Tragic Hero: Movie Analysis

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A tragic hero, a protagonist with a fatal flaw that leads to their demise. Aristotle had created this image of a perfect tragic hero, all they needed were five simple traits. To be noble and wise, to have a fatal flaw, a reversal of fortune, realization of their faults, and death. These seem pretty basic, be good, be smart, have an unlucky life, and die. Sometimes it’s hard to see if someone has accomplished all these. In the film “Gladiator” the protagonist, Maximus, had a life similar to a tragic hero, but was it similar enough for him to count as one? He is noble, however not of noble birth. He seems to have no flaws and if he has any he had never shown them. What fault does he have to realize if he had done nothing wrong? And his death, …show more content…
Maximus is one of the wisest men in Rome and one of the nobelist in spirit. His lovable personality is what outraged his enemies, could his flaw be that he was too lovable? A reversal of fortune, that is something he had went through. Maximus went from the greatest general of Rome and potential emperor to a slave. While in slavery he became a gladiator, forced to kill others. A realization of fault, as he was going towards the light he saw his family waiting for them and maybe that was his realization. Maybe he realized that the whole time he had been fighting for the wrong thing. The whole time he was general fighting for Rome he should had fought to be with his family. Instead of dying for Rome he sould had died for his family. A greater fate than he deserved, did Maximus deserve to die? The greatest general, the future emperor, the savior of Rome dies. Maximus said that his family is waiting for him on the other side, he would had reunited with them eventually. Maximus deserved to live, he went through so much and had done so many things that he didn’t deserve to be killed. Maximus may not seem like a tragic hero, but if you really look at him you will see that not all flaws have to be negative, that all births are of high class, that all realizations will be obvious, and that all deaths will be for a reason. He might not look like one from what people have seen, but he is the definition of a tragic