LITR 4533:
TRAGEDY

Final Exam Samples 2000

Sample Research Reports with Works Cited Submissions

Listed alphabetically below are complete samples of Research Reports required for the LITR 4533 final exam, submitted by students in the
summer 2000 course. Current students are welcome to use these
materials as part of their research.

*  *  *  *  *

Table of Contents (not links--scroll down to find submissions)

·        Sami Cantwell, "Gothic Romance"

·        Shannon Chamberlain, "Life of Euripides"

·        Erin Gouner, "Gender Issues in Fairy Tales"

·        Yvonne Hopkins, "Modern Confessional Poetry"

·        Cara Skinner, "Tennessee Williams and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"

·        Scott Stewart, "Urban Legends"

·        Philip Wood, "Does Hamlet have a Tragic Flaw?"

 

Sami Cantwell

Research Report – "Gothic Romance"

I researched the "gothic romance". Specifically, I explored character, plot, setting, and audience appeal. I was initially interested in the impact that gothicism might have on romanticism. I wondered how romantic elements such as hope and love might affect the gloom and horror of Gothic literature. I found research concerning the history of this genre and the impact gothic romance has had on society and the roles of women. I was already familiar with works by Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe. I was interested in gothic romance authors and their own unique styles.

            Gothic Romance is a genre identifiable by the dark, haunted settings, twisted characters, and plots that incite terror and fear in the audience. The setting of a gothic romance is recognizable by the gothic architectural elements, such as castles, dungeons, towers, and elaborate passageways, as well as elements of nature such as descriptions of moonlight, trees, and nightfall (Varma). The mixture of gothicism and romance create a setting that is both attractive and repulsive. The audience is drawn to the beauty of natural elements and the aesthetic value of the gothic architecture, but repulsed by the dark, gloomy qualities of the setting. Gothic romances contain characters that are imprisoned, suffering, and terrorized by their own conscience or by other outside entities. The characters are imprisoned females, restless ghosts, tyrannical fathers, and lost heroes and heroines who "wander by night through castle vaults" (Birkhead). The characters often repress erotic and neurotic tendencies, which are a direct result of their prolonged suffering. They are haunted by the horrors of darkness and loneliness and incredibly superstitious about secrets and desires (Varma). While Gothic Romance addresses the mystery and terror of the Gothic, romantic elements emerge when tortured characters are fearful, but remain hopeful in their state of terror. Heroes and heroines are obsessed with suffering, but find beauty in enduring their suffering. The characters strive to endure in their haunted worlds by seeking the promises of love, hope and happiness. The mystery behind the gothic romance genre drives characters and the audience to work through their confusion and hurt to find resolution for suffering.

            Gothic Romance is identified by the audience. The audience is drawn to the literary genre by the Gothic setting and intrigued by the psychological regression addressed by the tormented characters. (Clemens). Audiences, who are hungry for exploration of the unknown, are mystified by and curious about the supernatural elements in Gothic Romances. They look for the romantic elements that might make characters successful in the end. They identify not only with the characters’ suffering, but also with the sense of entrapment. In essence, the audience is "trapped" by the author’s manipulation. When the audience can successfully identify with characters, they are susceptible to feeling the urgencies and desires to overcome terror (Wardrop). Audiences continue to read, desiring the satisfaction that the characters might experience as compensation for the pain they have endured (Birkhead). Readers are looking for the characters to come up out of their gothic gloom to find peace and resolution. They know that to have resolution there must be some revelation about secrets, mysteries, or unknown terrors. Audiences are hopeful, but at the same time, fearful about what specific revelations might expose (Wardrop). A Gothic Romance glories in hesitation. Without the prolongation of desire for and fear of revelation, this genre would not continue to enthrall readers. Even though Gothic Romance is fiction, audiences are pulled into the drama and horror of the characters and their obsessions with terror.

Readers are interested in Gothic Romance as an escape from meaning and reality, into a world of sensations (Kilgour). Usually, audiences can appreciate the dangers faced in Gothic Romance because they themselves are secure from peril. Audiences can experience emotions and sensations without the dangers that the characters in this particular genre may face. Readers may experience displacement. They read Gothic Romance and distance themselves from the real world.

For this reason, throughout history Gothic Romance has raised some social concerns. Gothic Romance subtly addresses issues such as suicide, murder, and torture. There have been some debates about the moral dangers of reading this genre. Reading this material might have a negative influence because of reader identification. Some have been concerned that this type of literature "feeds destructive and anti-social desires" (Kilgour). Readers must differentiate between art and real life and this means that they are responsible for discerning what is right and wrong. There have also been debated about self-determination, and self-authority. In the past many were concerned about the effects this genre might have on women and middle-class readers. Women’s talents were a mystery and society was concerned that if they did not repress this literature, women’s virtue might be threatened (Clemens). Women have struggled, throughout history, to gain a status that is equal to men’s and the Gothic Romance has played a part in this battle between the sexes.

