Anakin Skywalker: The Tragic Hero

With the completion of the Saga, we now have the full story arc of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin in many ways fulfills all the requirements of a tragic hero, including the essential tragic flaw that leads him to disaster. He also goes to a process of redemption, which is also not unknown in tragic story arcs, such as Oedipus.

Lets discuss Anakin Skywalker as a tragic hero. What aspects of the "typical" tragic hero does he fill? In what ways is he different? How do his fall and redemption compare to other literary characters? And, especially, what truly is his tragic flaw?

 

(I would first like to comment, thank you for the post of i have been waiting for someone to write.)

Clearly, Anakin portrays the essential Tragic hero seen in many classic Greek Dramas as well as Tragies themselves. Anakin like a tragic hero went from goos times to an abrupt downfall, yet his plights was far more different than others. Many tragic heros scarfice themselves for the good of others, yet anakin was the purge that set others into a downfall. Manipulation was the key flaw that lead anakin to his tragic hero stance. Overall, if any comparison of Anakin would be in order I would refer to Bibical references such as Judas and Jesus Christ.

 

Anakin, for me, definately embodies the flawed hero.

I'm no expert on Greek Myths or Mythology, but personally he represents something different - the good man become evil monster.

So many of my favourite films encompass this idea, of a Good man who is driven insane or becomes something he is not.

A strong example is the David Cronenberg film "The Fly" (1986), of which I am a big fan. Here, the protagonist, Scientist Seth Brundle, becomes a fusion of Human and Fly (named 'Brundlefly') and must fight to retain his humanity against the odds.

Brundle is the hero of the film, yet through a series of unfortunate events, he ultimately becomes the monster.

Anakin's story is not so dissimilar. He starts as an innocent, naive young boy, then learns the ways of the Force and makes his own choices which prove to be his undoing until eventually he becomes something entirely different.

Other examples off the this include the scientist Peyton Westlake (played by Liam Neeson) in Sam Raimi's "Darkman", who is driven insane after being horribly burned and scarred by Gangsters. He does, however, manage to maintain his humanity and doesn't slip all the way over to "the dark side".

I'll post more if I think of them! But does anyone agree or disagree?

 

Anakin can be compared to Hamlet. They both arguably have the same flaw, their obsession. Hamlet can't let go of his obsession, finding and taking vengeance on his father's killer no matter what the consequences. Anakin is obsessed with saving the people he loves, no matter what he destroys in the process.

Yet, I have often contended that Hamlet was a bit insane, he was having delusions of grandeur and it could be argued that the image of old Hamlet was part of his madness. I think Anakin was very aware of what he was doing and the consequences of his actions. It was his obsession that made him not care.

What truly is Anakin's tragic flaw?

 

Anakin differs from a typical tragic hero, because in a real tragedy there is one reversal of fortune in which the protagonist loses everything, basically. Anakin is a slow slide to the darkside. But his character arc is very tragic, other than that. The viewers all like him and feel for him, and then he is cut down and left to die on Mustafar.

 

He IS a tragic hero. This whole ROTS thing, the full Star Wars story reminds me on ancient Greek tragedies. Anakin is the central part of the saga, therefore, he is a tragic hero, like Prometheus or Antigone.

 

Anakin differs from a typical tragic hero, because in a real tragedy there is one reversal of fortune

I disagree, though I would really like it if you could explain this point further. In my understanding of a tragic hero, he or she is a character that has one flaw that he/she cannot overcome and is ultimately destroyed by it. For example, Oedipus flaw is his inability to listen to reason and stop his quest for the truth of who killed the old king, even though everybody is telling him to stop his quest, that it will end in disaster. There is no reversal of fortune there, just the effect of that flaw which the character cannot control.

Anakin is very similar. He can't let go. Even though everybody is telling him he needs to let go, that it is impossible to hold on to anything, he does. And it is the quest to gain the power to never let go, that ultimately brings him to the Dark Side.

 

Anakin is a classical tragic hero in ROTS, but if this would be a normal classical tragedy he would die in Mustafar. Redemptions are not usual in Greek or Shakespearean tragedies. The heroes come to understand their madness when they are dying, but all is done and nothing can be changed at that point. That´s the usual case. Anakin, on the other hand, doesn´t die in Mustafar. He survives and then regains himself only in ROTJ, as he sacrifices himself to save Luke. And saving Luke he saves the whole galaxy, so he moves from being a tragic, flawed hero to the class of gods that by sacrifing themselves save the world. And by the help of Yoda&Obi-wan he becomes a Force Ghost, becomes a sort of immortal "deity". So he´s several things at once. A mix.

