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Tragic Hero In Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones

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In The Lovely Bones written by Alice Sebold, we are able to see the isolation of the tragic hero. Throughout the book we see the story of a teenage girl named Susie Salmon, she is a victim of a murder, we see her character watch over her family as she is figuring out her death and how to move forward. Along the plot of the story Susie is stuck in the afterlife feeling frustration, anger, and sadness about her death causing her character to struggle to move forth because she feels as if her childhood was taken from her too soon. Susie is a tragic hero due to her having to face the afterlife alone knowing nothing, her frustrations build the mores she there not understand why it was her and why she must watch her family live through her tragic death. …show more content…

A similarity between the two was that even if they didn't know their fate, they eventually died. The two characters also faced trials that made the the isolation of the tragic hero, Macbeth had to kill the people around him when his masculinity was threatened as well as the crown. This eventually lead Macbeth to become mad, he was the only one seeing Banquo's ghost leaving his face his guilt all alone until it consumed him. However, Susie was left to alone in the afterlife debating to move forward and forgive her murder, each day still holding onto family and childhood as a reason not to

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The movie The Lovely Bones follows the initiation pattern of the hero’s journey from separation to return, but alters some of the elements to form a modern adaptation of the traditional storyline. Susie Salmon goes through the separation phase, journeys through the liminal zone, brings an ultimate boon back to humanity, and dies, but does not reintegrate into society for the rest of her life and return as a hero. Her atonement is split between her family and Mr. Harvey, though Susie moves on instead of seeing through the death of Mr. Harvey. Additionally, Susie does not meet with an actual sex goddess, but taking revenge on Mr. Harvey acts as a substitute for the sex goddess in certain ways.

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In Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, Susie Solomon stands as the protagonist of the novel whose life is cut short by her foil character, Mr. Harvey. In Susie’s narration of her family’s coping with her unexpected murder, she emits pure love and tenderness in a naively large supply for everyone until, and in most cases after, her final interaction with Mr. Harvey. Even in her death and her placement in purgatory, “[Susie] worried that [her] sister, left alone, would do something rash”(29) and “[she] wanted to kiss [Franny] lightly on the cheek or have [Franny] hold [her]”(41). This natural desire to protect her sister and to give/receive comfort from her friend similarly condemned to purgatory shows how her death did not change her character,

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With Macbeth being a general in the Scottish military, he had major influences on people and their daily lives. After the murder of King Duncan, Banquo’s suspicion of who committed the murders arose around a single suspect, Macbeth. Knowing that Banquo most likely knew the truth that Macbeth killed King Duncan, Macbeth went back to his evil ways with ease. Through his attendant, Macbeth summons three murderers. Shakespeare introduces the murders with stage direction “[Re-enter Attendant, with two Murderers]” (Shakespeare, 363), in which Macbeth he uses Banquo as bait in order to gain their graces and loyalty “That it was he in the times past which held you so under fortune, which you thought had been our innocent self: this I made good to you in our last conference, pass'd in probation with you, how you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the instruments, who wrought with them, and all things else that might, so half a soul and to a notion crazed, Say 'Thus did Banquo.'”

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Macbeth committed sinful acts of betrayal that over all hurt his allies. As Macbeth’s ambitions take him over the ideas of Heaven and Hell grows weaker within him. Macbeth’s trust in everyone disappears and he starts to betray all of them including Banquo. While other characters create bonds of trust with each other, creating powerful alliances, Macbeth makes

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While Lady Macbeth persuades him into killing King Duncan, Macbeth proceeds to murder his dear friend Banquo, and Macduff’s family without tell Lady Macbeth. Macbeth uses his power to manipulate other characters within the play. Furthermore, Macbeth is very secretive while committing these murders. The power of kinsman, and the prophecies reveal the worst of Macbeth.

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Macbeth and Banquo see the witches. Macbeth overhears how Macbeth is the thane of Cawdor and Glamis and chases after because he was intrigued and wanted to find out more.

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However, when three witches tell Macbeth that he will become the ruler of Scotland, he loses his loyalty for king and country. Encouraged by this prediction, Macbeth slowly descends into a state of evil, becoming willing to kill anybody in his way of the crown, including the king himself. After successfully killing Duncan and becoming king, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo, whose offspring threaten Macbeth’s rule. But when the two murderers are about to assassinate Banquo, a mysterious third

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(2.2.33-41). The motif of guilt is present because Macbeth is haunted by his murdering Duncan. He feels remorseful for committing such a crime and he tells himself that he will not be able to sleep anymore because of his guilt. This conveys the theme because with Macbeth not confessing to his crime, the guilt stays and leads to his downfall. When Macbeth hosts a dinner party at his castle, he sees Banquo’s ghost and he starts to talk to it.