Gothic Romance has portrayed women in many different roles. Fear and pity can always be elicited from the audience when these characters are concerned because the women are always suffering in respect to their relationships with men. For example, women are afraid of their wedding night and terrified of childbirth. Women are often trapped at home with their parents or a husband. Just as the Gothic Romance focuses on hesitation and waiting for the revelation, women’s fears are intensified as they wait to be married, or wait to have a child (Wardrop). Often, the women of this genre are extremely disappointed after they are married because their hopes and desires will never be fulfilled. They are unsatisfied because they have no voice and are placed in a trap, which is torturous.

Learning about Gothic Romance has been very insightful as well as interesting. Women’s roles in all different types of literature are fascinating and the fact that literature has opened doors for women and people of different social statuses continues to amaze me. Throughout my research I kept reading that Gothic Romance is "for women readers" because of the allusions to female oppression and male dominant societies. When I read romances, they are only satisfactory for a short period of time. However, a Gothic Romance, maybe because of the gothicism, holds my interest. Gothic Romance addresses the issues that society never speaks about, and as a result, audiences can relate and continue to be intrigued.

Works Cited

Birkhead, Edith. The Tale of Terror: A Study of the Gothic Romance. New York: Russell and Russell, 1963.

Clemens, Valdine. The Return of the Repressed: Gothic Horror from The Castle of Otranto to Alien. NY: State University of New York Press, 1977.

Hazen, Helen. Endless Rapture: Rape, Romance, and the Female Imagination. NY: Scribner’s, 1983.

Kilgour, Maggie. The Rise of the Gothic Novel. NY: Routledge, 1995.

Varma, Devendra. The Gothic Flame. NY: Russell and Russell, 1966.

Wardrop, Daneen. Emily Dickinson’s Gothic: Goblin with a Gauge. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1996.

 *  *  *  *  *

Shannon Chamberlain

Research Report—Life of Euripides

            Euripides, the last of the great tragedians, lived a life filled with controversy and moral issues that influenced, as well as appalled, many people of his time. Throughout the centuries he has gained more acceptance in the literary circles as well as in the eyes of the public. It is difficult to write about his life only because he lived so long ago and there are many different opinions and theories as to what is factual and what is not. What is known about his life, and how he lived it, has remained an interesting topic. What his work influenced and who followed his ideas have contributed to his lasting popularity. His life was filled with triumphs and controversies that contributed to his greatness. It is this greatness that people have followed for over the last two thousand years.

            Euripides was born on the island of Salamis around 480 B.C. However, a Parian marble states that his birth was in 485 B.C (Bates 5). He was born into a somewhat rich family and was educated in the arts (as in painting) and trained in athletics. He began to write around the age of eighteen and became interested in philosophy soon after. Many people considered his ideas and thoughts as being too controversial for the time period. Euripides wrote on subjects such as religion, injustice, the gods and women. Being the free thinker that he was, these topics were considered socially abnormal.

            Euripides often wrote of socially insignificant people like women and slaves while giving them god-like powers. He often made his women characters evil by making them violent Medea. The more taboo subject of incest was brought into his plays also. Euripides wrote many great plays during his lifetime, yet he was constantly beaten in the State competitions. The official judges of the competitions were against him because he did not cater to the views and opinions of the Athenian crowds. Throughout his life he only won five awards, and the fifth one was not awarded until after his death (www.imagi-nation.com). He was under constant criticism from others about his tragedies. One well-known critic was Aristophanes, who constantly spoke negatively about Euripides ( Bates 7). He wrote Women at the Thesmophoria, which was about the murder of Euripides, and Frogs, in which Euripides was parodied again.

            The plays of Euripides had influenced many other authors over the years. During the ancient Greek times many people considered his ideas as being too radical. However, some very important men supported him in Greece. It is thought that philosophers and writers like Socrates and Protagoras were his acquaintances. They are thought to have shown appreciation towards his work. Socrates is said to have attended no other tragedies except those of his friend Euripides (Lucas 40). Not many other people found his work to be as important or enjoyable as these men did. However, even though he was considered controversial, his plays survived many years and were often read and performed for the people.

            Euripides was considered a pacifist and believed in human rights during a time when most people did not agree with the idea. He had trouble in the courts of Athens, as did most Athenians of the time ( Bates 10). He eventually resorted to living in solitude in a cave on the island of Salamis, his birthplace. It is believed that Euripides died while in a forest and the king’s hunting dogs attacked and killed him. He was buried in Macedonia.

            Although Euripides wrote of controversial subjects that involved violence and evil, some of his supporters believed that he represented the people as they truly were in society (Oxford 226). He wrote many of his plays with plots that directly reflected the one-sided views of the government. The officials of the State did not appreciate the work of certain individuals who reminded them of their mistakes or who questioned the values held by certain individuals (Jacobus 183).

            We possess nineteen of the ninety-two plays that Euripides wrote. These plays have miraculously survived over the centuries. These plays were the most extensive collection of Greek tragedies that had survived. The issues that Euripides wrote about influenced many great artists, authors, and playwrights for centuries after his death.

            For many centuries Euripides’s work influenced great artists, not just writers. His controversial subjects and thought provoking subjects encouraged many playwrights to base their plots on the same issues. Shakespeare was the most famous of the playwrights who used elements taken from Greek tragedies. The carvers of sarcophagi (stone coffins), the painters of vases, and the makers of mirrors were all influenced by the work of Euripides (Bates 20). Most of these influences are based on Greek mythology, yet Euripides humanized the myths and allowed a visual representation to be established on stage.

            The career of Euripedes was filled with controversy. He continued to write plays even though the majority of the people from Athens disagreed with him. His work gained much more appreciation and respect over the centuries and has been thought to be some of the greatest literature ever written. The morals and values that are associated with Euripides remain an important part of our society today.

Works Cited

Bates, William Nickerson. Euripides. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Press, 1930.

"Euripides." Image-Nation. http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc4.htm

Lucas, F.L. Euripides and His Influence. NY: Cooper Square, 1963.

Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Jacobus, Lee A., The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997.

*  *  *  *  *

Erin Gouner

Gender Issues within Fairy Tales

            Why is it that in a time when women were considered an inferior gender, they would become the main characters in fairy tales? One reason could be that fairy tales are one of the few genres created by women. The fairy tale originates in the seventeenth century when aristocratic women would gather in salons and play a game of who could make up the best story. This gave women a chance "to demonstrate their intelligence and education," and "to picture themselves, social manners, and relations in a manner that represented their interests" (Zipes 20). Many of these oral stories were later published by men, and through the years have been rewritten by men.

Perhaps the most popular writers of fairy tales are the brothers Grimm. The women in their renditions are portrayed as either beautiful, tortured women who must find a way out of their situation (usually through the aid of a man) or the woman is the villain who is usually causing the torture for the beautiful woman. The villainous woman is usually a stepmother who embodies "the many faces of maternal evil" (Tatar 140). Also, Tatar states that "instead of functioning as nurturers and providers, cannibalistic female villains withhold food and threaten to turn children into their own source of nourishment, reincorporating them into the bodies that gave birth to them" (140).

This cannibalistic female is seen in tales such as Hansel and Gretel where the old witch lures the children into her house made of candy and tries to cook Hansel for her supper and make Gretel a maid. The female villain, however, is not always a cannibal; "many are experts in the art of weaving spells: these are the witches and enchantresses." (Tatar 141) This type of villain is portrayed as the evil queen in Snow White, who turns herself into an old beggar woman and gives Snow White poisoned gifts. One of the traits of these enchantresses is that they turn men into animals, which "may be read as a telling commentary on women’s attitudes toward male sexuality" (146).

The beautiful woman usually embodies good virtues and behaves as a woman of the time period is expected too. They represent the opposite role of the villainous woman because the heroine is all that is good while the villain is all that is bad. The heroines are also usually title characters as is the case of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. These heroines also usually go through torture such as "having her eyes torn out" but is rewarded for her torture as in the same example when the heroine’s vision "one year and a day later, are replaced and can see seven times as clearly as before," which makes "the listener feel how suffering can purify and strengthen" (Luthi 144). Another reason for women playing such a key role in fairy tales is the Oedipal complex. In fairy tales the Oedipal complex manifests itself from the female perspective (or the Electra complex). "[F]airy tales enacting Oedipal conflicts split the mother figure in two: one mother who stands by her child and another (step)mother who stands in the way of the female child’s attempts to secure the love of her father" (151). Women appear in fairy tales for many reasons; be it that the genre was created by women, or that the female characters portray two extremes of the female personality, or that the undertones of the Oedipal complex require a female perspective.

            The significance of women being portrayed in fairy tales is that these are stories read to children. The way women are represented in these stories gives children an idea of how women should be. When children are exposed to the idea that beautiful women are pure and virtuous, while older women take on the role of villain and embody evil; they become prone to stereotyping women into roles based on their physical appearance. It is important for children to read these stories because they are wonderful fantasies and can have educational messages. These messages can be anything from the horrors of enslavement like in Rapunzel to the need to be leery of strangers in Snow White. However, when parents are reading fairy tales to their children; it is also important that they discuss the stereotypes that are represented and see how they can be disputed.

            When I first began my research I knew gender issues were present in fairy tales. I love to dissect literature and had at an early age discovered the unfair treatment of women in fairy tales. It had always seemed that women had to either be beautiful and that always meant they were good; or transform into a hag and be a villain. It just felt that too much emphasis in these stories was put on appearance and that ones outer looks equated their personality. Basically I thought of fairy tales as being written by men at a time when women were inferior and that these tales were to remind women of their place in society. After researching I gained a respect for these stories because I discovered their history. Also, I discovered their influence on adults; which I had never thought of because they are so marketed to children. During the Vietnam War students turned to "fairy tales as a revolt against the reality of the Vietnam War and the rationalizations of the so-called military-industrial complex that the younger generation could not trust" (Oxford XXX). Mainly through my research I regained my love for fairy tales because I could see the good side of them as well as the bad.

Works Cited

Luthi, Max. Once Upon a Time On the Nature of Fairy Tales. NY: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1970.

Tatar, Maria. The Hard Facts of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987.

Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tale as Myth: Myth as Fairy Tale. Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1994.

Zipes, Jack ed. The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. NY: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Yvonne Hopkins

Research Report: Modern Confessional Poetry

            The idea of exploring the concept of confessional writing occurred to me when I was considering a topic for the genre presentation. I wanted to remain within the parameters of literature, yet address a theme that appears universal in scope. Confession implies something that is both personal and inherently human. Undoubtedly, it is an aspect of the human condition that has endured across centuries. From the early writings of Sappho and Augustine, to Rousseau and the Romantic Poets, to Whitman, and the modernists, Lowell and Plath, the need to purge the soul and seek resolution, if not forgiveness, remains a hallmark of literature and, therefore, an imitation of life. This report segues from the initial presentation into a closer examination of the confessional mode through two of its greatest modern disciples, Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath.

            By definition, confessional poetry "renders personal experience as candidly as possible, even sharing confidences that may violate social conventions or propriety" (Kennedy 946). In essence, candor, intense personal experience, and lack of censorship might be considered the primary characteristics of this literary genre. However, as critic Robert Phillips indicates, the dangers of over-indulgence and sensationalism may undermine the quality of such poetry "with a tendency to shock rather than illuminate," thereby creating "sensation as opposed to intensity and courageousness of subject matter" (16). The pitfalls of confessional poetry, therefore, become obvious, requiring a sense of artistic control on the part of the poet. When control is evident, the poet reflects a sense of "taking stock" and the work projects the development of a "dramatic, thematic center" (Oberg 10).

            This sense of control and "taking stock" emerges in the poetry of the modern confessional poets. By definition, this group of American poets that included Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath "developed a lyric mode that, by virtue of its explicit themes and personal outpourings, became known as confessional" (Benet). Evident in the strains of their poetry is the "post-World War ll legacy of disenchantment and angst" (Benet). The modernists rejected the styles of Eliot and Auden who "consciously strove to obliterate their own concrete personalities" by adopting personae and projecting emotional restraint (Phillips 4). Rather the new poets embraced the subjective, personal point of view, employing techniques that sought to humanize the poet, and "penetrated the heart of darkness which is the center of modern American life" (Phillips10,15).

On another level, the emergence of psychoanalysis through the pioneering work of Freud and Jung created a significant impact on the modernist movement. The probing, therapeutic approach of modern psychology lends itself naturally to self-revelation. Both Lowell and Plath battled mental illness, enduring periods of therapy, hospitalization, and electric shock treatment. Inevitably, their work reflects personal experiences drawn from such moments of trauma and despair. For Robert Lowell, often referred to as the father of modern confessional poetry, the process of writing became a means to communicate personal history. As Robert Phillips notes, in Lowell’s poetry "persona gives way to person, fact to fiction" (20). His landmark collection of prose and poems "Life Studies" resounds with themes of sexual guilt, alcoholism, and mental illness. Written In the first person, the work appears to intentionally point to the poet as subject and confessor (Uroff 104). Much of what is explored deals with pain, loss, and alienation but, as Arthur Oberg reveals, there is a sense of working through as if the "effort of the entire book is to get things right" (23).

            This expands on the previously mentioned idea of "taking stock" and raises the issue of resolution. The poem "Skunk Hour" serves as a fine example of the elements that combine to create a masterful confessional poem. Replete with images of despair and discontent—the unhappy heiress, the dissatisfied decorator, the mental patient—the poem epitomizes the poet as a "wreck of a man wandering in the wreckage of his life" (Phillips 42). Essentially, the poet has become an outcast, alienated in much the same way as the skunk. However, the natural survival instincts of the skunk scavenging to feed its young, suggests tenacity and the ability to beat the odds. Similarly, the acknowledgement of mental illness, "My mind’s not right"/ "I myself am hell" (Lowell qtd. in Kennedy, 1099) creates a sense of awareness suggesting that resolution in a positive way is possible (Phillips 42). At the heart of much of Lowell’s writing there seems to be, as Oberg notes, an intention of "establishing loving sanity in the midst of madness and loss" (16).