 

Excellent points!

 

It's been a while, but I think in my old Lit books, the definition of the tragedy was that there was a tragic hero, that the viewer likes, the hero has a tragic flaw, that does ultimately defeat him. But through the whole play or story, it's just building up to one moment where there's a complete reversal of fortune. I suppose I could be wrong like this. I still think of Anakin as a tragic hero, only slightly different than the tragedies of old.

 

This is reposted from RebelScum77's Anakin/Vader as Aristotle's tragic hero thread:

I'm reproducing here part of an essay written by Darwin. It starts out first with general characteristics, then relates them specifically to Anakin. Please go here to read the rest: http://anakinskywalker1.homestead.com/thetragichero.html


12 STEPS TO BECOMING A TRAGIC HERO
1) Man of High Estate. -We have a man of high estate, a king, prince, general, etc. Often, our first views of the hero are skewed through the eyes and views of another, giving us a hint at their potential and greatness.

2) A Flaw (or flaws) in Character. -We then become aware of a driving force within the hero, something that often at least borders on obsession. We will also witness the nature of the inner torment he goes through as he follows his obsession(s).

3) Intrusion of Time and a Sense of Urgency.- As the inner and outer conflicts the hero faces as he pursues his course intensify, we see time becoming more and more important. A sense of urgency develops with the plot and the conflict that not only creates tension, but also creates the effect of a kind of steamrolling inevitability regarding the hero's fall that he has put into motion himself.

4) Misreadings and Rationalizations. -Contributing to, and furthering the obsession and the control of the tragic flaw, are misreadings, supernatural suggestion, and accident or chance. Things happen a split-second too late: the hero operates on what he believes to be the case rather than what he actually knows to be the case. Soon they are one and the same thing to him.

5) Murder, Exile, Alienation of Enemies and Allies. -As the story continues, conflicts arise which cause the death or alienation of all of the hero's former friends, allies, and/or mentors, eventually removing all forms of support for the hero. He must face things alone.

6) Gradual Isolation of the Tragic Hero. -Soon the hero is isolated, brining on new problems: sleeplessness, rage, confusion, hallucination, and violence.

7) Mobilization of the Opposition. -At some point, the opposing forces must mobilize against the hero in order to bring the tragedy to its conclusion.

8) Tragic Recognition of the Flaw by the Tragic Hero: Too Late. At some point, the hero must realize the mistake he has made that is bringing about his demise. He must know that he, and he alone, is to blame for his downfall. However, this recognition always comes to late to save the life of the hero.

9) Last, Courageous Attempt to Restore Lost Honor/Greatness. -While the hero's life is forfeit, he does, after Tragic Recognition, receive some chance to redeem himself, at least a little. A display of courage, nobility of the heart, self-sacrifice, something to show us that while he was someone who needed to be defeated, brought down,
or even a monster, he had good in him.

10) Audience Recognizes Potential for Greatness.-This is inevitably tied to the hero's attempt to restore his greatness. The audience must recognize what a tragic waste the death of the hero is, what kind of person he could have been had it not been for his mistakes and downfall.

11) Death of the Tragic Hero. -The Hero Must Die. Finito. The End.

12) Restoration of Order. -A central theme to all Shakespearean plays, tragedies and others. The natural order of things must be reestablished.

I thought that this might be useful (and again, credit must go to RebelScum77 and Darwin)

 

He must suffer
He must be doomed from the start
He must be fundamentally noble in nature
His story should arouse fear and pity
Though doomed, he must have free choice to some degree

Well anakin suffers with the death of his mother, and the clone wars.

Is anakin doomed from the start? In a way i think he is. Being the choosen one is a hell of a burden. In episode 3 he was doomed from the time he had his first vission of padme dying.

Anakin is pretty noble in nature.

As for fear and pitty, i only have a small amount of pitty for him since he had the ability to make other choices then turning to the dark side. I would also say vader is scary so i think he meets that criteria.

