Redeeming the Tragic Hero
We don't have to end our discussion of the classic trope with destruction
Welcome to From the Teacher’s Desk, where we take turns further reflecting on our episodes and applications to the classroom.
I’ve always loved a good tragic hero story. There is something about the fated downfall of an individual who appears to have everything who loses it all because of their own hubris.
When Alicia suggested we do a podcast episode about Anakin Skywalker as a tragic hero, I jumped at the opportunity. And our conversation with her friend Christina was just as much fun as we expected it would be.
I was a young teacher when Revenge of the Sith came out in theaters. The whole time I was watching Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader, all I saw were the clear elements of tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. As soon as it was released on DVD, I found ways to bring the film into my classroom, determined to help my students compare the classic tragic heroes we had already discussed with the newest pop culture tragic hero.
Years later, the lessons to be learned remain. The hero’s journey may be the oldest trope in literature, but the tragic hero follows closely behind. How can we continue to make this relevant for our students in the 21st century?
We all have flaws
We all love being asked to describe our biggest weakness during a job interview, right? Ok, maybe we don’t love being asked that, because even the most self-critical amongst us does not enjoy pointing out our own flaws.
I mentioned it in our episode, but one of the most difficult elements of teaching tragic hero is getting students to understand the concept of tragic flaw. Teenagers struggle to see the difference between the personality traits that make us who we are and our actions when those traits face adversity.
But being able to recognize our personal flaws are an act of self-awareness that can actually help us avoid the tragic fates of our favorite heroes. It’s one of the reasons I appreciate working with the Enneagram, which points out both our strengths and weakness and helps individuals work through those flaws instead of ignoring them.
Try introducing the concept of the tragic flaw by having students do their own personality inventory to identify the traits that could cause them to make poor decisions. Talk through them together and then return to these results as you near the end of your tragic hero unit.
Doomed from the start?
Macbeth listened to the Weird Sisters. Oedipus and his parents tried to change a prophesy…and ended up fulfilling the prophesy. Anakin was supposed to bring balance to the Force (although no one was ever clear about what that meant).
Years of reading the stories of tragic heroes convinces us that some people are just fated to meet tragic ends. But there is a reason why I spent a few years pairing Much Ado About Nothing with Othello. Shakespeare’s comedy and tragedy reflect each other, yet one play ends with marriages and the other with death. Why?
While the heroes have similar flaws, the flaws are recognized and confronted in Shakespeare’s comedies. Everything is revealed before tragedy ensues. Once your students have done their own personality analysis, they can analyze the ways fate can be reversed. Art reflects life and helps us better understand ourselves and the world around us. Extend literary analysis to personal analysis and reflection.
Finding a redemption arc
Fellow Walking Dead fans will follow me here: I hate that I finally found empathy for Negan. Since Alicia will never want to analyze all of Season 10, indulge me for a moment. Negan was the worst. He killed my favorite character. He was crass and destructive. When he got to live, I quit watching the show and didn’t return to finish the series until my husband started watching it with our kids.
But his redemption arc is believable. He went from being my least favorite character ever to going on my daughter’s “they better not die” list.
We talked about this during our tragic hero episode, because one of the beautiful elements of studying Anakin as a modern tragic hero is how his story ends. When you study his whole journey through to death, he does find redemption through his son. It’s a perfect contrast with Hamlet, Othello, Oedipus, and even Okonkwo: Anakin dies a genuine hero.
Alicia also highlighted this angle when she talked about how many Pixar films follow the elements of the tragic hero, only they find their redemption instead of meeting tragic ends. Our students become convinced that we only want to read depressing fiction, but bringing in works like Star Wars and Pixar films help to extend the discussion to a hopeful conclusion. Their own flaws don’t have to end in tragedy; they can end in triumph.
How else do you approach teaching tragic hero in your classroom? Share in the discussion below.
You can also find my tragic hero study guides here and here.
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