Tragic Hero

[mcdee1980]

No: HPFGUIDX 98908

Well we've looked at the HP books in terms of the Bible.  Has anyone 
explored the poss. of JKR using the classic Greek tragedy as a 
model.  I didn't find any posts in the archive, but I didn't look all 
that hard.  The books seem to have all the necessary elements: 
prophesy, war, and a tragic hero.
Aristotle says that a tragic hero has several important 
characteristics that lead to his downfall.  A tragic hero must be 
admired and envied by the reader (in the case of Greek drama the 
audience).  Harry certainly fits this characteristic.  Who wouldn't 
want to be a wizard?  Harry isn't just any wizard either, he's 
already The Boy Who Lived and certainly has the potential to be The 
Boy Who Lived Twice.  A tragic hero must evoke pity from the 
audience.  I certainly felt for the little boy tormented by the 
Dursley's and then again we pity the loss of Harry's parents and his 
godfather.  DD certainly feels pity for Harry when he reveals his 
error in judgement in OotP.  Next our hero must have a tragic flaw 
and that flaw must cause him to make a grand error in judgement that 
causes his downfall.  Hubris, pride of the gods, is the primary flaw 
used in Greek tradgedy.  Harry flaw, IMHO, is already being eploited 
by LV.  His need to "save the world"  He's always rushing off to save 
someone, usually without thinking about the consequences or taking 
the time to prepare himself.  Thus far, Harry has had help in his 
tasks.  Eventually the time will come when he doesn't have that 
help.  If this senario plays out, he will over estimate his ablities 
and fail.  Finally, the hero must have a predestined fate, usually 
made known through prophesy.  Well we've certainly seen this.  I also 
have a feeling that Trelawney isn't finished, she has one more 
message to share with us.  
The downside is that the tragic hero has to fail to change his 
destiny.  

Lady McBeth