Dakota Michelini-Kuhlmann
Professor Mignano-Brady
Paper 1
19 September 2023
The Connection between classic and modern literature
Sophocles said, “The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves”.
In This statement, Sophocles illustrates the core premise of the tragic hero, which is that our choices and actions can bring about our destruction. The tragic hero is a literary figure that has appeared in numerous historical works of literature, especially Greek tragedies. The tragic hero is often a figure with heroic or noble qualities and a tragic defect that ultimately brings them to ruin. The three stories, Antigone by Sophocles, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and breaking bad all have a complex character that could be considered a tragic hero.
Antigone by Sophocles tells a story of turmoil between family members as their father passed and left the power to his sons. After the tragic death of both his sons in a battle between brothers, their uncle Creon took power and sought to rule with an iron fist and disregard the body of his traitor nephew. A streetcar named desire tells the story of a marriage in constant abuse that was disrupted by the arrival of the bride's unusual sister whose secretive and promiscuous behavior leads the husband to investigate and “poke the bear” leading to fights in the marriage and the sister being sent away to return to the life they had before. Breaking bad is the story of a chemistry teacher that is brought to his limits and stoops to the extreme of producing and selling methamphetamines. To maintain this new business of his, Walter White, the protagonist has to do many things people would consider immoral and not hero-like. All three of these stories main characters have been driven to a point of no return where they fight for their morals even if they are seen as crazy or wrong by others around them. The central character of Sophocles' play Antigone is comparable to a traditional Greek tragic hero. Because Antigone has the noble qualities of family connection and devotion to the gods, she defies the law of the land and buries her brother Polyneices, who the king declared a traitor. Her inability to give in or look for a middle ground, ultimately resulting in her demise, is Antigone's tragic weakness. Showing Antigones’ stubbornness, Antigone said “Say I am mad and give my madness rein To wreck itself, the worst that can befall Is but to die an honorable death.” (Antigone, 443). Blanche DuBois, the main character in Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire," can be considered an antihero because she possesses several qualities that go against the traditional characteristics of a hero. Firstly, Blanche is not a morally upright character. She is depicted as being deceitful, and manipulative, and has a history of promiscuity. She lies to her sister and her husband, and she fabricates a fictional persona for herself to escape from her troubled past. She is also an alcoholic who struggles with addiction, which further complicates her character. For example, Blanche consistently attempts to hide her alcoholism and convince others she doesn't have a problem saying “ones my limit” to those she wants to deceive but then we see “She pours a half tumbler of whiskey and tosses it down. She carefully replaces the bottle and washes out the tumbler at the sink.” (Streetcar, 162, 240)
Additionally, Blanche's actions throughout the play do not align with typical heroic characteristics. She is not selfless, brave, or courageous. Instead, she is self-centered, weak, and dependent on others to save her from her problems.
Similarly to Antigone, Blanche meets her demise by being excommunicated as well. Blanche has a great yearning for refinement and beauty, but her terrible defect is that she has the inclination to live in a fantasy world and is unable to face reality. As result of her falsehoods and deceptions being uncovered, this ultimately results in her downfall and hospitalization.
One example of a modern antihero is Walter White from the television series "Breaking Bad". Walter is a high school chemistry teacher who turns to producing and selling methamphetamine after he is diagnosed with cancer and wants to provide for his family. Throughout the series, Walter engages in increasingly dangerous and unethical behavior in order to protect his drug empire and maintain his power. In the first arc of the show, the main antagonist Tuco Salamanca is seen by Walter white as in his way, and knowing that it is either Tuco coming out alive or him, Walter white says "You're An Insane, Degenerate Piece Of Filth, And You Deserve To Die" and continues to reason with himself after the execution at his hands that it was the right thing to do, to preserve his conscience. While he has moments of sympathy and likability, Walter's actions ultimately make him an antihero, as he lacks altruism, courage, and nobility, and his downfall is largely the result of his own choices and actions. While Walter White from “Breaking Bad”, Blanche from “A Streetcar Named Desire”, and Antigone from “Antigone” are all tragic figures who experience downfall due to their actions, they differ in their motivations, tragic flaws, and the conflicts that lead to their downfall.
In Conclusion, Walter White's tragic flaw is his pride and his desire for power and control, which lead him to engage in illegal and unethical behavior as he becomes involved in the drug trade. According to film analyst Kris Tash, The goal of Walter White's character was to create an “acceptance for having to do acts normally considered immoral.” (The Baseline, 1). His downfall is a direct result of his own choices and actions, as he becomes more ruthless and violent in his pursuit of power, leading to the destruction of his relationships and ultimately his death. Blanche DuBois's tragic flaw is her inability to face reality, as she constantly retreats into a fantasy world to escape her traumatic past and the harsh realities of her present. Her downfall is the result of her conflicts with Stanley, who represents the brutal reality that she cannot face, and her inability to maintain her façade of respectability, which ultimately leads to her institutionalization. Antigone's tragic flaw is her stubbornness and her refusal to compromise or seek a middle ground, which ultimately leads to her conflict with Creon and her death. Her downfall is due to her devotion to her family and duty to the gods, which lead her to defy the law of the land and bury her brother, but also prevent her from recognizing the potential consequences of her actions.
Works Cited
Tash, Kris “The Baseline, an Analysis of Breaking Bad” Medium, 3/27/2018 https://medium.com/the-base-line/return-of-the-western-a-semiotic-analysis-of-breaking-bad-e7022e1bc8b0
Sophocles, Antigone. Hacket Publishing, 2003
Williams, Tennessee A streetcar named desire. New directions Publishing, 2004
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