Kale Smith Brooks ENG-3UI 3 March 2014 William Wallace is a Tragic Hero In the movie Braveheart William Wallace

is a tragic hero. He is portrayed as a tragic hero in multiple ways. He is portrayed as a hero by the deeds he does to save the people of Scotland, but with this comes his tragic flaw, or the trait that leads to his fall, which makes him tragic, while also being a hero. Another way it is shown that he is a tragic hero is through the fall of others and of himself. Through William Wallaces journey many people fall because of him, making it tragic that so many had to die in order for him to complete his quest. Furthermore, William Wallace is a tragic hero through the audience reaction. How the audience reacts to him is the sole reason for him being heroic while also tragic. The audiences grimace for his loss of Murron and of his death truly makes him a tragic hero. Through the deeds done for Scotland by William Wallace he is portrayed as a mighty leader and warrior in the heart of battle. He is personified as a hero but, with this comes the fact that he is tragic in his fall. His tragic flaw of being too trusting and too loving leads to this tragic fall. His tragic flaw is first shown through his leadership at the first loss of the scottish army. He is a great leader in this battle and tries to rally his troops but, his tragic flaw is shown when his too trustful nature makes him lead his troops into their, not immediately known, deaths. He trusts Robert the Bruce and the other scottish nobles that they will be behind him in the fight against the French and English but, the nobles had another plan. When William Wallace charges into battle he has no idea that the nobles had not gone along with the plan, as they turned and left. The immediate causes of this are the many deaths among Williams ranks. The battle would be lost and due to Williams tragic flaw the men in Williams army would pay the ultimate price, of their lives. The next way Wallaces tragic flaw is shown is through his love for Murron. His tragic flaw of being too loving gets the better of him when his love for Murron is tested after her execution. After her execution he is driven with rage and seeks to execute the english noble that had killed her. He later does, driven by his tragic flaw, which leads him into joining the war. This would be the cause of his death. His tragic flaw had driven him into the events that would lead to his tragic death. His tragic flaw is also seen as tragic in the ambush leading up to his execution. Trusting Robert the Bruce, William goes to meet with him and hear his apology but, is ambushed by the english and taken prisoner. His trusting in Robert lead him into a trap which in short days would result in his execution. This makes his death tragic because his flaw is shown again and through irony he is ambushed. Through his different tragic flaws he is shown to be a tragic hero.

William Wallace is also shown as tragic through the many falls involved with his journey. Throughout this quest to free Scotland many people fall to his hand or to another hand. The first and most important fall connected to William Wallace is the fall of Murron. This is the fall that begins his quest to free Scotland. Through the death of Murron the audience feels a sense of waste and also sympathy for William. This paints him as being a hero while also painting Murrons death as tragic. The combination of these two makes the fact that Murron is connect to William tragic. Murrons fall would later lead to his tragic fall. Another fall connected to William of importance is the fall of Haymish's father. The fall of Haymish's father is very tragic because William had led him into the battle that would cause his fall. Williams tragic flaw had caused the battle to be lost and for Haymish to lose his father in a tragic way. The fall of Haymishs father would later be the reason why Haymish would not follow William to the meeting with Bruce and by fate saved Haymishs life. The last fall, and most tragic, is the fall of William himself. Williams fall is the most tragic of all because the audience is subjected to suspense and later when he is beheaded a sense of fear is tossed in the audiences face. His fall would be more tragic when he, the great hero he is, is subjected to torture and on his death bed would shout Freedom affirming to the audience that he was going to die for freedom. This makes his death much more tragic. Through the fall of others and the fall of himself, William is painted as a hero but, tragic. The audience reaction is how it is known that William Wallace is a tragic hero. He is portrayed as a hero to the audience with his many great achievements for Scotland but, due to his death and many tragic elements that William faces the audience is forced to grimace for him and fear for him. Through the audience his life is depicted as tragic while Wallace, himself, is dubbed as a hero. The first and very strong audience reaction to the movie Braveheart is Murrons death. The audience is forced to fear for Murrons life after she is captured and hope that William will save her. When he doesnt and she falls the audience reaction is shock and sorrow for her life. The audience also feels sorrow and pain for William. The audience would have witnessed the beginning of the tragedy and later on in the story they would know it was the reason for his death. Giving the audience a feeling of irony knowing that his death was caused by the fall of Murron. Another strong audience reaction is before Williams death when he is ambushed. The audience thinks that William will be safe travelling to see Robert the Bruce but, when he is ambushed the audience is surprised and shocked by this. When he is taken prisoner the audience is still shocked and feels pity for him. Through this pity the audience believes the tragedy of his death to come. The audience fears for his life and the horror thats to come, making it tragic when he actually dies, because the audience is forced to think of him getting out. The final and most important audience reaction occurs during his execution when the audience experiences horror, sadness, waste and pity within a short amount of time. William must fall at some point in order to be a tragic hero and when his final fall comes the audience is pulled in one tragic direction. The audience reacts with all the emotions of a tragic ending story, horror, waste, pity and overall sadness. They see him as a great hero and at his tragic fall, he is tortured. The tortured shows the audience that he is the same as any other person and can feel the same pain as a normal person. He is brought down before the audience to be a normal person with normal feelings and when he is finally executed shouting Freedom all the fears of the audience are realized making it very tragic for the audience to witness. Through the

audience reaction he is tragic, as while as being a hero to Scotland. William Wallace is a tragic hero. Although heroic, his tragic flaw proves to get the better of him. Though many others fall to his arm, many also fall to his leadership and association. The audience reaction played a large part in making William Wallace a tragic hero. There are many reason why William Wallace is a tragic hero, but his tragic flaw, the fall of others as well as himself, and the audience reaction play a big part in showing that he is. In life and death William is a hero, but the tragic life he lived makes him a tragic hero.