A Tragic Hero : Kurt Cobain : A Tragic Hero

Music is often considered “the universal language.” Throughout, history it has symbolized love, brought people together, and has been the cornerstone of many lives. In the 1950s, a new form of music entered American mass culture that drastically changed the culture of the United States (U.S.): rock music. In the U.S., it began as Rock ‘n’ Roll, a originally “black” music genre that was then taken and promulgated by white Americans. Post WWII, many Americans—especially teenagers—struggled with the newfound societal conformity and normalcy, and rock provided them a form of retaliation. From its beginning, Rock united the younger generation of Americans, stirring up a sense of community amongst teenagers and troubling many adults by their actions—heightening

Kurt Donald Cobain was found dead in the green house of his mansion on March 1994, cause of death “suicide by self inflicted gunshot wound” or at least what was pronounced and believed by many to this day. It is plain and simple he was murdered.

Kurt Donald Cobain was born February 20th, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington. Son of Wendy Elizabeth and Donald Leland Cobain, Cobain was born in Grays Harbor Hospital. Ever since Kurt was a young boy, he has always had an interest in music as he started singing at 2 years old. At age four, he was writing songs, singing, and playing the piano. He was also listening to rock and roll at this age such as “The Beatles” or “The Ramones”. Cobain’s parents divorced at the age of nine and both of the adults remarried shortly after. Kurt has said in interviews that this had a very dramatic effect on him, even going as far as changing his personality. He had always dreamed of that perfect family, and since his parents decision stopped that from happening - he held a grudge.

“I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.”- Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain is the frontman of the 90’s rock band Nirvana. He was married to Courtney Love for two years before he died in 1994. The Seattle Police Department say that he had committed suicide but conspiracy theorists say otherwise. Some say that the police are wrong and he did not commit suicide but was, in fact, murdered. They say that Courtney Love was behind it. After a documentary called Soaked In Bleach was released in

Kurt Cobain was the singer and guitarist for Nirvana. He was born in Hoquiam (population 9,000) and after six months of life moved to Aberdeen (pop. 16,500), an old lumber town at the eastern-most point of Grays Harbor. The town is about four miles wide and three miles long. On the northern and eastern sides of town are steep hills where the richer families live in Victorian-style houses. At the foot of the

Throughout Shakespeare’s plays, a vital aspect in his writing is similarity to classic Greek tragedy; specifically including a tragic hero, who is identified by a detrimental flaw ingrained in their character, eventually causing their demise. Bill Cosby, a beloved family comedian, prominent figure in American television, and an imperative influence on American’s view of black families, depicts a modern day tragic hero. However, like all tragic heroes, Bill Cosby had a downfall, as Mark Seal states in his article, “The One Accuser who might bring Bill Cosby down for Good,” he allegedly committed over 60 sexual assaults and rapes. Therefore, it is apparent that Bill Cosby portrays a tragic hero because he was an outstanding figure in the civil rights movement. He was beloved; nevertheless, he destroyed his life work, reputation, and family by sexually assaulting young women throughout his life.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the Seattle based grunge rock band Nirvana. As Nirvana's lead songwriter, guitarist, and singer, Cobain took the music industry by surprise and is considered the godfather of the grunge rock movement. Cobain and his band had a prevalent influence on young teenagers of the 1990s and were considered idols by numerous individuals. Nirvana took the popular music industry by storm when they were able to revamp the genre of grunge rock and cause a dramatic shift in music, away from the dominant genres of the 1980s. The success of Kurt Cobain was overshadowed by numerous of his psychological problems including drug addiction, his unstable marriage to music celebrity Courtney Love, and constant pressure from the

The grunge music of the 90’s might be a product of the times and changing of opinions, it still has a strong presence and legacy in the modern age. Music critics can argue about whether grunge music’s effects on rock music were positive or negative but the main point is that it did affect the music, fashion, and cultural world in a huge way. The grunge movement affected not only the music world and but the overall society of the 90’s and every decade that followed. Grunge emerged from Seattle in the late 1980s. This genre of rock and roll helped create a bridge between mainstream 1980s heavy metal–hard rock and post-punk alternative rock. Eventually, grunge faded—partly because of the death in 1994 of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who had become a generational spokesman. Some people say that “grunge music ruined rock and roll” when in reality it gave way to new forms of the genre and helped bring harder rock songs to the mainstream audiences of the time.

Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain was the lead vocalist of the rock band Nirvana. He was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) while he was still young. In the later years of his life, he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. He also had depression and died through an overdose of champagne and Rohypnol.

Now a days, we are used to shocking lyrics and eye catching looks. It seems that every artist now is fighting to be so different that everyone is drawn to them. It was not always like this. In the late nineties and early two-thousands, most artists tried to fit in with the other blonde, processed pop stars that the industry was spitting out. When there was an artist who was not always happy and did sing about PG rated topics, they were blamed for what was wrong with the world, especially teenagers. In his article ‘I’d Sell You Suicide: Pop Music and Moral Panic in the Age of Marilyn Manson”, Robert Wright delves into and debunks claims that rock music, especially that of Marilyn Manson, is a main cause for teenage suicide.

One band some may know that was a popular grunge band in the 90’s was Nirvana, which consisted of lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl, and bassist Krist Novoselic. This band was most popular for their hit album “Nevermind”. “One of their most popular songs on this album, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, has been and always will be a rebellion anthem for adolescents, empowering them. This message and it’s meaning make this one of the most popular songs by this band to date.”

At his younger ages, he was a sickly bronchitic kid. The situation became worse when he was seven, because his parent's divorced and he never felt in secure or being loved again, he was really lonely. Due to this situation he became anti-social. He often moved from relative to relative and unfortunately he became once homeless, who was living under a bridge, which is a shrine of the Nirvana fans until today. However, he later mentioned that these actions inspired lots of Nirvana’s music. At high school, his situation wasn’t better. Because of his strange and odd behavior, he didn’t have any friends and his schoolmates

Cobain’s personality fits rather easily into Alfred Adler’s theory of personality, especially in terms of style of life and birth order. Adler believed that “the individual creates the style of life,” rather than being a victim of fate (Schultz & Schultz, 2009, p. 137). He named four styles of life, dominant, getting, avoiding, and

He would use quite a lot of compression on Kurt Cobain’s vocals so that he could control