Question

What extent does Richard Nixon most clearly represent the Aristotle definition of a tragic hero

Answer 1

Richard Nixon can, to some extent, be described as a tragic hero. A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is a character who possesses many important qualities, as well as one major flaw. This flaw or error in judgement is what brings about the downfall of the character. Most of the time, the fall is enormous as these heroes were quite successful before their fall.

In the case of Nixon, his major error in judgement would be Watergate. Nixon acted in a wrong way in all matters related to this problem. His error in judgement led him to fall from his successful position (President), which occurred when he resigned.