by his father while not to kill is like a sin that Hamlet makes him free. 

‘The misfortune’ always is a remarkable phenomenon in the great vista of Greek drama. The people used to believe in destiny at that time so that they showed on the stage.

Now, we acquainted of characteristic tragic hero according to Aristotle that he must be of high rank and royal person. And what the king or prince of high rank makes a mistake and he is punished harshly, is dramatized.

There should be a sudden panic, dangers, sadness, solemnity, sensational incidents and at the end there is ultimate death.

There is one striking feature to be discussed is Aristotle believes that character are not important but actions are more important. In The Oedipus Rex, there is a sign of something suspicious that would have been taken place but it remains mystery. Gradually it is revealed and creates tragic emotion among the victimized character. For example in this play, Tierasias reveals the truth but does not directly discloses it speaks in round and round, see following dialogues,

“I pity you; for one day men will taunt you with

These very words!”

“The only person plotting against you is you yourselves.”

Such dialogues are very striking, commendable and highly serious. The dramatist has gradually creates tragic solution of murder of the king Laius.

Tragic hero of Greek drama is always moved from good to bad end because he is rather a good man. There is an undue pride in Oedipus when he announces certain orders. Even there is also great proud with humbleness in his dialogues,

“My people, you came to me to ask for help

You, if you listen to me, and do as I common you.”

In tragic drama there is an indication at the beginning of the story. It catches more effect of tragedy of the hero and at end it takes the figure of tragedy. The hero’s fault is now clarifies and because of his acceptance of his fault and punishment to himself leads towards the great affliction of life that is unbearable

Sometime, except his fault, other external things play a vital role. They are common people, his own relatives, messengers, chorus, etc. they are surrounded by him and make a serious impact on king’s tragedy.

There are for Greek terms which are deeply associated with tragedy and tragic hero. Hamartia, catharsis, Peripatiea and Anagnorisis are applied to tragedy. These whole terms work in the triangle figure of beginning, climax and end, see following figure

Beginning---Judgment---Hamartia---Climax--- Anagnorisis---

Falling---End

       Hamartia can be translated as a “tragic flow or error of judgment”. Even if the hero is purely virtuous man then we find the lack of fear or horror. But the hero is a mixture of both the qualities then somewhere he will make a blunder and this blunder may be because of his innocent or forgetting something. Aristotle asserts that three kinds of plot should be avoided.        

       i.            First, the plot in while a good person is going to misery from happiness since such events seem more odious than fearful or pitiable.

     ii.            Second, the plot in which a bad man going to misery from happiness because he does not arouses our pity and fear and appeals to none of our emotion.

  iii.            Third, in which a bad person going to misery from happiness, since it will also not arouse the feeling of pity and fear.

             The striking point to be discussed is that when tragic hero falls from his fortune becomes like a common man. Then and then we feel pity and fear toward him because we see ourselves in him and also feel that thank god we are not replaced by him and made a serious mistake of life. Otherwise we might have a serious as well as terrible end. This is called Hamartia or ‘hubris’.

Peripetiea and Anagnorisis are two essential features in the play. They are closely related to each other. Anagnorisis is a very indispensable device in all work of literature in which hero realizes what he is after all. The self-realization and discovery reveal of the fact are the closely meaning of Anagnorisis. When this device comes the hero cannot endure the reality. He feels sad and anguished. Same thing happens in Antigone or Oedipus.

Such an Anagnorisis comes at the climax and it is handled by chorus or other elderly experienced group of people or it may by one person or we can say that prophet are themselves an Anagnorisis that makes known to the king that Oedipus is a traitor of the state by mistake .so we can say that not circumstance but man himself is an Anagnorisis.

Peripatiea is a device or term that is outcome of Anagnorisis is most effective when it is connected with Peripatiea. M.H.Abrams puts that

“It is a reversal in his fortune from happiness to disaster.”

One can say that it is also the evils of circumstance that lead him from good to bad or bad to good. With Anagnorisis, it also occurs at the climax of the play. It is promoted by it (Anagnorisis). It is the turning point the action. It is a reversal fortune. Where does the hero become tragic?  The answer is that Peripatiea is stronger than the efforts of the hero. The tragic hero realizes that he is not good thoroughly but bad also.

