This past week in English we discussed what defines a Tragedy by reading the Aristotle and the Arthur Miller definitions of tragedy as it applies to literary works.
The Google definition is "a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, esp. one concerning the downfall of the main character."
Aristotle's definition was much more specific, it needs a complete process of working out a single motive, the fall of a man who is good, believable, and consistent as well as high rank, a fall caused by an error, a release of emotions from the audience, and to explore the question of the way of God to mortals.
Arthur Miller argues that tragedy is more about the common man, and a flaw that applies to all people, and that there should be fear and terror from the examination of the unchangeable environment.
In my opinion, both are ways to go about tragedy.
In our society today I believe a tragedy is an accident or horrible event that causes the suffering of people who were not asking for it. For example the Sandy Hook shooting or 9-11 are examples of tragedy because the people who died or were hurt were not people who deserved it or where asking for it. It was a tragic accident.
In terms of literature I believe that a number of aspects could contribute to tragedy. I think that, especially since I am in the middle class, the fall of someone higher ranking than me is more comforting than the fall of the common man. The fall of the common man is more tragic.
When we see that people "above" us have the same flaws and problems as us lower class people it is reassuring that we are all equal and there really is no one above us. This has to do with insecurities and other internal issues but a lot of it is true. Just go to the grocery store and read the magazine headlines in the check out line. We love the drama of the calamity of celebrities, we feed off of it. It helps us to feel better about ourselves. How else do you think shows like Toddlers in Tiaras survive?
However, I do not believe this kind of tragedy causes the release of emotion and pity that Aristotle said was key to a tragic work. This sort of drama causes more of a contempt towards other people as well as a self-comfort in our own imperfections.
As I society today, I think this pity and release of emotion comes from the downfall of a common man who has to deal with forces outside his or her own control. The news, the stories about everyday people thrust into horrible situations unwillingly is what causes us to really get emotional. The new movie Captain Phillips about the Captain who was captured by Somalian Pirates while navigating a cargo ship, was the most emotional movie I have seen in awhile. The Captain was just a regular guy with a family, who was doing his job, when he was captured and help hostage. He didn't ask for it, he was just doing his job, and seeing a regular guy forced into an extraordinarily horrible situation was very hard to watch. I think today to see the accidental suffering of regular people is a true tragedy, it isn't the kind of tragedy that boost our self esteem, but rather a tragedy that causes a release of emotions and a true feeling of pity.
Tragedy is the unplanned suffering of the everyday man.