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His capricious and malicious acts prove how naive and vile he is as a person. Macbeth even attempts to kill Banquo to prevent any trace of his nature from making him, a “fruitless crown.” Macbeth states, “Must lave or honors in the flattering streams, and make our face vizards to our heart, disguising who we are,”(3.2.45). With such desperation, Macbeth is willing to include other people in his premeditated murder. By having Lady Macbeth be part of his plot to kill Banquo, Macbeth reveals two things about himself: That he does not value those around him, even if they are his loved ones, and that he places his personal success over all aspects of his life.

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Additionally, it also accentuates the unjust nature of Banquo’s murder later on. This is due to the fact that unlike Macbeth, he remained true to his reputation until his death. The night that King Duncan is scheduled to visit Macbeth’s, Lady Macbeth warns him to act normal to avoid suspicion and

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After achieving the title of the King of Scotland, Macbeth wants to secure his position as the king and desires to inherit the Scottish throne to his ancestors. His aim was showed in “To be thus is nothing, /But to be safely thus” (III, i, 52-3). This quote reveals that Macbeth not only wanted to become the king but also wants to secure his position as the King of Scotland for the welfare of his upcoming generation. This reveals Macbeth’s is implying the witches’ prophecies; as long Banquo’s sons live, Macbeth’s throne would not be able to inherit down to his ancestors. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as represented through, “Banquo, thy soul’s flight, /If

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Lady Macbeth, who through her hospitality, appears to be of no threat to king Duncan, uses her “false face” (1.7.82), to “hide what the false heart doth know” (1.7.82), so that the king is mesmerized into a false sense of security. She, through her courtesy, appears only to be entertaining king Duncan and his grooms with a fine fest, but in reality is using the “wine and wassail” (1.7.64), as an instrument in the dastardly drugging of Duncan's grooms. She too, herself, makes it look as if "she is nothing but “th' innocent / flower” (1.5.56-57), when in reality she is nothing but the “serpent under’t” (1.5.58). Lastly, Banquo presents himself with a mirage of forever lasting loyalty towards Macbeth, but in reality he too wants the witches prophecies to come true for him and bare kings as children. Banquo, who did not fail in suspecting that Macbeth might have “played’st most foully” (3.1.3), for such a prestigious title, takes on the role of “chief guest” (3.1.11).

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In the soliloquy in Act three Scene 1 of Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth talks to himself about the problems of being a king and he is afraid of what might happen to him. Macbeth also talks about how Banquo was his friend and how Banquo is the only person he fears. Macbeth’s predicament in the soliloquy is that he is afraid of losing his crown and that Banquo will get in his way. This is important because Macbeth does not trust anyone anyone because he does not feel safe and is convinced that the wrong thing are actually good. Through the literary devices of metaphor and personification, it will help us demonstrate Macbeth’s predicament.

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Lady Macbeth orders a servant to fetch Macbeth and before he arrives, she bemoans “Naught’s had, all’s spent, Where our desire is got without content,” indicating that even though she has gotten everything she wants, Lady Macbeth is still not happy because she had to kill to get what she wanted. According to Edith Whitehurst Williams, Lady Macbeth has “a conscience far from dead” that is seen in how she is not happy despite having the power she wanted, since the means of obtaining that power were unsavory (Williams 222). Once Macbeth arrives, Lady Macbeth consults him, advising that “what’s done is done,” meaning that Duncan is dead and their plan is through, so he does not need to do anything more or kill anyone else (3.2.12). Macbeth can sense that Lady Macbeth will not advocate for any more murders and therefore he “does not make her a party to the murder of Banquo” (Williams 222) and so when Lady Macbeth tells him to “sleek o’er your rugged looks”(3.2.27) in order to stop him from his planning of further murders, he simply agrees. At the banquet where Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, after everyone has left, Macbeth is talking about how he has more schemes to kill people, it is seen that Lady Macbeth’s “dedications to evil… [are] not going to sustain her”(Williams 222).

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Lady Macbeth influences Macbeth to kill Duncan, but he continues to have second thoughts about it (i.vii.31-34) and feels terribly guilty afterwards (II.ii.63-66). However, following the murder of Duncan, Macbeth loses any ethics he had left. Macbeth kills the servants, Banquo, and Macduff’s whole family in cold-blooded murder. On the other hand, when Banquo ponders the witches prophecy for him, he contemplates the thought of having to kill someone to get power, but he quickly shuts it down (III.i.9-11).

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