To wrap up, the tragic hero is not really tragic but external conflict and misfortunes accuse him of being tragic. Destiny moulds his tragic character from happy to sad. So at end, can we say that tragic hero really a hero? Can we put it relevant to modern play? The difference behind ancient Greek dramas and modern dramas is that the ancient hero is at only one fault while the modern common hero is at so many mistakes. So these are the reversal qualities of tragic hero and various dramatic devices that are second side of him.

“Gulliver’s Travels” – An allegorical satire

 Assignment: Paper No. - 04

Topic: “Gulliver’s Travels” – as an allegorical satire”

Name: Patel  Kavita

Roll No. – 11

Semester: II

Batch: 2011- 12

         “Gulliver’s Travels” – An allegorical satire

“Swift was a wild beast that worried and baited all mankind….”

Said Compton and Rickett in the book “The History of English Literature”. Pramod K. Nayak marks, “Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels is a sarcastic account of such journeys to different parts of the earth.”

The novel deals with human nature at every moment in life. The novel has lots of images that we can say the novel of satire and moral tale, an imaginary account of strange and wonderful lands, and therein lie its real charm, one of the most delightful of children’s books, an attractive fiction with a utopian concept, or a neurotic phantacy, ‘a pseudo-realistic narrative and a playfulness of fancy’ says Compton and Rickett, or at last a short story of numerous endeavors of common human being named Gulliver.

One should focus on the other side of the novel. Not only is a medium of ultimate delight but it also the novel of great sarcastic remark of whole human being, caustic attack men, great hatred towards human weakness, misanthropy toward the whole human kind, irony on human frailty and mockery on human beings’ existence and so many other things. These all points are the butts of Swift himself to satirize people and especially people of England who are in the field of Politics. Swift has possessed a very gigantic satirist among the novelists and master of irony and satire.

Our main concern about this book is an allegorical satire on contemporary leaders, Swift’s foes like Walpole, Anne, etc. Let’s have a look on the term like allegory, satire and iron.

     Generally speaking, an allegory means a curtain or a wall that people have on their faces. If this curtain is removed, we can know what is the reality and fact of life. Indirectly to speak or explain is called Allegory. To put it into practice, the novelist always uses an object like animals, any infinite thing or sometimes human being also. M.H.Abrams observes,

“An allegory is a narrative, whether in prose

Or verse, in which the agents and actions, and

Sometimes the setting as well, are contrived by

The author to make coherent sense on the ‘literal’

Or primary, level of significant….”

            In Gulliver’s Travels midgets in initial voyage, giant people I Brobdingnag, animals like human being, old temple, etc are treated like allegory. This is deep and rooted meaning, logic among these things. Sometime animals are allegorized but to play a role of any particular character, novelists take the instances of human being. By the behavior of them we recognize what the matter is. Lilliput is also full of so many satires and ironies, characterization of the emperor of the land, Flimnap, the treasurer, queen are suitable paragons. They represent probably P.M.Walpol, Anne, etc and their behaviors. They are very particular in their behavior. Here, by allegory, Swift makes satire on intrigues and schemes against other political parties, human pride and pretension, evils of taboos in Lilliput are main target of satire.

First two lands in which bidgets and giants are living, suggest that there are the people who are so much narrow-minded as well as frankly that always lead him towards great annihilation. Their lifestyle, way of speaking, clothes, daily affairs and so many other things are deeply allegorized. Even he also ironically remarked of all most all professionals and second class work like bagging, farming, etc according to upper-class people. Swift says,

“I have ever hated all nations, professions, and

Communities but principally I hate and detest

That animal called man…Upon this great

Foundation of misanthropy the whole building

Of my ‘Travels’ is created.”

The tone behind satirizing people sounds like misanthropy. He hates whole human kind because human beings are not really wholesome or truly moral men. They are faulty and followers of evils.

