This week in class we have been learning about tragedies and their Greek origins. This has led me to ask the question of what makes something tragic? Personally, I feel that one important factor of what makes something tragic is irony. It seems that in many tragic movies or stories you feel an unexpected sympathy for the characters. For example, in 2001: A Space Odyssey you feel sympathy for HAL when he is being disconnected, even though he is only a computer and has killed many people. In the Boy In the Stripped Pajamas most people would obviously sympathize with the child because he is innocent, yet I still felt bad for his family which is unexpected because his father is a Nazi officer. In The Life Aquatic the movie ends with the main character finding the shark that ate his best friend and saying, "I wonder if it remembers me?" The main character is supposed to like a washed up Jeac Cousteau, and isn't necessarily the nicest the guy. The question he asks is completely ironic and very emotional.
The Greeks thought that tragedies needed to have a character start at a prominent position and then go in a downward spiral. However, many of the tragedies I personally like tend to start after the main character has already gone through their downward spiral and chronicles them trying to rebuild themselves only to fall back down again. I think that it is better because I like it when tragedies end on a sad note rather than having the main character learn the error of their ways and find redemption, as it was common in Greek tragedies. I feel like a happy ending every time is too unrealistic.
What do you think?
I agree with you that tragic heroes could be characters that start at a "low" and build themselves up or back up after hitting misfortune. But I would have to say that tragedies don't have to always end on a sad note. For example, I would consider the Titanic a bit of a tragedy but even though Jack (who was the tragic hero) dies helping Rose survive, the story sort of has a happy ending because she survives (and lives to tell the tale). What do you think?
ReplyDelete- Katie Ho
I definitely agree about feeling bad for the parents in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I think that's one thing that makes it a tragedy--seeing pure, wild emotion, like the mother's terror and unmitigated grief at her son's death--and at the irony.
ReplyDeleteNone of the stories I originally thought of as tragedies followed the Greek pattern. They were simply love stories which ended with the lovers being forcibly separated. Although I think TRAGEDIES have to have a certain epic feel to them. Tragedy feels like a big concept, so it has to be more than just an exceptionally sad story. It has to have big connotations.
I agree with you about not feeling all that bad for Oedipus after his "tragedies" were being discovered. He wasn't a very nice guy, he seemed very tyrannical and mean, so it was kind of hard to relate to him and feel bad for him. I agree with you though, having background information on a character can really make you feel connected to them, especially in the example you gave of the movie "Up," I always find myself tearing up after the first montage of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Katie though, sometimes tragedies can have a sad but happy ending, I don't think a tragedy necessarily has to have a sad ending in order to be a tragedy.
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