Kim Dokja as a Tragic Hero

I mean... ORV isn't really a movie, TV series, or celebrity, but like... where else would I talk about my king Kim Dokja? Anyway, this is an essay that I wrote for one of my exams in one of my courses last semester. The question was about picking a character and determining whether they were a tragic hero or a knight of fate. As I've read more ORV and become wiser in the past 5 months, I've thought about my argument and how it can be strengthened so I'll add those thoughts at the end.

Also, this is not meant to be an attack on religion or anyone religious. These are just my beliefs as an agnostic. Also also, I wrote this under a hella time crunch (like 2-3 hours) so don't expect everything to be fully baked and for it to have incredible grammar lolol

The character Kim Dokja from the popular web novel Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is a good example of a tragic hero. This web novel follows the story of a world that has become the world within the web novel that only Dokja has read in its entirety. This web novel is called Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, or Ways of Survival (WOS). Characters within WOS come to life and events that were described begin to occur. Thus, Dokja, having been the only person to read the web novel completely, is the only one to know just how the “story” will go. Hence the title Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.

The Tragic Hero archetype shines through the most during the 73rd Demon King arc. Due to certain circumstances just as the arc starts, one member of the party that Dokja is in must sacrifice themselves to become the new enemy that their party must defeat to clear the scenario. The protagonist of the web novel, Yoo Joonghyuk, that Dokja read offers himself as the sacrifice, but Dokja refuses to let this happen. This is because in Ways of Survival, Joonghyuk’s character can regress. This means that every time he is killed or dies, he is brought back to the beginning of what can only be described as the end of the world. Dokja wants to avoid this from happening because he believes that Joonghyuk can reach the end of the scenarios within this regression. Dokja sacrifices himself and is killed by the members of his party, the final blow being dealt by Yoo Joonghyuk. He trusts that his sacrifice will lead his party to be able to go back to a normal world because they were able to complete the scenarios. Dokja, however, also trusts in the WOS as it described what happened in the regression that Joonghyuk had been killed after becoming the 73rd Demon King.

It can be argued that Kim Dokja is a knight of faith, however, it must be pointed out that he is actively using and manipulating the system for the betterment of those around him. This is understandable to most people. Anyone in Dokja’s place, someone who has been the only one besides the writer to see the characters with WOS and now reality grow and progress through their story, would want only the best for the people that they saved.

One big difference between the Tragic Hero and Knight of Faith character is how they approach the system of their world. These systems can be government, or they could be a religious figure. Knights of Faith hold a steadfast belief that the system will lead them down the right path and stay pure. Tragic Heroes are often portrayed as people who do not agree with the system and sacrifice themselves to help free others that are under the power of the system. This is where the supposed greatness of the two archetypes stem from. Knights of Faith are great for their unwavering faith. They believe that no matter what, everything will turn out alright because that is what is promised. They stay upright even in times of darkness because they believe in that support. Tragic Heros are great in their willingness to sacrifice themselves in shaky situations. There is no promise that the best good will occur after they commit their sacrifice. Instead, there is faith in the larger population and their ability to right wrongs.

Abraham believes that Isaac will bring forth new generations of believers as that is what God promised him. Abraham, however, also believes he must kill Isaac as that is God told him. Abraham is shown to strongly believe that God will carry through with his promise even if he kills Isaac. He believes that the system will do him right. This is an entirely individual experience. There is almost no reason behind Abraham needing to kill Isaac besides testing his faith. Someone put in his place, assuming they are not strongly devout, would not be willing to carry this out. Abraham is willing to kill his son because God told him. One must first believe in a God for the purpose of his sacrifice to land.

As someone who is not religious, I cannot say that Knights of Faith are completely praiseworthy in their actions. I will give them credit in their ability to hold such strong beliefs in somethings promise to protect them though. I believe that being great means that you are doing good even if there is no greater promise. To me, it is the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the betterment of others without having to be told to do so. Knights of Faith can do this, however they do it out of the promise they hold with something greater. This is what gets me. It almost feels like “I’m doing this for everyone because I want to” versus “I’m doing this because that’s what I should do”. They’re very similar but the details are slightly different. Doing something you should do implies that there is a system around you that tells you what to do. Wanting to do something implies that you are telling yourself what to do. The difference can be seen more easily when put into terms related to work. “I should do my homework” is starkly different from “I want to do my homework”. Going back to whether I believe Knights of Faith are commendable or praiseworthy, I do believe that their sacrifices can be meaningful, I just can’t exactly agree with why they might do it.

And now for the new me thoughts!

I got points deducted because I pointed out that Dokja could be considered a knight of faith, and I couldn't really think of any way to argue that deduction. However, I came to a better way of wording my thoughts a couple of days ago. While Dokja is putting his faith in The Ways of Survival, he's not just going along with what's being told. This is what distinguishes him from just being a knight of faith. He's actively changing the trajectory of what will happen. A knight of faith would have simply followed what they read beat by beat because that's what they do; they have faith. They believe in it so they follow it because they know that's the best path that was chosen for them. 

Hope you enjoyed that read >:D