As far as free will goes, i think he could've chose a different path without too much trouble. I think his thiking was clouded, and he was unable to see other options besides turning to the dark side.

 

Anakin does fulfill Aristotle's view of the tragic hero, I think...or whatever he said.

He has a reversal of fortune, and he also has a period of recognition--the "Vader Birth Scene"--but it is too late. Once he realizes his mistakes, he realizes how he was taken for a fool, he is trapped, so he abandons Anakin Skywalker for good and embraces Darth Vader.

I think that Anakin's tragic flaw though is one that we all really carry within us. The difference is that Anakin has POWER, REAL POWER, and he could possibly very well learn to cheat death. We can't do that, so his tragedy goes beyond the average human one IMO.

 

He really is a tragic hero then. It's so awesome.

 

I remember a discussion I had in English class about what makes a a figure tragic. There was one point brought up that stands out in my mind. A tragic hero starts off as a good person in the beginning of a story, but a character flaw leads to his/her downfall and reduces him/her to ruin by the end. There's also the "waste in potential" aspect to it in that the person could have done a lot of good in the world, but didn't.

That fits Anakin perfectly because in TPM, he begins as a kind, friendly boy with the potential to become a powerful Jedi and do great things in the galaxy. The problem is, he is held back by his over-attachment to his mother and Padme and his overconfidence in his skills. By the time ROTS rolls around, Anakin eventually winds up losing everything and ultimately, falls to the dark side.

 

To continue the Hamlet connection.
Prince Hamlet is torn between the need to kill himself, and his moral code. The need to have revenge for his father's death and the moral code. Hamlet becomes dominated by the need for revenge. Very similar to the Sith.

Anakin is bound by a similar code, the Jedi code which is really a sense of morals. He is torn between the Jedi code, and his own individuality. His own need to protect those he loves at all costs. The feeling that he is so powerful, he should be able to save the ones he loves. The arrogance and pursuit of power to fulfill selfish needs.

Both are torn, and end up shattering under the pressure. Hamlet is influenced by the ghost of his father, a phantom in the night. Anakin is influenced by Darth Sidious, a phantom menace.

-Seldon

 

I think Anakin is not noble enough for a traditional tragic hero.

Aside from being a good pod racer, what are his virtues? In Part I, he abandons his mother and Threepio with hardly a look back. In Part II, he whines about how Obi Wan is "holding him back". In Part III, he massacres children in hopes of a cure for his wife.

I think in order to be a tragic hero, someone must be a hero first. There's nothing in any of the first three films to make Anakin a hero at all.

I think we've lowered our film standards for heroism to the point where we consider someone a "hero" just because he or she is high up in the credits. Anakin isn't a tragic hero, since he's not a hero.

 

Anakin's definitly a hero.

In TPM alone he saves the royality of a peaceful planet, twice no less, first by getting them off Tatioone then later on taking out the droid army that threatens them. Saying Anakin leaves his home without a backward glance is an out lie and I suggest you go back and watch TPM again. He barely gets out the door again before he goes back to his mother and says, "I just can't do it mom."

In AOTC he helps stop a murder attempt in the first 20 minutes. He doesn't do a great job protecting Padme but she doesn't die either so thats something.

In ROTS the grey area comes into play in situations like killing Dooku. Anakin definitly brings the war that much closer to ending by killing him but he also brings himself that much closer to the dark side.
And then he starts his fall to the darkside in which he definitly isn't a hero.


Fast forward to ROTJ, Luke on the ground, being electrocuted by Sidious and suddenly Anakin re-awakens in the black armour and full-fills his destiny and destroys the Sith.

Yeah, Anakin Skywalkers a hero alright.
A hero with his flaws and faults but remeber the title of the thread, "The Tragic Hero".

 

Okay, you got me on the "backward glance thing" (I only watched Phantom Menace once).

However, none of those things are virtues. They're just stuff he can do because he's really powerful. If that's the case, then any main character in any action film is by definition a "hero". It's a pretty thin definition.

Anakin gets moral decision after moral decision wrong. He massacres civilians in "Attack of the Clones". He breaks his vows by marrying Padme. He betrays the Jedi council. And that's before he becomes a Sith. Yes, he's powerful, but that's not the same thing as being virtuous. He's one of the least virtuous characters in these movies.

