Oedipus The King: Donald Trump As A Tragic Hero

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One of the greatest philosopher, Aristotle, once said, “Comedy aims at representing men so worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life.” tragic hero made peopled reflect about life, and the experience often touches the hearts of the audiences. In the Greek Tragedy, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles writes about Oedipus who was raised nobly and became the king of the city Thebes. However, his life was manipulated by a prediction designated his fate of murdered his father and married his mother. Even though he believed he can overpower the prophet, yet he confirmed his fate in his unconsciousness. Hence, he was loathed by his people and exile to a mountain. His experience inspired people to reflect about fate and free will. And audiences felt pity for …show more content…
Donald Trump is a tragic hero because he was one of the example of American Dream, however, his hubris and hamartia lead to his controversies in characters and loathed by his fellow party. According to Aristotelian definition of tragic hero, he or she possess hubris, a tragic flaw. Oedipus is a tragic hero because his excessive pride about free will makes him believe he can overrun the power of fate and others opinions. He was a decisive leader, however, he is not a man who would take opposition. When he accused Creon, his brother in-law, of planted the murderer of King Laius on himself. Even though Creon tried to explain his purity, yet Oedipus said, “Not at all. Death is what I want for you, not exile (Sophocles 83).” Later, when his crime of murder his father and married his mother, Oedipus tried to take his children away with him to be exile of the city Thebes. Creon …show more content…
According to Aristotle, one of the trait that tragic hero should possess is that he realizes he has made an irreversible mistake and accept responsibility for own fate. For example, Oedipus is a tragic hero who admitted his flaws about his fate. He said, “Now I am godforsaken, the son of an accursed marriage, my own father’s successor in the marriage bed. If there is any evil worse than the worst that a man can suffer – Oedipus has drawn it for his lot (Sophocles 76).” Oedipus acknowledged his flaw about his actions, he murdered his father and married his mother. Therefore, he blinded his eye as a payoff of his evilness. However, he believed it is not enough, he exiled himself to a mountain where his parents abended him. He carried his responsibilities and consequences of his works. Even though what he done is evil, but he realized his mistakes and be responsible for his actions. Thus, he is a tragic hero. Contradictory, Donald Trump never admits his flaws that newspaper reported, in fact, he claimed his innocent during those scandals in contrast with Bill Clinton. The Washington Post published “Donald Trump Went There, On Every Scandal, Real or Fake” on October 8, it stated, “If you look at Bill Clinton, far worse,” Trump said. “Mine are words, and his was action. His was what he’s done to women. There’s never been anybody in the history politics in this nation that’s been so abusive to women. So you
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Literature has seen many tragic heroes throughout time. From Medea to Oedipus, and then to Macbeth, all three of these famous literary characters have one thing in common: the possession of a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. While some people may believe that tragic heroes only exist in literature, when taking a deep enough look into the lives of famous political figures, one can see that people such as Bill Clinton and many others can fall into this category as well. The Tragedy of Macbeth…

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