Tragic
Hero/Modern Day
Tragic Hero
Assignment
Characteristics of a tragic hero:
 is born of noble birth
 is responsible for own fate
 incorporates many admirable “heroic” qualities
 has a tragic flaw
 is doomed to make a serious error in judgment (“hamartia”)
 falls from great heights or from high esteem
 realizes he/she has made an irreversible mistake
 faces and accepts responsibility for own fate
 faces and accepts death with honor
Tragic Heroes:
 Choose who you believe is the tragic hero from The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (ex. Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Octavius, Caesar)-- whoever you decide to choose, be sure you can find evidence to support that they are indeed a tragic hero.
 Then, choose someone who you believe is a modern day tragic hero--- this can be a celebrity, athlete, literary character
(character from a story/book), character from a television show, etc. These are just some idea---- you can choose whoever
you want to.
 Political Figures
Celebrities
Athletes
Fictional Characters
 Richard Nixon
Britney Spears
Pete Rose
Hamlet
 Bill Clinton
Martha Stewart
Jason Giambi
Macbeth
 Elliot Spitzer
Marilyn Monroe
Michael Vick
King Lear
 Marie Antoinette
Paris Hilton
Mike Tyson
Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader)
 Anne Boleyn
Amy Winehouse
Barry Bonds
Harry from Spiderman
 Julius Caesar
Jimi Hendrix
 Jim Morrison
 King Arthur
Beowolf
Options:
 Choose 5 characteristics of a tragic hero in order to explain how your tragic hero from
Julius Caesar and your modern day tragic hero fulfill these characteristics.
 You are to complete one of the following for this assignment:
 4 paragraph essay (for this option, you are only choosing 3 characteristics)
 This is not an option for honors classes.
 Poster (Must print out a “Word Cited Page” and present in class!!!)
 PowerPoint (Must print out your slides and present the PowerPoint in class!!!)
 Prezi ((Must print out your slides and present the Prezi in class!!!)
 ********NO MATTER WHICH ONE YOU CHOOSE, YOU ARE RESPONISBLE FOR PUTTING
IN-TEXT CITATIONS INTO YOUR ASSINGMENT--- FAILURE TO PUT IN-TEXT CITATIONS
WILL RESULT IN A 0/F FOR THE ASSIGNMENT!!!!!!!
If you choose to do an essay:
 1st paragraph:
 Attention grabber/introduce what a tragic hero is
 Introduction to text/introduce who the tragic hero is
in the text
 Connect tragic hero in play to a modern-day hero
 thesis
 2nd paragraph:
3rd
-introduce your modern day tragic hero
-characteristic of tragic hero- explain
example from play
-characteristic of tragic hero- explain
example from play
-characteristic of tragic hero- explain
example from play
-wrap up
 Introduce tragic hero of story
4th
 characteristic of tragic hero- explain example from
play
-Wrap things up
 characteristic of tragic hero- explain example from
play
-Restate thesis in a different way from 1st
paragraph
 characteristic of tragic hero- explain example from
play
 wrap up
-How are your two characters different?
-Closing statement
If you choose to do a poster:
 You need to choose 5 characterizes of a tragic hero
 Have a picture/pictures of both your tragic hero from Julius Caesar as well as a
picture of your modern day tragic hero.
 You need to show how each person fulfills these 5 characteristics of a tragic hero.
 Needs to be organized, easy to read, and creative.
 Feel free to print out the information
for the poster.
 If you need to continue onto the back
of the poster, you may!
If you choose to do a PowerPoint/ Prezi
 Eight slides total:
 Slide 1- Title slide
 Slide 2- Picture of your tragic hero from Julius Caesar and a picture of your modern tragic hero.
 Slide 3- Element of a tragic hero #1 with examples from Julius Caesar and modern tragic hero.
 Slide 4- Element of a tragic hero #2 with examples from Julius Caesar and modern tragic hero.
 Slide 5- Element of a tragic hero #3 with examples from Julius Caesar and modern tragic hero.
 Slide 6- Element of a tragic hero #4 with examples from Julius Caesar and modern tragic hero.
 Slide 7- Element of a tragic hero #5 with examples from Julius Caesar and modern tragic hero.
 Slide 8- Word Cited
If you choose a
PowerPoint/Prezi, it
should look like the
following 8 slides:
Tragic hero
Modern Day tragic hero vs. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
1. Born of noble birth
Julius Caesar
 Allegedly, a descendent of Trojan prince
Aeneas (biography.com)
 Caesar fought in many wars and became
involved in the politics/ government in Rome
(887).
 After fighting in many wars, Caesar decided
that he should become the dictator of Rome
after he defeated Pompey (887).
Amy
 Her father, Mitchel Winehouse, was
a cab driver. Her mother, Janis
Winehouse was a pharmacist. But
her grandmother, Cynthia, was a
singer.
 At the age of 16, she signed her
first record deal as a jazz vocalist.
2. Responsible for own fate
Julius Caesar
Amy
3. Incorporates many admirable “heroic” qualities
Julius Caesar
Amy
4. is doomed to make a serious error in judgment (“hamartia”)
Julius Caesar
Amy
5. Falls from great heights or from high esteem
Julius Caesar
Amy
Work Cited (needs to be in alphabetical order!!!)
 Biography.com Editors. "Amy Winehouse." Biography.com. A&E Networks
Television, 02 Mar. 2016. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
 Biography.com Editors. "Julius Caesar." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television,
14 Nov. 2016. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.