Action film star is not what Aristotle (who originated the idea of a fatal flaw) meant by hero. They are not simply strong, but are of superlative character. They represent the best that a human being can be, in all respects, including occasionally fighting prowess. Aside from some courage, does Anakin ever demonstrate any positive character traits?

The reason that it is necessary for a hero to be of superlative character is in order to arouse pity and fear. Unless they are virtuous, we wouldn't (or shouldn't) pity them. They're basically bad characters and deserve to get smooshed. They arouse fear because, even though they approach (and only approach) the heights of virtue, they are still destroyed. This means that we need to fear, no matter how virtuous we become, we may still suffer their fate.

I think in order for Anakin to be a tragic hero, he needs to be a hero in more than the sense of "important character in an action film". He also needs to be virtuous.

 

Well I have to admit Iam not that knowledgeable on the writings of guys like Aristotle but Anakin is definitly a hero. He may not be one in the same vein as writings of old but he has virtues of a hero.

His courage is beyhond measure, to a fault maybe. He loves passionatly, also close to a fault but still he loves. He also has a sense of doing the right thing from an early age. That sense may become corrupt later on but that has to do mainly with Sidious's manipulation and Anakin giving in too much to his visions. Which after having his mother's vision be completely true who can blame him.

I think maybe the most tragic fact of Anakin's life is if only a few things had been different than none of it would have actually happened. Had he been known earlyer by the Jedi he wouldn't have been as connected to his mother. Had Padme's ship not crashlanded than he would've never met her. Had Palpatine not had such a powerful position then maybe he would've never been able to mainpulate Anakin like he did.

Thats all from me tonight.

 

So, by this definition, Hamlet is also not a tragic hero. Neither is MacBeth or really any of the characters in Shakespearean tragedies. I understand the point you are making about Aristotle, but tragedies have changed a lot since his time. Shakespeare doesn't use any of the rules of time and setting, that the Greeks used, and it is pretty clear that he writes tragedies.

Having said that, you could argue that Anakin does follow Aristotles rule about a tragic hero. As a Jedi, he is above mere humans. He has powers that normal folk don't have. And yet, in all his power, he has this flaw that leads him to doom.

 

anakin is noble enough if you read the books. they make him sound very knightly and heroic. i think anakin never answers his call. his call is to restore balance to the force. he refuses to do this. it is only when his son is threatened and about to die that he accepts his call. while i buy the whole tragic hero thing and i could make a case for it i really believe it is more about the rejection of the call. so if we go the tragic flaw way his flaw has to be his immaturity. he never makes adult choices.

 

Qui Gonn says it best in Menace, Anakin gives without any thought of reward. He is willing to help others without even considering what he may gain from it.

That is a virtue.
In all three prequel films and in Return of the Jedi, he finds the need to protect people. Some of them are complete strangers, others are clones.
Even in the space battle of ROTS, Anakin wants to help the clones. He is always willing to help these people. The biggest problem in the universe is that no one helps anyone else, Anakin is trying to change that.

One can't deny that he is a hero with virtues.

-Seldon

 

Ah, but Seldon - couldn't it also be said that he only protects these people because he has a fear of death, and his own possessiveness and selfishness is the reason he wants to keep them alive?

I agree with your point though... just thought I'd throw that out there.

Anyway, Anakin definitely fits the role of a tragic hero, especially by Shakespeare's definition. The majority of it fell into place in ROTS, but of course the last two steps happened in ROTJ (death of the hero and restoration of Order).

I hope RS77 makes an appearance in here, being that she's already been quoted and started a thread over this same issue in the ROTS forum last week.

 

I'm with Seldon.

Anakin is a Tragic Hero, in quite a few ways. IMHO, Anakin is akin more to Oedipus than any other tragic hero, being that his parapetaea (what the greek's translated as 'a king's fall') was the Jedi Purge, (and his doing) he ended up being a lot like Oedipus for his being his own antagonist. He may be the one who is being harmed, but he is also the one doing the harm in the first place.

Anakin is also more like Oedipus because of the fact that (as Obi Wan cautiously put it) "you cannot escape your destiny." As hard as Oedipus' parents fought to prevent the Oracle's prophecy from coming true (and thus making it come true) so did Anakin, through Palpatine's manipulation, became what he fought to destroy.

Anakin IS a Tragic Hero, exemplifying nearly all the attributes of famous and ancient tragic heroes.