How Is Lance Armstrong A Tragic Hero

Sway’s “Chapter one” connects to a quotation from the article “Lance Armstrong: He was a 'tragic hero'.” In chapter one the Brafman brothers explain loss aversion, our tendency to go to great lengths to avoid possible losses, and the fact that humans are twice as sensitive to losses as they are to gains. They described how Captain Van Zanten, an experienced and well known pilot, went to great lengths, and made a fatal decision to try to save time in order to save his reputation. It shows how determined he was to avoid a great loss (14). This is similar to the article because Henry Young, the author, describes how Lance Armstrong, probably one of the most talked about bikers in history, made a fatal decision, that didn’t cost him his life, but his career.

A quote from the article from David Walsh says, "I hope that Lance's story can act as a reminder to people, like a signpost that says, 'This is not the way to go; it is not okay to win at all costs.'” Winning at all costs was what Armstrong did. Winning was the only option he saw, and he would do anything and everything to fulfill it; even to go so far as to use performance enhancing drugs. This is an example of loss aversion because he saw losing as extremely unappealing, and went to great extents to avoid it. Similarly, Captain Van Zanten went to great extents to have his reputation remain how it was; and Armstrong wanted that as well. In the film, The Armstrong Lie, it opens with Armstrong saying to the camera, “I like to win, but more than anything, I can’t stand this idea of losing. Because to me, losing means death.” This is exactly a loss averse way to