The tragic hero always elicits sympathy from the audience. According to Struck (2002): "Finally, Oedipus' downfall elicits a great sense of pity from the audience. First, by blinding himself, as opposed to committing suicide, Oedipus achieves a kind of surrogate death that intensifies his suffering. He comments on the darkness - not just the literal inability to see, but also religious and intellectual darkness - that he faces after becoming blind. In effect, Oedipus is dead, for he receives none of the benefits of the living; at the same time, he is not dead by definition, and so his suffering cannot end. Oedipus receives the worst of both worlds between life and death, and he elicits greater pity from the audience."
While Oedipus is the classic tragic hero, when we look at a character like Achilles, it is clear that there are other types of heroes that Oedipus does not compare to. The tragic hero's own tragic flaws result in their demise. This does not seem to be the case with Achilles.
In fact, in The Iliad, he is not immediately painted as a hero. There are references to his heroic nature but it is not spoon fed to the audience. His decisions do not result in death and his heroism is never spelled out. Achilles is portrayed as a man so strong and skilled in battle that he cannot be defeated. In the Iliad, he kills many Trojans, including the typical hero, Hector. However, Achilles does have a weak spot -- his heel. He was eventually shot in the heel by a poisoned arrow and this led to his demise.
While Oedipus is in many ways a typical Greek hero, there are many things about him that defy our preconceived ideas about heroism (Struck, 2002). While...
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