Complex Moralities (the Hunchback of Notre Dame)

An increasing amount of contemporary literature traces its origins back to the early works of Greece. For ages, humans have fascinated themselves with the impossible notion of perfection. Unrealistic expectations placed on those who were thought to be the noblest or most honorable individuals have repeatedly led to disappointment and frustration, either on the part of those particular individuals or those they influence. Classic characters, like Odysseus and Oedipus for instance, exemplify the excess of some positive character trait, like pride or honesty, which ironically leads to their personal misfortune.

In order to gain a proper perspective on the concept of what a tragic hero is, we must synthesize information from the following play’s, “The Death Of A Salesman”, and “Oedipus The King”. Both plays takes the stance on the idea that validates the ultimate notion,  “tragic hero. From Willy’s hubris personality to his questionable and mysterious death, to Oedipus dynamic and complex choices and kingly personality that determines his fate. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement that leads to his/her downfall. In other words, even though both characters made incredible contributions and left a very noble legacy, their choices and decisions determined their ultimate fate. In today’s world tragic heroes are commonly present,

According to Boal, Aristotle's tragic hero has one flaw, a characteristic that is antisocial or rebellious. The audience empathizes with this trait, and the virtuous character. When the flaw leads the character to tragedy, the audience pities the character and fears for themselves, who share this trait. Through the character's downfall, the trait is suppressed in the audience.

A tragic hero, determined by Aristotle, must show a nobility and virtue of a certain magnitude however, their path to happiness should be ceased by their destructive vice (Harmartia- the flaw that eventually leads to their downfall). Peripeteia, the point where the character’s fortune changes, must evoke a state of pity and fear amongst the audience, and give above all, a didactic message. The outcome of this characteristic should result in a complex but sole instigation of both the hero’s

Throughout my study of “Othello”, I have learnt of the many aspects of Othello’s character. He is noble and strong, yet he has many insecurities and is recognised for trusting others too easily. This causes him to obtain the famous title of ‘tragic hero’. According to Greek philosopher Aristotle there are certain characteristics of a tragic hero. These include a noble birth, a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall, a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero’s tragic flaw, his actions results in an increase of self-awareness and the audience must feel pity or fear for the character.

Unlike a pathetic character, a tragic hero is a noble character who displays some goodness but his misjudgements lead to his downfall. His death while tragic, allows viewers to sympathize him while experiencing catharsis. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare described Othello as a high rank character, and has been deceived by Iago, to make him suspect his loyal wife, Desdemona, of infidelity. Othello is a sympathetic character because he is someone of high rank who possesses some goodness, his hamartia of insecurity is exploited by Iago, but he is able to face his wrongdoing with dignity.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck sailed down the Mississippi river with a runaway slave named Jim. Throughout their journey, Huck and Jim encountered a plethora of crazy, drunk, or immoral people. Huck came across many controversial situations where he had to decide whether he would act in accordance with societal norms or act based upon his own moral judgement.

There are five distinguishing characteristics of a tragic hero identified by Aristotle: noble birth, a flaw resulting in the character’s eventual downfall, a reversal of fate caused by the flaw, an increase in self awareness, and withdrawing a feeling of pity from the audience. Romeo is born of a noble birth and has a major flaw that will cause his eventual unfortunate fate, but he never achieves a greater sense of self awareness. In conjunction with not enhancing his own self awareness, he also does not inspire the audience to feel sympathy for him.

People in today's society often rationalize morality so they feel better about not helping or doing the right thing. For example, pedestrians often don't help homeless people on the street. The people tell themselves that the homeless person deserved it, even though they do not know for sure, and they rationalize, so they feel better about their decision. In the novel Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain suggests that people rationalize morality to help them accept immoral acts. Twain demonstrates this idea in the setting, where society accepts slavery and the characterization of supporting characters in the novel.

Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist in the field of moral education, identified three stages that explain human moral behavior. The first stage says someone’s moral development is based on doing the right thing to avoid punishment, the second says one’s morals are built on what is acceptable in society and obedience to the law, and the third stage, which very few are in, says that morals are decided upon one’s own judgement and concern for the welfare of others. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, tells the tail of a young boy named Huck and his many adventures with a runaway slave named Jim. This novel also outlines the moral development of Huck as he gradually passes through different stages of morality much like these. Judging morality based on whether someone does the right thing is impossible since it relies on opinion, so this leaves morality to be judged based on how well someone develops their own sense of right and wrong and acts according to those beliefs. Huck becomes a moral person by the end of the story.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain, Huck, develops his ethics and principles during the journey down the Mississippi River that forces him to face conflicts with societal expectations and civilization as a whole. By being merged into this unplanned journey, Huck obtains independence; giving him a glimpse of the life he desperately wants to live. While this freedom that they experience throughout the novel is really different with that of current civilization, Huck desires to live in a world free from societal expectations and influence at the end of the novel. Although one could argue that civilization brings order, unity, and structure into society, independence from civilization provides something more profound than living

In the book, Frollo tried to rape Esmeralda when she hides in the bell tower, but Quasimodo picks Frollo, and slammed him against the wall. While in the movie this isn't stated outright, there are several noticeable hints that Frollo lusts for Esmeralda and that the only thing that keeps him from acting on that lust is his nature as a religious fundamentalist.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes us on a journey with the titular character Huck and an escaped slave, Jim. Coming from less than humble beginnings, Huck must overcome obstacles that no normal boy his age must face. Huck is an orphaned boy with an absent, abusive father and no mother to speak of. He is taken in by his friend Tom Sawyer’s guardian, the Widow Douglas, and the Widow’s sister Miss Watson, who takes it upon herself to civilize him. Huck progresses throughout the novel, not in civility through society’s standards, but in moral civility. Huck’s moral journey is like that of his and Jim’s journey down the river; as they advance down the river, Huck progresses with his morality, and as they face difficulties in their journey, Huck as well faces obstacles that test his moral judgement.

Goodness: Although we can relate to the tragic hero through his innate humanity, there are some aspects of his character that should be somewhat foreign to us. Aristotle claims that he must be a 'good' man,

According to Aristotle (335BC), an essential element in the ‘good or fine’ character of every great tragic hero is ‘hamartia’, the fatal flaw. The tragic hero’s fatal flaws inevitably lead to negative consequences in his life. The character of Romeo, the tragic hero[1] of William Shakespeare’s cautionary tragedy Romeo and Juliet, contains three key fatal flaws that condemn him and others to death. Through employing the dramatic techniques of meaningful dialogue, soliloquy, narrative structure, and characterisation, Shakespeare privileges that Romeo’s flaws of irresponsibility, rashness and waywardness were stereotypical of upper-class youth[2] during the Renaissance[3].