In Frankenstein also known as The Modern Prometheus, the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, to an extent is a tragic hero. This is because it follows some of the many common traits of a typical Aristotelian tragic hero. These include how the Frankenstein is lead to his downfall due to his excessive pride. Other points include how Frankenstein, the hero discovered his fate by his own actions and also how he saw and understood his demise, and that his fate was because of his own actions. The last point is how he was physically and emotionally scarred of his experience. These points all point to the philosophy of Aristotle and his belief of what a typical tragic hero should have if it is to be a tragedy.
Firstly, Victor Frankenstein shows the trait of how he leads to his downfall due to his excessive pride in his work of making a dead person coming back alive. With his determination and knowledge, he speedily creates his monster at the cost of his personal health and family time. Victor’s choice of utilizing his time to build the monster shows how his pride to become the first person to bring the deadalive again is his first major flaw in the story. This is one of the many points that lead to an average Aristotelian tragic hero.
The Essay on Macbeth Tragic Hero Point King One
To What Extent Does Macbeth Fulfil The Demands of A Tragic Hero To be able to answer this question fully and profoundly we must first be able to accurately understand and be able to describe what is meant by a tragic hero. The classical idea of a tragic hero was first introduced by the ancient Greeks. The earliest known example of this was from Aristotle's 'Poeticus'. There are many essential ...
Secondly, Victor discovers his fate by his own actions, especially when he learns of his entire family’s deaths and finally acts to stop the monster and get his revenge, however he acts too late as all his loved ones are killed, which brought him to his own demise as he chases the monster through the wildness for many years. This is a common trait found in many tragic stories and one of the many features that concludes that Victor, to an extent is himself an Aristotelian tragic hero.
The last point that Victor Frankenstein has that is part of being a typical Aristotelian tragic hero is that he is both physically and emotionally scarred of his experience as he loses his life in his attempt to destroy his monster. This shows how he wishes to undo and seek forgiveness for his actions that results in many close loved one dead. This is one of the many features, which supports the claim that Victor is a tragic hero.
In conclusion, using the characteristics and other features f a typical Aristotelian tragic hero, Victor Frankenstein, to an extent is a tragic hero because he’s determination and lust for acknowledgement from the world for his creation of turning a dead corpse into a living person was his major downfall as he puts work in front of family and relaxation. Victor also extends his tragedy by trying to take revenge on the monster where he becomes even more physically and motionally scarred than ever. This all shows that Victor Frankenstein was truly, to an extent, a tragic hero.
bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragic_herohttp://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein
