投稿類別:英文寫作類
篇名:
The Appeal of Tragedies
作者:
程悅之。台北私立復興實驗高中。高二和班
(Cheng, Josephine. Taipei Fuhsing Private School. Class Eleven Ho)
指導老師:
John Calhoun 老師
The Appeal of Tragedies
I. Introduction:
Contrary to popular belief, people seem to prize depressing works of art more than lighthearted or empowering ones. From the earliest Greek tragedies of myth and misfortune, to the
Shakespearean plays of Victorian England, to the bitter tales of unfortunate 20th century heroes,
tragedy has, throughout history, represented the peak of human literature. No other genre has
collected as many renown titles which have stood the test of time, no other genre has been
portrayed as often in other mediums of art, and no other genre has been taught in classrooms and
lecture halls as frequently as the tragedy.
Yet the explanation for humanity’s love of heartbreaking literature remains obscure, since there
appears to be no apparent reason for anyone to burden themselves with the bleak circumstance of
tragic heroes or the sorrow of failure. To read any book, script, play, or poem – is to experience life
through another’s eyes. To enjoy what the characters enjoy, to anger when they anger, to cry when
they cry, to become another person in all but name. A reader would suffer emotionally when the
tragic character does too, though through the written word and not in reality, but no less tangible or
genuine.
However, people not only pay no heed to the emotional anguish we may inflict on ourselves,
but also yearn for the most depressing style of literature there is – tragedy. Readers are entranced by
main characters with coveted dreams or hard won success. A hero’s determination not only serves
as a beacon of light in a society where most dreams fade over time, but also inspire readers to take
personal action for their own dreams as well. When heroes suffer, and are tormented with failure,
readers are also repulsed by the despair that tear these characters apart, upset by the abrupt death of
a dream – only to swallow their sorrow and come back for more. The question remains as to why
tragedies continue to appeal to individuals, especially when these stories depict failure and
depression. By comparing the central characters in various books and plays representative of three
prominent periods throughout the history of literature - Ancient Greek, Shakespearean, and 20th
century – this study would be able to draw similarities between the characteristics of these tragic
heroes and define how each aspect makes tragedies appealing to readers.
II. Thesis:
To understand the overall appeal of tragedies, a reader must first understand its tragic hero, as
the plot unfolds around the main character and is propelled by his or her actions. In this study,
tragic heroes are defined as characters, who have a dream or goal in mind, who take action to reach
their vision, yet in the end either face failure as their achievements fall short of reality or succeed
but at extreme personal cost. Based on various websites listing the top tragedies of three periods
famous for their production of literature, including Ancient Greece, the Victorian Age, and 20th
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The Appeal of Tragedies
century, six tragedies in total were chosen for the comparison, with two tragedies selected for each
period.
Graph 1: Comparison of tragedies
Tragic
Characteristics
Their life dreams or
Hero
Antigone
Antigone
By: Sophocles
Reality/ End result
present goals
- Fiercely loyal to
To bury her dead
Antigone remains
Polyneices and
brother Polyneices,
loyal to the last and
Eteocles
despite the threat of
hangs herself in
- Rebellious and
disobeying King
outrage against
stubborn
Creon’s order
being kept from
- Hamartia: loyalty
against it and facing
burying Polynieces.
certain death.
She dies and fails to
complete her goal.
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus
By: Sophocles
Romeo and
Juliet
- Determined to do
To bring the
Oedipus succeeds
the right thing
murderer of former
in finding the
- Proud
King Laius to
murderer and
- Acts in the best
justice in order to
meting out justice,
interests of his
stop the plague
but at the cost of
people
which was ravaging
blinding himself
- Hamartia:
Thebes.
and becoming a
determination/
shamed beggar on
anger/ pride
the streets.
- Childish and naive
To marry Romeo
Both lovers end up
Juliet
at first, but becomes
and live with him
dead with no hope
By:
independent and
happily ever after.
of ever living
Shakespeare
determined
Literally.
together in
- Intelligent and
marriage as they
witty
had dreamed.
Suffer from both
death and failure.
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The Appeal of Tragedies
Hamlet
Hamlet
- Moody and
To kill his uncle
Succeeds in killing
By:
dramatic
King Claudius and
Claudius in the end,
Shakespeare
- Has a drawn-out
avenge his father,
but at the cost of
revenge plan
the previous king,
himself, his mother
who was murdered
and many of the
by Claudius.
royal family dying
as well.
Of Mice and
George
- Sharp and witty
To save up enough
Is forced to kill
Men
- A deep and morale
money and live on a
Lennie, thus not
By: John
man who cares
farm of their own.
only killing the
Steinbeck
about those close to
dream they had
him, in this case
together but also
Lennie.
leaving George
friendless and lost
in life. George not
only loses his
dream but also his
one sole friend.
The Great
Gatsby
- Hardworking and
To regain Daisy as
Gatsby fails to win
Gatsby
determined to make
his lover once more.
back Daisy’s heart,
By: F. Scott
a better life for
and also brings
Fitzgerald
himself
death upon himself
- Naïvely believes in
in the process.
the success through
hard work and
discipline
(Information source: Created by Author)
Based on the information above, despite the different circumstances and personalities each
tragic hero has, they all have one similarity – determination. These individuals have complete faith
in their dreams, no matter if they realize the futility of their actions or the damage they have
rendered on both themselves and others. For example, in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby spends years of
his life building an alcohol empire, selling illegal liquor, and accumulating wealth in hopes that one
day, he would be able to regain Daisy, his long-lost lover, by impressing her with his financial
success and proving himself as a man worthy to lean on. However, Daisy has already been married
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The Appeal of Tragedies
to another man, Tom Buchanan, for over five years, a man who not only has more than enough
wealth to rival Gatsby’s fortune, but also has cared for Daisy in his own distant yet affectionate
way. The bond created between husband and wife has no place for a man like Gatsby, who attempts
to recreate his relationship with Daisy by inviting her to midnight parties and afternoon escapades at
his mansion, despite the fact that Daisy has long since moved on, and when forced to choose
between the two men, would always turn back in the end to Tom. Yet, Gatsby refuses to
compromise in any way, as if Daisy’s simple declaration of love now could erase the five-year gap
before. Such simple faith toward his dream of Daisy leads Gatsby to his own demise, as he dies in
wake of the conflict his relentless pursuit has stirred, paying “a high price for living too long with
a single dream” (Fitzgerald, 1925).
The undying belief character’s hinge on their dreams is not only evident when Gatsby dies
trying to win back Daisy, but also when Antigone would rather hang herself than be denied the right
to bury her dead brother. When George, though conscious of the great odds stacked against him,
continues to labor day and night in hopes of purchasing a farm of his own. When countless tragic
heroes spanning thousands of years of literature each strive to live up to their dreams, despite the
obstacles posed before them, only to meet failure in the end, thus marking this naïve devotion as a
trademark of tragedies. Unlike people actually living in reality, tragic heroes refuse to compromise
or let go of their cause and will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams, no matter the cost. For
example, compared to Juliet, a noble lady who actually lived during the early Renaissance would
likely have denied her love for a rival lord and married as society dictated in bitter compliance. On
the other hand, Juliet instead goes extreme lengths to seek a happy reunion with Romeo, only to
drag both of them into death, with no chance of ever achieving the married life they had cherished
together. Had Juliet kept their forbidden love… well, forbidden, the two might have lived, albeit
deprived of their visions, but still possessing life to pursue other opportunities, as most people in
reality do, instead of being forced to choose the ultimate path of self-limitation - suicide.
In short, “Tragic heroes are failed pragmatists. Their ends are unrealistic and their means
are impractical.” (Phillips, 2013). No matter what personality traits or different circumstances each
individual character may possess, all tragic heroes hold one thing in common – utter devotion to
their dreams, no matter the cost. The very belief which made Oedipus kill his father and marry his
mother, or made Hamlet spark the royal family’s massacre, is also the very belief which inspires us
to enjoy tragedy, as readers relive the naïve devotion they once had as children but now can only
experience through the eyes of tragic heroes. Most people in real life lose their “innocence” with the
wear and tear of time, as goals coveted in cozy darkness throughout childhood lose their luster and
shine beneath the stark glaring lights of reality. From a young age, children are told their dreams
were outrageous, their hopes unfounded; teenagers are reprimanded as childish for daring to dream
big; adults or the elderly are labelled as over-ambitious… Every spoken word of doubt, combined
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The Appeal of Tragedies
with the practical difficulties reality imposes upon personal goals, whittle away visions little by
little, until there is nothing left, thus bringing about the demise of an individual’s dreams in a selffulfilling prophecy. However, in tragic heroes, this devotion continues to live on as sole vestiges of
an age in human life when anything seemed possible, entrancing both the main character and us
readers as well. Through the eyes of a tragic hero, readers are once again absorbed into a world of
perseverance, of naïve faith, of stupid ignorance, where the aspects which made childhood dreams
so enchanting are once again brought to life. Just as dull wooden frames better highlight the beauty
of an oil painting, tragedies of darkness and death better contrast the fiery flame of unwavering
devotion tragic heroes harbor for their dreams, thus drawing readers from both far and near to bask
in its light and listen to its story.
III. Conclusion:
Graph 2: Tragedies’ appeal and limitations
Categories of dialect
Aspect of tragedy that makes
Corresponding aspect that
it “great”
limits appeal, university, etc.
Appeal of Characters/
Tragic heroes (e.g. Hamlet,
Character’s greatness
Oedipus) are more "royal" or
characters can be tiresome,
noble, more
demanding, unsympathetic;
memorable, individualized,
titanic, disturbing and
“Give it a rest!”—Great
Romantic / comic
characters are "easy," "regular
unpredictable than comic or
guys," easy to identify with
romantic characters, whose
(though usu. better-looking
types we recognize but whose
than we are)
names we often don't
remember.
(Information source: White, Craig (2017). Is Tragedy the Greatest Genre ?. 2017. 3. 5, from
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/xcritsource/genre/tragedygreat.htm.)
Tragedies have been one of the most popular literary genres due to their portrayal of naïve
devotion among all tragic heroes, a trait in the story which propels his or her doom, yet in reality
exists as coveted treasure. Any individual would be hard-pressed in reality to find a person of such
untainted ideals, a person whose belief in their dreams remains steady despite the stress and strain
of society’s obstructions toward its fulfillment. Just as literary professor Craig White mentions in
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The Appeal of Tragedies
the graph above, tragedies attract us because its heroes are more noble and memorable, as these
individuals readily sacrifice to achieve their goals and are unwilling to compromise on any points,
each possessing an innocent child-like devotion valued among people worn and weathered from
reality. Thus, tragedies appeal to the public, not only as a memoir to the brave souls and their failed
attempts at flight, but more importantly, to those who dared dream of flying in the first place.
IV. Works Cited:
Bachelor Degrees Online. 2017. 3.1, from http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2011/10greek-plays-that-are-essential-to-any-education/
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. (1925). The Great Gatsby. Taiwan: Bookman Books, Ltd.
Jamieson, Lee (2017). An Utterly Unbiased List of Shakespeare’s Best Plays. 2017. 3. 2, from
http://shakespeare.about.com/od/theplays/a/Plays-by-Shakespeare.htm
Notable Quotes. 2017. 3.1, from http://www.notable-quotes.com/p/phillips_adam.html
White, Craig (2017). Is Tragedy the Greatest Genre?. 2017. 3. 5, from http://coursesite.uhcl.edu
/HSH/Whitec/xcritsource/genre/tragedygreat.htm
Zane, Peder J. (2013). Top Ten Works of the 20th Century. 2017. 3. 2, from
http://www.toptenbooks.net/top-ten-works-20th-century.
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