The Tragic Hero: Lecture Response #1

“A man cannot become a hero, until he can see the root of his own downfall”

The first lecture I thoroughly enjoyed was the lecture regarding the drama “Antigone” by Sophocles. We discussed the topic of tragic hero’s and how they are characters with defects and flaws which eventually will lead to their downfall. In this play specifically, the tragic hero was Creon. Creon was the King of Thebes. He was very powerful but he was very egoistic rather than altruistic. Creon was extremely arrogant and prideful rather than selfless and real. This lesson helped me gain insight outside of the classroom as well. It made me realize that at times, I can be surrounded by people whose intentions may not be as good as mine. Some people may not be as giving and selfless as me. There are plenty of individuals out there who possess character traits known as the seven deadly sins. They are pride, greed, sloth, envy, rage, gluttony and lust. It is important that through it all, we remember who we truly are despite the flaws in the world. This relates to the last part of the lesson which was existentialism. The idea that an outcome is determined by self-made choices. If we stay true to ourselves, our outcomes in any situation will be positive. This class lecture made me realize that we have the power to determine how we want to live our lives and however we do choose to live it, we will gain self-knowledge and awareness along the way.