Al Capone Research Paper

When people hear the name “Al Capone”, they usually don’t associate it with a hero. However, various acts carried out by the 1930’s mobster, such as opening soup kitchens for the poor, led some to call him a modern day Robin Hood. This being said, Al’s violent and illegal ways cannot be ignored, making Al Capone a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a person or character who has positive intentions, yet has a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall. Although Al Capone was born in rough conditions, and grew into the notorious mobster that he was, he also should be remembered for all of the good that he did for the world. When Al Capone’s early life is looked at, it becomes almost hard to believe that he was the same man who ran notorious

Capone was one of both the smartest, and most violent criminal that Chicago, or even the entire country has ever seen. American Decades writes, “During the roaring twenties Capone controlled a multi-million dollar crime organization in Chicago. He gained national recognition for his ruthless business skills and casual use of violence to build his criminal empire.” (“Al Capone” American Decades, 1) Due to his finely tuned skills for running crime, most likely inherited from his mentor Torrio, Capone was able to rise to unbelievable fame. However, most of his publicity was negative, for obvious reasons. One of the most well-known crimes that Capone led during his reign was the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. Although Capone wasn’t even in Chicago when it happened, Capone was the leader and planner of the famed crime. This was a common act of Capone, to not carry out the crime himself, and maybe not even be in the same state as the crime when it happened, so as to make himself seem completely innocent when the criminals were being

Capone’s tragic flaw was, in turn, his high ability to control crime. However, if Capone did not have the fame or fortune he gathered from his crime, he wouldn’t have had the freedom to help those in need. So, in reality, Capone needed to have his tragic flaw in order to be able to do the good that he did for the world. This, of course, raises the question of whether or not Al Capone had a positive or a negative impact on society. While it is clearly a matter of opinion, each side could be argued. It would be interesting to find someone who isn’t completely informed on the good that Capone did, and seeing how they felt about him. Then, inform them about him feeding the hungry, and then seeing how their opinions changes after those details are added to his description. However, in the years since Capone’s passing, much negativity has been surrounding his name. He has been portrayed countless times in both TV shows and movies, yet the majority of the time, the good he brought to the city of Chicago is never even