Each and every place, costumes, communication, expressions feelings of four voyages are very much satiric. One can say that Gulliver’s Travels is not simple one but a very lampoon satire on boasted people and pungent satire on hypocrite, is conveyed by Gulliver. We feel that Gulliver himself is Swift who shoots the words towards the people of all four and secondary voyages of the world by making them ridiculous and trivial. I.e. the hideous behaviour of yahoos, sudden attack on Gulliver, style of eating animal flesh shows that Swift is totally against of human nature that indicates he is a misanthropist. He has depicted moral frailty of the people. The sycophancy of the politicians in their efforts to win king’s side by the king of Lilliput is more pin pointed. Flimnap and other characters, narrow-minded communication of the people of first voyage, etc all these things deliberately and allegorically satirized. People have not time to make love to their wives because they are only idealists, philosophers and theorists but nothing more than that. They don’t know what is practicality? The academy of projectors in Lagado is a satire on the kind of useless work which was being done by the royal society in those days. The human longing for immortality is ironically represented... Such all ideas are mentioned by Gulliver and last voyage perhaps very dangerous and horrible for splendid human race because animals are like moral and wholesome and human being like yahoos are animals. The several images are depicted. Throughout the three voyages Gulliver was admirer of people while here he is in favour of Houyhnhnms that are very ideal as well as morally oriented race. This makes disgusting and boring for Gulliver towards his own England.

In addition we can quote M.H.Abrams by saying that Gulliver’s Travels is ‘a satire against Mankind’. Gulliver’s Travels can be described as the weapon of diminishing or derogating a subject by making them much ridiculous and evoking it attitude of amusement that is portrayed in Lilliput. The six inches in height pigmy people, creping under a string in king’s palace, clown or dwarf in Brobdignag and his trivial mentality, laziness of king of Laputa and very ridiculous behaviour of Yahoos  their appetite for food and clothes, contempt, scorn and indignation

Swift’s limitless ambition to mock people is accomplished in Brobdignag, in the palace of the emperor while on another side he hates human being like Yahoos that he is a contradictory character. But a man of principles and ideas like king reminds him that he (Gulliver) is an ‘impotent and groveling insect’ and considers gunpowder as a bloodthirsty and inhuman proposal. He visualizes real image of England by giving mordant and pungent remark,

“….heap of conspiracies, murders, massacre, revolutions,

Banishments, the very worst effects that avarice fiction,

Hypocrisy, perfidiousness, cruelty, rage madness, hatred,

Envy, lust, malice, or ambition could produce….”

Such a great satirical remark on Gulliver shows that Swift himself ironically demerits England have also little in their ideas, thought and ambition. Gulliver is a gullible who is easily humiliated by any person and looks like innocent child before faithful, noble, benevolent people of Brobdignag.

To satirize and criticize whole human society Swift has made people somewhere six inches of height, somewhere like gigantic figures, somewhere more moral and benevolent people and at last in fourth voyage more lecherous and treacherous mentality of Yahoos. These all things sound like diminutive creature living in wild jungle.

Swift, indeed, indirectly criticizes the arrogance of European imperialists who civilize the people through brutality and oppression while masking their chief motifs which was greedy. It looks like; Swift has extracted England from the glob and fitted in his book that represents the mass, milieu and moment of the land.

‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is not sole allegorical satire but also a political allegory like ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell that represents imbalance among upper class and lower class people that believe that some animals are more equal than others. This kind of mentality indicates that leaders should be given more facilities and luxuries because they have serious responsibility not so simple one. The novel ‘Animal Farm’ is great debate of Marxist concept that should be equality, simplicity and fraternity among common people. At the same time ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is considered as a manifestation of ‘Das Capital’. The bitter condition of baggers and their troublesome predicament of life is more highlighted than royal class families. There are several allegorical references about wearing highly prepared costumes, make up and all such aristocratic lives and on other hand great lamentation and doomed lives of physically ill people are portrayed very bitterly.

Sometime ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is reckoned as an utopian or dystopian novel same like Thomas Moor’s Utopia, ‘Brave New World’ by Aldus Huxley where ideal state is visualized where no one can get delight and joy from any place. Such a dystopian novel is an imaginative reality and allegorical satire. The novel is a tongue-in-check presentation of factual pertinent to the narrative.

Gulliver’s boringness suggests that he is now no more but such adventure like sea voyage makes him feisty and powerful. People are not happy in their own society because of evils of social dogmas and taboos. Such a great affliction leads him toward his social leads him toward great traveling of danger and terror of the life. There is a deep significance and meaningfulness in the storm and the shipwreck that is ironically and satirically manifested. One can say that ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is an allegorical satire on various kinds of the people.