The+Flawed+Hero

Traditional Greek tragedy sets the generic mold for the flawed hero as " a character with a fatal flaw who is doomed to fail in search of their tragic dream despite their best efforts or good intentions." Flawed heroes are not all clear-minded-- instead, some are dazed and confused, befuddled or brain damaged, or held back by some force, friend, object, or foe. Their flaws are what set them apart and make them interesting, intriguing and relatable to the masses. Their one weakness represents the weaknesses in all of us and society as a whole. Some notable examples of the flawed hero are Achilles (heel) Gatsby (Daisy), Indiana Jones (afraid of snakes), Superman (kryptonite). Truthfully, most heroes throughout literature and film and even in the real world can be placed in this category because, really, who doesn't have a flaw?

Achilles
 Achilles is famous for his heel; his flaw, his stunt, and ultimately his death. In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and the central character and greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad. Son of Peletus and daughter of Neseus his childhood was spent preparing for the prophesized war. He was presented in Homer'swork by his prowess in battle and his ungovernable temper. For Homer Achilles is the hero par excellence, and yet a hero who still turns away from his own army in battle Because of a prophecy that he would die an early death in battle, Thetis tried to make him invulnerable by dipping him into the river Styx. The heel by which she held him was, however, unprotected: Achilles was to die from an arrow shot into that heel by Paris.

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Sampson (“Man of Sun”) is a biblical hero in the book of judges or Hebrew Bible who was given extreme strength by God in order to defeat his enemies and slay rouge animals. However Sampson was not without his weaknesses, in fact his hair was the source of all his power. In addition, he was attracted to untrustworthy women which obviously wasn’t cool with God. Sampson’s story occurred whilst God was punishing the Israelites. His punishment? He put the Philistines in charge of them for forty years. Sampson would be the one to free the Israelites but there was one problem, his mother couldn’t have a son...unless you stay kosher and avoid alcoholic beverages. God graced her with a beautiful baby boy with super human strength, but he warned her never cut his hair or all his power will vanish and the Israelites will be doomed. As Sampson grew up, like any other heterosexual male he developed feelings for a girl. This girl was named Delilah, she was very beautiful and mysterious and of course Sampson fell madly in love with her. Hoping to capture him, the Philistine leaders took advantage of his love and each offered Delilah a sum of money to collaborate with them in a scheme to uncover the secret of Sampson's power. She seduced him using her feminine charm and soon discovered cutting his hair would terminate his power. While Samson slept on her lap, Delilah called in shaved off the seven braids of his hair. Subdued and weak, Samson was captured. Rather than killing him, the Philistines preferred to humiliate him by gouging out his eyes and subjecting him to hard labor in a Gaza prison.

Gatsby

 Jay Gatsby is a hero in the sense of the American Dream. He has immense integrity: he is faithful to his dream, loyal to himself, and fiercely dedicated to his ideals. Whether Gatsby’s ideals are admirable or not isn't the question. If they are or if they aren't, he was a hypocrite in pursuit of them, unable to recognize their impossibility and to accept and take pleasure in his mortality and corruption. Yes, self-improvement is admirable; but the turn to criminality is Gatsby’s tragic flaw—and his devotion to an adolescent infatuation is what will become his death. Of course, it is always better to strive and fail than never to strive at all. For that, if nothing else, Gatsby is a flawed hero. media type="custom" key="24298192"media type="custom" key="24298136" align="right"

 <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 160%;">Walter White <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> is America's favorite Meth dealer. He stole the hearts of millions while managing to cook and distribute millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs. Of course he's flawed, he's a criminal, but we root for him. He has a family, he has cancer--we relate to him and ultimately want him to succeed.

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 160%;">Nancy Botwin <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">, a mild mannered suburban housewife decides to maintain her affluent lifestyle after her husband's death by selling pot to various members of her gated California community. Nancy frequently puts her life on the line to sell drugs in order to keep her family afloat. Everything she does is for her two boys, which is without a doubt heroic. Yet, her profession is not what one would call respectable... <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">media type="custom" key="24298306"