Michael Jackson as a Tragic Hero Tragic heroes are pretty common characters throughout numerous fiction novels, but they do, in fact, exist in real life. Take Michael Jackson, for instance. He can be considered an example of a modern-day tragic hero. Respect, talent, fame, this “king of pop” had it all. He was very well-liked, and was a role model for many. His career even kicked off at such a young age when he and his brothers started their own band, The Jackson 5. These boys made an astonishing effort to travel to various Children’s Hospitals just to try to bring joy to the lives of very sick children. Michael Jackson continued to prove very successful, even on his own. Throughout his career, he was a constant supporter of many different charities, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, and the American Cancer Society, just to name a few. He proceeded to take part in giving back to the community by donating to charity, even as he aged. …show more content…
Sadly, he also appeared to be fighting this battle alone, for the most part. As a child, he was a victim of abuse, from his own father, for his facial features as well as the color of his skin. He struggled with feelings of worthlessness, and eventually, he went and had numerous cosmetic surgeries done in order to enhance his looks and increase his self esteem. Since he constantly struggled with self image issues, he turned to drugs, specifically painkillers, in hopes that it would take his pain away. He also purchased a ranch, naming it “Neverland” after Peter Pan, in an attempt to bring his past back to life. This ended tragically, with claims of sexual assault against children being brought against him, thus contributing to the downfall of his music career. These tragic flaws and his dependence on narcotics, ultimately led to the pop star’s tragic death, which stunned the entire
"This was a record that had something for everybody by adding harder funk, hard rock, softer ballads, and smoother soul-expanding the approach to have something for every audience. That alone would have given the album a good shot at a huge audience, but it also arrived precisely when MTV was reaching its ascendancy, and Michael Jackson helped the network by being not just its first superstar, but first black star”. (https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artists/michael-jackson/, n.d.)
Famous celebrities are loved and adored by people in society, but many of the celebrities we loved are now recognized as tragic heroes. Tragic heroes that started off amazing and ended up with a downfall like death, prison sentence or troublemaking due to alcohol and drugs. One of these well known celebrities are O.J. Simpson is considered a tragic hero. The talented football sensation Orenthal J. Simpson is a tragic hero because he was known to be violent and made bad choices, leading to accusations of murder.
By definition tragic heroes can be considered one who is held up high by society for the good deeds they bring, but is then slowly or quickly taken away from that grace and placed in a world far below what they were originally. An example of this is the excerpt and the tragedy of Oedipus the king. The play shows that the faults humanity can fall through when put into a very stressful situation. Oedipus is a tragic hero because he wants to improve the lives of his citizens, he has a major human flaw of being impulsive and easily irritable, Oedipus takes more punishment than what the play told, his life and fate was not fully under his control, and he makes a vast realization with an equal amount of change.
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
Michael Jackson was known around the world as the “King of Pop.” He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, which molded him into a shy and quiet person. Something he was opposite of on stage. It is well documented that his father became violent with him and his brothers in order to push them to become successful. Thus, missing out on his childhood. During his early life, Michael had an accident that resulted in burns on his head and face. After this incident he had plastic surgery, changing the shape of his nose. Although he was born an African American, it became apparent that he started to appear lighter and lighter, bleaching his skin and ultimately appearing white. He created his own amusement park called Neverland, where there were exotic
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.
Michael Jackson was not only an artists but a human being who had his struggles. One of them was the insecurity about his appearance which he had tried to correct and then perfect for most of his life. Another was his insistence on preserving his childhood dreams which resulted in the creation of the Neverland Ranch complete with an amusement park and a zoo. Michael was also known for understanding and loving children and on several occasions was accused of child molestation. The shadow of these accusations did
Since high school, Jackson was perceived as a superstar. He never had to lift weights or practice he was just a freak of nature. In the NFL combine, Jackson ran the fastest 40 yard dash that still hasn’t been broken. His childhood has been made
I believe he had put in his time because when he was five he was in the widely known group called The Jackson 5. His dad came up with the idea and put all his children in the group. Then at age thirteen Michael left the group and began his solo career. Jackson then created an album called Thriller in 1982 and was the best-selling album. Michael Jackson throughout his years as a singer created many best-selling songs and albums and in total got 172 awards throughout his lifetime. Gladwell stated “People don't rise from nothing… But in fact they are invariably opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot” (19). This means that Michael’s didn't rise from nothing since he had an opportunity when he was young which was being in the Jackson 5 which his father pushed him and his siblings to do. Jackson could've been really successful if he still wasn't in Jackson 5, but most likely wouldn't be as successful as he was and wouldn't be named “The King of Pop”.Michael Jackson did put in his 10,000 hours and deserved all the success he got for working so
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.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Legends never die?” Well that saying is very true for pop legend, Michael Jackson. Michael’s legacy still very much burns through today in the music scene. Michael Jackson is considered to be a very influential person of the 21st century because he made music his entire life, struggled with the pressures of fame, and became one of the most legendary people in the pop industry.
Michael Jackson, a man that changed the music world forever. Jackson made his professional singing debut in 1964 with his siblings in a band called the Jackson 5. Jackson made it big with Jackson 5 having many singles reach the top 100 in the United States. But, when Jackson decided to start his own solo career in 1971 we were seeing a side of Michael Jackson that we have never seen before. Most importantly Jackson 1982, mulit-platinum selling album Thriller. Michael Jackson broke music barriers and made a change for racial equality in the music industry.
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
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.
A Tragic Hero is a common figure in many of Shakespeare’s works. A Tragic Hero is usually a figure of royalty, fame or greatness. This person is predominately good, but falls from prominence due to personality flaws that eventually lead to self-destruction.