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1984 Winston A Tragic Hero Analysis

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Aristotle defines a tragic hero as “a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction”. The definition of a tragic hero also explains that a tragic hero is not an ordinary person, and that his/her downfall occurs for a greater cause. Although the modern depiction of a tragic hero is of course different than that of Ancient Greek times, the underlying characteristics and traits of one remain the same. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the main character Winston, although displaying some characteristics that a tragic hero would possess, ultimately does not fit the role of a tragic hero. One of the most obvious reasons that Winston is not a tragic hero is because of the fact that a tragic hero is defined as unordinary, possessing something great about him/her. However, Winston is very ordinary. Despite the fact that he has a secret dislike for the Party, he works for the Party and actively participates in Party-related events. In the beginning of the novel, Winston is gathering for Two Minutes Hate with other people who work in the same building, and while he expresses the uneasy feeling that the event gave him, he also states that he cannot help but join in on the cheering and shouting. Orwell explains, “In the Two Minutes Hate he could not help sharing in the general delirium, but this subhuman chanting of …show more content…

He does not have a hamartia and his downfall proved to have no greater purpose. While it is true that in modern times, the tragic hero may be seen differently than when Aristotle first defined him/her, and some characteristics have the capability to be tweaked to accommodate modern society, there are concrete parts to a tragic hero that cannot change and must be present in order for a literary character to be labeled as

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