Taylor 1

Gina Taylor
Mr. DeJonge
English IV
28 September 2016
Padfoot the Tragic Hero

Sirius Black is one of the background characters from J.K. Rowlings series, Harry
Potter. He is first mentioned in the third book after he escaped from prison. We later read on in
the series to discover his background and what events take place after his escape. His entire story
is told as a backstory to the character of Harry Potter and even without being a main character he
has a purpose. He is one of the few in the series I see as a hero. His story proves that Sirius Black
is a tragic hero.
Sirius Black was extremely loyal to the Potter family. He was actually Harrys, the main
characters, godfather. The story of his mistake begins with Peter Petigrew, the man put in
charge of hiding the Potters from Voldemort, the villain of the story. In the books Sirius was the
decoy so Voldemort didnt figure out Peter was the secret keeper. Eventually, Voldemort figures
out where the Potters were and killed both parents. Sirius goes to track down Peter to confront
him because he was the only one who could have told. Peter then transforms into a rat and
disappears leaving Sirius with a wand in his hand. When found, everyone believes it was him
because they all thought he was the secret keeper. He was then sent to Azkaban, the worst
wizardly prison. Though this is not what makes him a tragic hero, this is just the beginning.

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A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to
his or her own destruction. Sirius eventually escapes Azkaban and seeks revenge on Peter for
betraying him and setting events in motion that result in the deaths of the Potter parents. In the
story he states, I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for (Prisoner of Azkaban
350). He is explaining to us that if he will be blamed for a murder then he shall go ahead and
complete it. Of course everyone assumes he escaped to kill Harry since they thought he killed
Harrys parents too. Sirius finally tracks down Peter but is stopped from killing him and then
works to help Harry in his fight with Voldemort. In order to protect Harry he sacrifices his own
life and is ultimately killed by one of Voldemorts followers, Bellatrix. Siriuss love for the
Potter family led to his tragic death. He would never betray them and vehemently protected
them. As the reward for his courage, he spent 12 years in prison and ultimately died soon after
for the family. He was a good man with a good heart but his fatal flaw placing his trust in the
wrong people.
Sirius Black was a man of honor and even throughout hardships he worked to protect
Harry. He let his love lead to extreme punishments and his ultimate demise. Even after death he
did not blame them for his passing. Sirius exclaims with no hesitation, You dont understand
there are things worth dying for. (Order of the Phoenix 465). Harry was one of these things he
would easily sacrifice his life for. He meets Harry on the other side and wishes him the best.
Mr. Black never convinced the wizarding world of his innocence. Rather than waste time
proving his worth, he continued his fight to save Harry. To me he is the exact definition of a
tragic hero.

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Works Cited

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPr. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York, NY:

Arthur A. Levine, 2003. Print.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPr. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York, NY:
Arthur A. Levine, 1999. Print.