In comparison, the work of Sylvia Plath, a former student of Lowell’s, "represents a romanticism in extremis, intense private agonies made public with a grotesque clarity" (McMichael 1845). Often referred to as "a modern Electra" as a result of the expressed hatred of men evident in her poetry, Plath projects the private agony explicit in her themes of marriage, estrangement, and suicide (Phillips 131, 145). However, while Lowell’s tone may be "self-deprecating" and "modest" (Uroff 104), Plath is at once mocking, serious, playful and deadly" (Oberg 129). Such characteristics reverberate throughout the poem "Lady Lazarus" in which the speaker appears to almost triumph at her attempted suicide, "I have done it again" (Plath qtd. in McMichael, 1845). In stark contrast to the almost gentle, melancholic tone of "Skunk Hour," Plath’s poem pulsates with bitterness, "caricature, hyperbole, and parody" (Uroff 109). Interestingly, questions have been raised challenging Plath’s legitimacy as a confessional poet. Critics, including former husband Ted Hughes, argue that much of the personal details in her poetry are "emblematic" and lack the "realistic detail" of Lowell’s poetry. Also, her characters tend to be "generalized figures not real-life people" (Uroff 104). Regardless of the controversy, Plath’s poems remain significantly autobiographical, revealing, often brutally, the agony and despair at the heart of her existence.

It seems that Lowell and Plath, despite differences in style, remain, essentially, artists in the ancient art of confessional writing. Just as other genres continue to evolve and defy clear definition, confessional poetry constantly changes to reflect the times and experiences of successive generations of writers. The need to confess, to reveal, to seek resolution, or closure pervades much of what we read and see. Elements of the genre surface in the plays of O’Neill and Norman, and remind us of the uniquely human nature of tragedy. While we live in a confessional age that often seems trite and indulgent, we need only turn the pages of "Life Studies" or "Ariel" to discover the purest form of therapy.

Works Cited

Benet’s Readers ‘ Encyclopedia. 3rd ed. 1987.

Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 7th ed. New York: Longman,1998, 945, 1099.

McMichael, George. Anthology of American Literature. 6th. Edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1997, p. 1845, 1850.

Oberg, Arthur. Modern American Lyric. New Jersey: Rutgers Univ. Press, 1978.

Phillips, Robert. The Confessional Poets. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1973.

http://ilabws13.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/~beckmann/plath/uroff.html

*  *  *  *  *

Cara Skinner

Tennessee Williams and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

            I chose to do my report on Tennessee Williams because I knew so little about him. I wanted to find out about his life’s history and how it influenced his works. I also wanted to learn the titles of some of his works, and I especially wanted to read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as I had heard about it but never had the opportunity to read it.

Tennessee Williams has been described as the most literary of the major dramatists and one of America’s best playwrights (Bloom, p.2). He has been praised by critics for his compassionate understanding of the spiritually downtrodden (Gale Databases, p. 8). One of his most famous plays, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, has been described as his most powerful, and deals with the then taboo subject of homosexuality (Becker, p. 2).

            Tennessee Williams, whose real name is Thomas Lanier Williams, was born on March 26, 1911 in Columbus Mississippi. His father was a traveling shoe salesman and his mother was the daughter of an Episcopalian clergyman. He had an older sister, Rose, and a younger brother, Walter Dakin. In 1918 the family moved to St. Louis. Tennessee had a very difficult childhood in St. Louis and was the butt of his classmates’ jokes because of his small size and lack of athletic ability (Encyclopedia of World Drama, p. 410).

            In 1929, he attended the University of Missouri, and won prizes for writing. He failed ROTC because of weakness in his legs caused by childhood diphtheria. His father removed him from the university just before his senior year because of financial reasons and disappointment in his son. His father got him a job in a warehouse of the International Shoe Company. Tennessee worked by day and wrote by night. He suffered a nervous collapse and spent a month in the hospital. He went to his grandparent’s home in Memphis, Tennessee to recuperate. In 1935 he attended Washington University with his grandparent’s help. There he wrote plays for the Mummers Theatre Group. In 1937 he attended the University of Iowa, studied under Professor E.C. Mabie, and received his B.A. degree. After graduation, he went to New Orleans after learning of his sister’s lobotomy (Encyclopedia of World Drama, p. 410).

            In 1939, Story Magazine published his play A Field of Blue Children. In that year Tennessee also compiled four one act plays under the title American Blues that included Candles in the Sun, The Fugitive King, Spring Storm, and Not About Nightingales. He submitted them to the Group Theatre’s American play contest and won a $100 prize which aroused the interest of New York agent Audrey Wood. She obtained a $1000 grant for him to finish Battle of Angels which was produced in 1940. He later rewrote this play and retitled it Orpheus Descending. During WWII Tennessee was classified as 4F due to a heart condition and wandered about the country, and lived for a time in New York and New Orleans. During this time Audrey Wood got him a job with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which did not work out. They rejected his play The Gentleman Caller, which he later converted into The Glass Menagerie. This play proved to be his first major success. In 1947, he wrote Streetcar Named Desire, in 1950, The Rose Tattoo, in 1955, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and in 1958, Suddenly Last Summer (Encyclopedia of World Drama, p. 411).

            Tennessee referred to the 1960’s as his "stoned age." He stated that he needed drugs, caffeine, and alcohol to obtain the energy to work (Gale Literary Databases, p. 7). He continued to produce plays, but critical reception became negative. "It was not only the lack of new themes that caused critics to denounce his later work, but also the absence of freshness and dramatic soundness in his treatment of his themes" (Gale Literary Databases, p. 7). Tennessee Williams died in 1983.

             Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is considered to be one of Williams’s best plays. The theme of the play concerns avoiding the truth and the play deals with the then taboo issue of homosexuality. The two major characters in the play are Big Daddy who is the owner of a 28,000-acre plantation, the head of the household, and who has cancer; and his son Brick who is an alcoholic. The play begins with the family throwing a birthday party for Big Daddy. Brick, Margaret (Brick’s wife), and Gooper and Mae (Brick’s brother and sister-in-law) know that Big Daddy is dying of cancer and have lied to him about his medical test results. Gooper and Mae and their five children are doing their best to impress Big Daddy on his birthday hoping to inherit the plantation.

            Yet Big Daddy is not the only one being lied to in this play. Brick is slowly drinking himself to death because he cannot face the fact that he has homosexual tendencies. He refused to face this fact with his best friend, Skipper, who was a homosexual and had feelings for him. Because of his refusal to do so, his friend drank himself to death. Brick blames Margaret (Maggie) for his friend’s death because she confronted Skipper about it and went to bed with him to prove it. Skipper’s impotence with Maggie confirmed hers and his suspicions that he, Skipper, was homosexual, and Skipper began to drink. Big Daddy wants to leave the plantation to Brick but is afraid he will squander away the great fortune it represents on alcohol. When Big Daddy confronts Brick about his alcoholism during Act 2, the truth emerges and Big Daddy accuses "You!-dug the grave of your friend and kicked him in it!-before you would fact the truth with him!" Agitated by this confrontation with his father, Brick inadvertently reveals the truth to Big Daddy about his cancer. Big Daddy exists Act 2 shouting "Yes, all liars, all liars, all lying, dying liar" (Cat, Act 2).

            Maggie proves to be a strong female character. As discussed in class concerning women and morality, she is not concerned with the "right or wrong" of homosexuality. She only wants her husband and his friend to face the truth so that they can resolve the issue and get on with their lives. She knows that Big Daddy wants Brick to inherit the plantation and so lies about being pregnant to grant Big Daddy his dying wish of Brick producing an heir. Her concern is not about right and wrong, but is about saving her family. In the end she convinces Brick to go to bed with her to produce that heir, and leads us to hope that she will be able to save Brick from his self-blame and alcoholism.

            Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is basically a tragedy with elements of comedy and romance. In it we have the revelation of truth, although the characters are reluctant to face it. The fall of Big Daddy and Brick is due to their weaknesses of cancer and alcoholism. The play deals with the then taboo subject of homosexuality. There is no spectacle as the play takes place solely in Maggie’s and Brick’s bedroom, and rot and corruption are mentioned when Big Daddy discusses Brick’s alcoholism during their confrontation. The characters are complex and reveal both good and bad. Big Daddy is very harsh with his wife and Gooper, yet reveals his love and concern when trying to determine the cause of Brick’s alcoholism. He also shows surprising broad-mindedness when discussing his son’s homosexual tendencies. Brick is very hard on Maggie and Skipper, yet exhibits guilt due to his love for Skipper, and harbors no resentment against his wife for sleeping with his best friend. Maggie reveals her goodness by not condemning her husband for his homosexuality, yet she sees no problem in sleeping with his best friend to prove the truth about his and Skipper’s friendship. She admits, "I’m not trying to whitewash my behavior. I don’t pretend to be good" (Cat, Act 1). Also, we feel fear and pity for both Big Daddy and Brick because we know that Big Daddy will die and that Brick is dealing with so much guilt. The comical aspects deal with Gooper and Mae’s children. Maggie calls them the no-neck monsters, and Big Daddy tells Gooper to feed "those pigs" at a trough in the kitchen because they act so badly at the dinner table. The fact that there is eating involved also points out the comedic aspects of the play. The romantic aspect occurs in the end when Maggie and Brick get together after being separated from each other, with the hope that they will have a child together.

            Tennessee Williams is considered to be one of America’s greatest playwrights. His plays are still enacted and enjoyed today. These plays, especially Cat on Hot Tin Roof, still have meaning today because they deal with issues such as homosexuality with which society is still grappling. I believe this play also portrays an aspect of Williams’ family life, because it concerns a somewhat overbearing father who expects his sons to behave as he thinks they should, just as Williams’ own father did. Big Daddy wants Brick to straighten up and play the part of a married man in order to inherit the plantation. Williams’ own father wanted him to be athletic and strong and was disappointed in him because he was not this way. Also, the portrayal of alcohol abuse by Brick mirrors Williams’ own drug and alcohol abuse during the 1960’s.

Works Cited

Becker, William. "A Review of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." The Hudson Review 8.2 (Summer, 1955), 268-72.

Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views: Tennessee Williams. NY: Chelsea House, 1987.

"Tennessee Williams." Encyclopedia of World Drama, Vol. 4. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1972.

