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Oedipus and Troy Maxson:
The Classic and Modern Tragic Heroes of Literature
What makes a hero? Many would think of modern day superheroes such as Super Man,
Spider Man, and Wonder Woman. Fighting crime, saving the innocent, and remaining flawless
are among the many traits of these make-believe heroes, but what if these heroes had faults?
What if their glory days turned into their downfall in the end? The term for this description is
known as the tragic hero. Two prime examples include the characters, Oedipus from the play
Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and Troy Maxson from the play Fences by August Wilson. At
first glance, these characters could be interpreted as the complete opposite to each other. Oedipus
is the king of Thebes and Troy is a common father and husband in the late 1950s. When these
two tragic heroes are studied further, however, their similarities become more apparent.
The tragic play, Oedipus the King, is a Greek play written by Sophocles around the year
425 B.C. (860). Sophocles tells a tale of a noble and kind king of Thebes named Oedipus. While
trying to aid the people of Thebes during a terrible plague, King Oedipus is told, by the god
Apollo, that the king previous to him, Laios, was murdered. In order for the plague to cease, the
killer must be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus is determined to do whatever it takes to discover the
culprit. This quest for justice is later turned into a quest for Oedipus to realize his true identity.
The prophecy tells of a man who kills his father and marries his own mother. Oedipus knew of
this prophecy and tries to prevent it from occurring, only to learn that the prophecy came true
after all. The man in the prophecy is the king himself. Ashamed and mortified with himself,
Oedipus gouges out his eyes and banishes himself from Thebes; never to return.
Fences, another tragic play written by August Wilson in 1985, is a more modern play set
in the year 1957 through the 1960s. (1305). The main character, Troy Maxson, is an African
American middle aged father and husband who works as a garbage man and lives in an average
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home. After leaving his unpleasant home life at age fourteen, Troy set out to make a better life
for himself, only to stumble along the way. Troy was arrested for killing a man while trying to
steal to survive. He spent fifteen years in prison where he met his best friend, Jim Bono, and
learned how to play baseball exceptionally well. He was finally released and soon married his
wife Rose and started a family. Troy and his son Cory do not get along, which later leads to Troy
losing his son. Troy later admits to having an affair with a younger woman named Alberta, who
is pregnant with his daughter. He and his wife grow apart and Troy is left feeling lonely and
abandoned. Troy dies later on in the play, which brings the whole family back together in the
end.
The character Oedipus is said be a classic tragic hero. The classic hero is defined by DSU
Introduction to Literature student, Ashley Van Zee, as “the protagonist in the story, and is a
person that is higher up than everyone else, like a king or queen. The tragic hero is someone that
had happiness and power, and then falls from power and happiness.” Oedipus is born to King
Laios but is raised by another king and queen. “Polybos of Corinth is my father. My mother is a
Dorian: Merope. I grew up chief among the men of Corinth…” (Sophocles 878) He later
becomes ruler of Thebes after saving the citizens by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus
seems to be on top of the world. He is portrayed as a kind king and he wants to help the people
of Thebes any way he can. “Poor children! You may be sure I know all that you longed for in
your coming here. I know that you are deathly sick; and yet, sick as you are, not one is as sick as
I. Each of you suffers kin himself alone his anguish, not another’s; but my spirit groans for the
city, for myself, for you.” (Sophocles 861). He is seen as perfectly flawless in the beginning, but
that soon changes when he tries to discover his true identity. When he realizes the prophecy has
in fact come true, Oedipus is horrified. “God. God. Is there a sorrow greater? Where shall I find
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harbor in this world? My voice is hurled far on a dark wind. What has God done to me?”
(Sophocles 891-892) The classic tragic hero has fallen, but accepts his fate and identity, along
with the consequences. He gouges out his own eyes, too ashamed to look at himself. Oedipus
then exiles himself from Thebes. “Let me purge my father’s Thebes of the pollution of my living
here, and go out to the wild hills[. . . .]” (Sophocles 895). As the classic tragic hero is defined,
Oedipus was the ruler of Thebes only to fall to the prophecy he tried to escape from.
Troy Maxson is a different type of tragic hero. He is called a modern tragic hero. The
modern tragic hero, as explained by DSU Introduction to Literature student, Nicholas Brosz, is
basically the common, average man. The difference between the modern tragic hero and the
classic tragic hero is that the classic tragic hero is usually of noble birth. Another difference is
that the modern tragic hero does not accept it when they fall from power and happiness, as the
classic tragic hero does accept their fate. Troy had power and happiness in his wife, children, and
friends, but it all, eventually, came to an end. His son Cory and him did not get along, which may
be one of the key causes to his tragic fate. “Cory: ‘How come you ain’t never liked me?’ Troy:
‘Liked you? Who the hell say I got to like you?’” (Wilson 1324). Troy also has an affair and later
admits it to his wife, which was the “last straw” for him. “I’m trying to find a way to tell you[. . .
.]I’m gonna be a daddy. I’m gonna be somebody’s daddy.” (Wilson 1337). In the end, Troy died
without an epiphany of what caused his fall, as the description of the modern tragic hero
explains.
King Oedipus and Troy Maxson, in many ways, are alike. These tragic heroes both had
power and happiness in their lives before their downfall. Oedipus was the king of Thebes and
everyone looked up to him and counted on him. “Yet we have come to you to make our prayer as
to the man surest in mortal ways and wisest in the ways of God. You saved us from the Sphinx{.
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. . .]Therefore O mighty King, we turn to you.” (Sophocles 861). Troy Maxson had a loving
family and supporting friends. His family counted on him to support them. “It’s my job. It’s my
responsibility! You understand that? A man got to take care of his family.” (Wilson 1324.) Both
of these characters, in a way, lost their wives. Oedipus lost his wife when he discovered the truth
about who he really was and she killed herself because of it. Troy grew apart from his wife Rose
when he told her he was having an affair and brought his daughter into their home. In the end,
these two tragic heroes were both left alone and “exiled”, but for different reasons. Oedipus
exiles himself from Thebes when he discovers that he did fulfill the prophecy. He became alone
on account of his own will. Troy took his family for granted by not showing love and affection
towards his son Cory and by having an affair. For those reasons, Troy becomes a very lonely
man when his family abandons him. He became alone because of his actions, not because of his
will. DSU Introduction to Literature student, Thomas Dunham, explains, “Troy is a scared and
cowardly man. He is willing to ruin everything in his life just to feel justified by his own
emotions. Oedipus is a proud man who puts his own fate upon himself.”
A tragic hero is, essentially, a hero with flaws and imperfections. Their downfall is what
sets them apart from the heroes in comic books and television. There are the classic tragic heroes
who are of noble birth and then there are the modern tragic heroes who are common, average
people. Whatever differences they may have, one trait will always remain the same; in the end,
they will fall from their “throne”.
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Works Cited
Brosz, Nicholas. “Re: Modern Tragic Hero.” ENGL 210 Desire2Learn. Dakota State University.
Web. 1 April 2010.
Dunham, Thomas. “Troy Maxson and Oedipus.” ENGL 210 Desire2Learn. Dakota State
University. Web. 6 April 2010.
Sophocles. “Oedipus the King.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and
Writing. 6th Compact ed. Ed. X. Jr. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman,
2010. 619. Print.
Van Zee, Ashley. “Re: Classic Tragic Hero.” ENGL 210 Desire2Learn. Dakota State University.
Web. 25 March10
Wilson, August. “Fences.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing.
6th Compact ed. Ed. X. Jr. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman, 2010.
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