NAPOLEON
As you watch the videos complete this organizer with events corresponding to the rise and fall from power of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Choose your climax or “turning point” carefully.
Especially in Greek tragedy, the tragic heroes have a fatal flaw, or severe characteristic, which leads to their ultimate downfall. What do you think was
Napoleon’s fatal flaw? Explain.
ELEMENTS OF A TRAGIC HERO
Explain how Napoleon’s story fits in with the elements of a tragic hero
1. Noble stature. Usually he is of noble birth.
2.
Is good, though not perfect, and his fall results from his committing what Aristotle calls "an act of injustice" (hamartia) either through
ignorance or from a conviction that some greater good will be served. This act is, never-the-less, a criminal one and the good hero is
responsible for it even if he is totally unaware of its criminality and is acting out of the best of intentions. In other words, he must make an error
in judgment that will make him fall from his grand stature.
3. The hero’s downfall, therefore, is his own fault, the result of his own free choice- it could be a matter of hubris (excessive pride); listening to
the wrong people; or perhaps not listening at all.
4. Never the less, the hero’s misfortune is not wholly deserved; the punishment far exceeds the crime. We do not come away from tragedy feeling
that the hero "got what he deserved." We are, instead, saddened and feel a sense of a waste of human potential.
5. However, according to Aristotle, tragedy (when well-performed) does not leave its audience in a state of depression because the loss is not a
pure loss. Though it may result in the hero’s death, it involves, before his death, some gain in self-knowledge. On the level of plot, it may be
simply a discovery or the learning of a truth.
6. Though the hero may be defeated, he at least has dared greatly, and he gains understanding from his defeat and must become and example for
others.
Writing Napoleon’s Obituary
You will write an obituary for Napoleon wehre you will celebrate him as a “hero” or vilify him as a “tyrant”. An obituary is a short biography, no more than a
paragraph in length, of the life of a recently deceased person. Obituaries are written to highlight the good a person has achieved in his or her lifetime, as well as
explain the legacy of that person.
When writing your obituary, include information about who they were, and what led to their downfall. Explain the reason for their death, and their lasting legacy.