"Tennessee Williams, 1911-1983." Gale Database: Contemporary LiteraryCriticism. The Gale Group 2000

Williams, Tennessee. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." The Bedford Introduction to Drama, 3rd Ed. Jacobus, Lee A. Bedford Books. Boston, MA. 1997.

*  *  *  *  *

Scott Stewart

Urban Legends

The subject of this report focuses on the phenomenon known as Urban Legend. Urban Legend, henceforth referred to as UL, is well known in the arena of folklore and other sorts of stories passed down through generations; however, it is relatively new to the world of literary composition as a legitimate genre to be analyzed and studied in texts by experts of literature. In fact, if it had to be labeled, UL would be considered a sub-genre of folklore by many of the experts. These stories are known as "modern oral folklore – typically a tall tale with a frisson of comeuppance of horror, related as having actually happened to a ‘friend of a friend’" (Clute & Grant, 1997). UL is also considered to be very similar to myth and fantasy.

I originally became very interested in this phenomenon after seeing the film Urban Legend several years ago. My curiosity on the subject matter was rekindled when Stacey Burleson presented on "Legend" in our class. To be quite honest, I did not realize that UL was considered as being part of a genre of literature until Ms. Burleson’s presentation. This newfound interest in the subject, as well as a desire to dig beyond the surface of the subject matter, is the reason I chose this topic. In doing this research, I realized that I have been participating in UL’s every since I was a young boy. The simple fact that I never used the term "urban legend" is why I thought I was so unfamiliar with this subject area. During my childhood, my family and peers always referred to these legends as "campfire stories". It was not until college, when I saw the previously mentioned movie, that I associated the term with the countless stories I had heard and told to others.

According to Jan Harold Brunvand, considered by many to be the leading expert in the field of UL and fantasy folklore, UL’s are "stories that are too good to be true. And are events that happen to a friend of a friend, or ‘FOAF’."(Brunvand, 1999). Also, most of the time, the stories are told in such a believable manner because the storytellers themselves believe the story, or at least the probability that the actions in the stories could take place. The popularity of these tales is contributed to the familiarity of the audience to the format of the story. By that I mean that the characters in an UL are usually common, everyday people and the settings are very realistic – a house, a car, a hotel, shopping mall, etc. Those are places that everyone has been and everyone can relate to.

As popular as they are, and as much as narrators want to make believers of their audiences with these gruesome tales, the possibility of absolute truth in UL in next to impossible. The experts point out that, in the great majority of UL, the stories are just too neatly plotted to be believable. Nothing is extraneous, and every minute detail is relevant and focused on the conclusion (Brunvand, 1999). Another factor to the improbability of truth in UL is the countless duplications of a particular story. Human recreation of a spoken language is destined to be consumed with inconsistencies. The settings are changed, the stories are rearranged for association, the characters are slightly altered, etc. All of these things occur in the phenomenon known as UL for effect; yet all keep the same basic story-line, and they all still happen to the "friend of a friend" – not very likely. The following are some excerpts concerning the manned space program from one of my sources (Brunvand, 1999) to illustrate this point.

  • Was it, as one 1978 source claimed, Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott who remarked about his thoughts before launch, "You just sate there thinking that this piece of hardware had 400,000 components, all of them built by the lowest bidder"?
  • Or was it Walter Schirra who, according to a 1980 report, phrased the idea, "Just think, Wally, everything that makes this thing go was supplied by the lowest bidder"?
  • Or was it really Gus Grissom who posed the quip as a question, according to a 1973 source: "How would you feel, taking off, sitting up there on top of fifty thousand parts, knowing that every one had been let to the lowest bidder?"

Experts are very quick to point out that fact or fiction does not define UL. The concept of UL lives in the oral variation through repetition of the same story. No one is for sure which, if any, of those astronauts made the comment in the stories mentioned above. It may have been someone totally different that first said it, or it may be an ongoing joke in the astro-aeronautical community used to excite interviewers. No matter who exactly said it or the exact circumstances they were in, the story has been told over and over has been changed and rearranged many times; yet it is as comical today as it was twenty-five years ago.

            My research uncovered several characteristics of UL that I was not aware of prior to this report. I thought that all UL stories were limited to revolting, horrific, tales of murder and misery. Even though most of them are scary, many UL can be humorous, romantic, and/or enlightening. I think the popularity of the horrific, gruesome UL’s is similar to the popularity of "tragedies" in more traditional literature. There seems to be an insatiable need in the human psyche for the occurrence of suffering and/or destruction of other human beings.

Whether the intended effect is that of insight or horror by the narrator, UL has a vital significance in our society as a means of communication and bonding from one generation to the next. Whether it is an old man at the park telling stories of hideous creatures running loose in the city to anyone who will listen, or whether it is your great-grandfather telling the story to you and your friends over a camp fire in the middle of the woods about the escaped convict with a steel hook for a hand being somewhere in the area, UL will always be a popular form off communication and will pass the test of time. I highly recommend the Brunvand book on my bibliography mainly because of the astonishing number of UL’s that the book contains. Defining a UL is one thing, but the most enjoyable part of this research was getting to read many of the examples. Many people will find that they have heard many of these stories before, or similar variations, and did not even realize they were dealing with Urban Legend. As a teacher, I plan to involve UL much more in my lesson plans for the upcoming school year to help the students associate the terminology of the experts to the stories they have heard since early childhood. This project was very helpful in my understanding of UL and I hope I have shed some new light on it for others as well.

