A flat character is presented only in superficial form, without much individualized detail. A round character is more complex and, therefore, more difficult to describe. Mr. Lindner is a flat character, while Walter is a round character; there is no need for the character of Mr. Lindner to be as developed or as detailed as Walter's.
According to Aristotle, the tragic hero will be more dramatically effective if he is an ordinary man, for then the effect of the tragedy will be enhanced as the audience identifies with his pain. Hamartia is the "tragic flaw," or "tragic error in judgment," which brings the hero to a momentary defeat. A form of hamartia is the term hubris, which means the pride or overconfidence that leads a man to overlook a divine warning or to break a moral law. Walter breaks a moral law when he uses his mother's money for his "get-rich-quick" scheme without telling her; he is not aware of his immorality, for he naively believes that he will get rich and be able to pay her back. In Walter's mind, he is "borrowing" the money that she has entrusted to him. However, Walter knows that his mother has been opposed to his idea of selling liquor because of her religious convictions.
Walter also overlooks a divine warning because both Ruth and Beneatha have, on separate occasions, expressed their feelings about Willy and Bobo. After Walter has been duped by Willy, Beneatha explains to Asagai that Walter has given away the family's money to a man that ten-year-old "Travis would not have trusted with his most worn out marbles." The tragic hero brings out pity in us because his misfortune is greater than we feel that he deserves, and he brings out fear in us because we recognize similar possibilities and consequences in our own fates.
