Tonyma Harding Qualities Of A Tragic Hero Essay

Since the beginning of time, the world has been flooded with tragic heroes. We have witnessed their downfall and triumph. A tragic hero can be of noble birth and displays heroic or potentially heroic qualities. They most often possess a negative quality, possibly unknown to them, that consequently leads to their demise or downfall. Thus the tragic hero ultimately causes his own suffering because of the flaws in his basic human nature, however through the hero’s defeat, humanity is validated and shown to have redeeming qualities. Three main theories of the tragic hero are the Aristotelian model, the Shakespearean model, and the modern tragic hero. Each model has five defining characteristics, which are nobility, hamartia, downfall, anagnorisis,

One real life example of a Shakespearean tragic hero is Tonya Harding, the 1990s figure skater whose jealousy and lack of self control led to her downfall. Tonya Harding’s story starts in Portland, Oregon, where she grew up. Tonya Harding was born into an abusive home that was far from wealthy. Her mother was physically abusive and remarried 5 times. Over time, however, she achieves elevated status through her notorious skating career. She started at the local mall rink at only 3 years old and by 4 she had a coach. 12 years later Tonya Harding was already on the fast track to the Olympics. Dropping out of school, she chose to pursue Olympic skating over an academic career. Sadly, like every tragic hero she possessed hamartia or tragic flaws. More specifically Harding’s impulsive, jealous, and insecure nature eventually led to her downfall in 1994 when news that she planned the attack on the fellow USA teammate Nancy Kerrigan went

Born in 1970 Tonya Harding called Portland, Oregon home. (1)As daughter of her mother's fourth husband she lived in a trailer on the wrong side of the tracks. When Harding was just three years old she was drawn to the dainty yet powerful sport of figure skating. Throughout her childhood, anyone and everyone who watched the gifted child skate was in awe; her talent was undeniable. Tragically what her fans didn’t see was that Harding’s home life was in shambles.(3) Lavona Golden, her mother was abusive and broke; Lavona’s bouncing around different jobs and different husbands left Harding’s life with only one constant thing in the chaos, skating. (2)In an interview the skater reveals her mother’s struggles with alcoholism, failed marriages, and abusive parenting. (2) Her mother worked 2-3 jobs often a waitress or a bartender. Even though her mother worked tirelessly, Competitive Figure Skating was expensive and money was scarce so Tonya Harding would often compete in dirty and grungy costumes. But this hardship didn’t stop her from doing her best on the ice. Even as she was trying her hardest it was never enough for Harding’s scrutinizing mother who expected perfection from her young child. Sorrowfully, when the expectation was not met the child was physically abused. The young child vowed not be like her mother when she grew up; from a young age skating became more than a sport, a