Works Cited

Brunvand, Jan Harold. Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends. NY: Norton, 1999.

Clute, John and John Grant. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. NY: Saint Martin’s Press, 1997.

Legends. The Phenomenon of Urban Legend, Retrieved June 29, 2000 from Yahoo Search Engine: keyword legend on the World Wide Web. HYPERLINK: http://www.legends.dm.net/index.html

Urban Legends. Definition of Urban Legend, Encyclopedia Encarta Retrieved July 1, 2000 from America On Line (AOL) Search Engine: keyword folklore on the WorldWide Web. HYPERLINK: http://www.encarta.msn.com 

*  *  *  *  *

Philip Wood

Research Report: Does Hamlet have a Tragic Flaw?

            The topic I will write about is over the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. I am not going to describe the play per se, but will interpret my thoughts on it as a tragedy and the significance of the tragic hero. It was my observation after reading Hamlet, that the play and its main character are not typical examples of tragedy and contain a questionable "tragic flaw" in the tragic hero. I chose this topic because Hamlet is a tragedy, but one that is very different from classical tragedies such as Medea. I also found quite a lot of controversial debate over the play and its leading character. While reading through my notes, I found that, according to Aristotle, "the tragic hero will most effectively evoke both our pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor evil but a mixture of both; and also that the tragic effect will be stronger if the hero is better than we are in the sense that he is of higher than ordinary moral worth. Such a man is exhibited as suffering a change in fortune from happiness to misery because of a mistaken act, to which he is led by his hamartia ("error of judgment") or his tragic flaw." It is important that this be clear, because I plan to demonstrate how Shakespeare makes Hamlet an atypical tragedy to begin with, and how controversial an issue Hamlet’s tragic flaw is.

            Shakespeare’s Hamlet is an atypical play to begin with, because the play’s format doesn’t conform to traditional Aristotelian concepts of the 3 unities. Shakespeare does not conform to unity of time, place, or action. Hamlet contains a "play within a play," sub-plots, and its action is not set in one day, but several. According to Aristotle, the play should be one day long. There are also a number of comedic moments. Humor, as Aristotle would have it, would reduce the impact of tragedy. Unlike Medea and Oedipus, which contain virtually no humor whatsoever, the play Hamlet has several comedic moments. The last difference I could find is the stature of the character. In the older plays such as Oedipus, the heroes are primarily kings. Hamlet on the other hand is a prince; his stature is starting out smaller than normal.

            While reading Hamlet, I came to the conclusion that even though this is a tragedy, the hero’s supposed flaw is not like those in classical tragedies. To the best of my knowledge, the flaw that I could pick out that best fit Hamlet was sloth . . . as well as the critics themselves. Was this accurate? I think not, and here is why. Hamlet is not a lazy person to begin with. He has no inborn flaw in his character. Morris Weitz concludes that "Before his father’s death, Hamlet was athletic, joyful, fearless, idealistic, open, adoring of his parents, and in love with Ophelia, and that some of the traits remain throughout the play" (229). Nowhere does he mention slovenliness or sloth. I say that the reasons Hamlet delays are all sensible and normal and don’t reflect a tragic flaw on his part. I feel that it is his situation, the fact that he doesn’t want to kill another human, and the knowledge of a Hell that his father is in that deters him from immediate action. Weitz concludes, "Hamlet delays because he is melancholy" (229). Again, this would indicate the sudden situation he finds himself in, and the depression he feels at missing his father.

It is also easy to see that Hamlet is rash at times. Wouldn’t being rash override laziness? Does Hamlet not kill Polonius in his mother’s bedchamber, dispatches Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, board a pirate ship, and in the end kill Claudius? These are all actions, and in my opinion renounce any laziness one could mistake for being thoughtful. In fact, one critic writes that to delay reflects Hamlet’s moral fiber: "Hamlet is meant to be a fine and noble sould, and why should he not hesitate and delay? Not in every man who does that is there a vital defect . . . . There is a defect in the drama, of course, but it is only as our technique is superimposed upon the drama that this is turned into a tragic defect in the hero . . . " (Stoll 19). This is no tragic flaw, to delay . . . only normal human reason. . . .

            The other characters can’t find a flaw in Hamlet; we can’t find a flaw in Hamlet. One has to be invented for us. . . .

Works Cited

A Glossary of Literary Terms. 1988.

Smith, Dr. Leigh. Lecture. UHCL.

Stoll, Elmer. Hamlet: An Historical and Comparative Study. NY: Gordian Press, 1968.

Weitz, Morris. Hamlet and the Philosophy of Literary Criticism. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1964.

*  *  *  *  *