Throughout literature authors often create complex characters who over the course of time in the work become tragic heroes. In the three works of literature that will be discussed, each of them contain a main character who suffers some sort of demise and becomes a tragic hero. The first work of literature that will be examined is Sophocles', Oedipus the King. Next, William Shakespeare's, Othello will be looked upon. And lastly, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe will be discussed. Each of the character's in these works all contain a vital flaw which brings upon their eventual downfall.
             The first character that will be examined is Oedipus. Oedipus is a tragic hero due to the fact that he is a very intelligent and clever man. This is exemplified with his ability to solve the riddle of the Sphinx, which until he came along, no one else in Thebes could do. Unfortunately, he is not perfect. Even though he has the ability to solve this riddle, he is unable to solve the riddle to his own mystery. His flaw is his inability to see the truth, and his refusal to recognize and heed to the warnings given to him by the prophet, Tiresias. Oedipus makes many errors in judgment and it is because of his pride and his unwillingness to listen to the gods, which brings about his downfall.
             To reiterate, Oedipus is a tragic hero, for the simple fact that he is a very intelligent man, but refuses and is unable to see the facts that lead him to solve his own mystery of who his parents are. Throughout the play, there is an innumerable amount of lines which show that Oedipus is unable or in some cases unwilling to make connections and solve his problem. The first instance of Oedipus' flaw can be seen when he is consulting the blind prophet, Tiresias, on who killed Laius. Tiresias makes many remarks to Oedipus and is not at first willing to share with Oedipus what he knows. After
             Oedipus charges Tiresias of establishing...