A Streetcar Named Desire-A Tragic Hero

This essay will describe whether or not Blanches’ unfortunate eventual mental collapse was due to her being a victim of the society she went to seek comfort in, or if she was solely or at least partly responsible. The factors and issues that will be discussed include, Blanches’ deceitful behaviour and romantic delusions which may have lead to her eventual downfall, the role Stanley ended up playing with his relentless investigations of her past and the continuous revelations of it, the part society and ‘new America’ played in stifling her desires and throwing her into a world she could not relate to or abide by.

Tragic heros have to start out as a success, making them a ‘hero’ and they usually have some sort of outstanding quality or greatness. Then, they experience a downfall and that could be associated with a flaw that this person has, giving them the ‘tragic’ characteristic. At the end of it all, the downfall will have had a huge impact, not only on the ‘tragic hero’ but the people around them. Britney Spears is a perfect example of a tragic hero. She started becoming famous at the very young age of 11. After this, her popularity was already very high, so she decided to release her first album. She truly was a huge celebrity. Then in 2007 things started to go downhill for her. She started doing things she was not proud of until it pushed her to

A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw—lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation is highly upheld, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but this affair triggers a major series of events in Salem, where unproven accusations lead to internal struggle and eventually to catastrophe.

In order for a character to qualify as the tragic hero they must posses all of these qualities: high standing, a major flaw, and a downfall. A tragic hero is someone that is usually of royalty, of nobility, honest, or brave. During the story they usually show a major flaw or weakness. This usually leads to their downfall, loss of power, or even death. Many stories have tragic heroes.

Throughout Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Blanche Dubois exemplified several tragic flaws. She suffered from her haunting past; her inability to overcome; her desire to be someone else; and from the cruel, animalistic treatment she received from Stanley. Sadly, her sister Stella also played a role in her downfall. All of these factors ultimately led to Blanche’s tragic breakdown in the end.

A tragic hero is an influential character who experienced a privileged life, partook in a rise to fame or fortune, then declined due to a flaw in personality or life decision. Whitney Houston was a one-of-a-kind singer who stole hearts across America. She is a perfect example of a tragic hero, due to her amazing vocal talent, influential role in teaching America that everyone has flaws and embracing individuality is the key to success, and her ultimate decline in health and fame due to alcoholism, drug abuse, and poor marital decisions.

2. Blanche is the protagonist, had a great tragedy in her early life. She fell in love young and married, and discovered her husband was gay. Shortly after, her husband died and left her a young widow. “And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that’s stronger than this—kitchen—candle.”(scene6) After her sister left, she had to take care of family members. Their deaths resulted in the loss of her familys Belle Reve, and Blanche being displaced and thrown into a society she did not understand. After all this tragedy, Blanche preferred to live in her own made up reality of denial where she is still the belle of the party; and life is full of small talk and manners. She tries to display herself as innocent.

From my point of view the protagonist of A Streetcar Named Desire is Blanche Dubois. Blanche is a woman who was born and raised in the plantations in Mississippi. She’s about 30 years old. She is an English teacher who got fired for having an affair with a 17 year old student. She goes to New Orleans in 1947 to stay with her sister, Stella, and her sister’s husband Stanley Kowalski.

Lastly the dependence of men plays an extremely large role in this book. Williams uses Blanche’s and Stella’s dependence on men to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. Both Blanche and Stella see male companions as their only means to achieve happiness, and they depend on men for both their sustenance and their self-image. Blanche recognizes that Stella could be happier without her physically abusive husband, Stanley. Yet, the alternative Blanche

A tragic hero must be from a high estate or well- known family. For a family to be of a high status means to be a well- known family of wealth. Both

characteristics of a tragic hero, from being born into a high social stature to experiencing

A tragic hero is described exactly how it sounds, a person who has done something great like a hero, but also something tragic. A tragic hero may retain traits such as a know-it-all personality, an attitude that is unfit for the world which is changing around her, or even plain arrogance. In today’s world, a modern tragic hero’s tragedy

There has been a lot of discussion about what truly defines a tragic hero. If we take a look at the work of well known Philosopher Aristotle, he clearly defined what is needed for a character to be considered a tragic hero. He pointed out 5 specific traits that the person must have to fit the role. They must have skewed judgement, which normally puts them in the position that they are facing. The character must have a realization during the story, there should be an event where they find out that their immoral ways have led them down a path of destruction. They should figure out their wrong doings on their own by taking the time to reflect upon themselves and understand the mistakes they have been making in life, and how to correct them. The person should be filled with pride, as if no one can touch

The play A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main theme of the drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present. The final result is her destruction. This process began long before her clash with Stanley Kowalski. It started with the death of her young husband, a weak and perverted boy who committed suicide when she taunted him with her disgust at the discovery of his perversion. In retrospect, she knows that he was the only man she had ever loved, and from this early catastrophe

By definition, a tragic hero is a protagonist that due to some tragic flaw loses everything he has. Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters possessing some tragic flaw. In Macbeth, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his enormous ambition to become king. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his need for revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s tragic flaw is his need to be remembered. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, Beowulf also has a tragic flaw, excessive pride and the search for fame, which ultimately leads to his demise.