LITR 4370 TRAGEDY Final Exam Samples 2015 (final exam assignment) Model Answers to Part 1. Finish Genre Definition

Part 1. Finish genre definition and example(s) from Midterms 1 & 2: Using Introduction to Genres page, redevelop, revise, and improve your "working definition" of your chosen genre in all three categories (Subject / Audience, Formal, Narrative) and use them to describe and analyze the genre  you began in Midterm1. Cite, explain, and analyze two or more examples of your genre from your reading, viewing, or listening experience and  and 2 research sources from course website or beyond. (total length: 6-8 paragraphs, 3+ double-spaced page equivalent)

Michaela Fox              

“Undefining” the Defined

We as humans subconsciously and consciously categorize all elements of life. From the most simple, “I like red meat,” to the slightly more complex, “I am a Democrat.” It is only natural that we categorize the most basic form of human enjoyment—art. Genre concerns more than the mere labeling of films, poems, novels, paintings, etc. It involves the factors that magnetize the observer towards the piece, those that describe the ways in which it is unique. In a similar manner to the methods of categorizing of individuals within society, genre exists for the purpose of our desire to know and understand our surroundings. As naturally inquisitive human beings, our desire for knowledge determines how we react to an object. In this way, we ask about gender, race, sexual orientation, religion—all characteristics that define us. However, we cannot be put in “boxes” by these variables, but use them as “yardsticks,” measuring details.

          As a “contract with the audience,” genre is classified into three categories: (1) Subject/Audience Identification, (2) Form, and (3) Narrative. The most common method for categorizing genres involves the subject/audience, which refers to the content or “special interest.” It answers the questions “what kind of movies do you like?” or “what type of book is that?” For example, the cult trilogies turned films Divergent and The Hunger Games fall into the category of “teen movies” or “young adult fiction” because they connect the “subject of a genre [with] its audience.” The second two approaches, formal and narrative, “have more academic prestige” in that they involve patterns, regardless of content.

          Formal genre involves “number and types of voices” present within a text, and can be classified into three main categories: (1) Narrator or single voice—speaker directly addresses audience, (2) Drama or Dialogue—characters speak with each other and the audience over hears, and (3) Narrator plus Dialogue—characters speak with each other and narrator speaks to the audience. Examples of each would be Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech (narrator/single voice), Antigone (drama/dialogue), and The Scarlet Letter (narrator plus dialogue). The form of a genre is how the narrative, basic story or plot, of a work of literature is communicated to the audience.

According to Northrop Frye, there are four basic story lines, including tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire, each with specific variables connecting them to their titles. Tragedy, or the greatest genre, starts with “a problem that is significant to society, its leaders, or its representatives” and is “intimate and integral to human identity.” Unlike in romance, the problem is not “objectified”—evil stepmother in Cinderella—rather, it combines bad and good. The action involves discovering the truths regarding the problem, and in doing so, to “restore justice” or “regain moral control” over the situation. While nearly all narratives involve solving a problem in some way or another, tragedy approaches problem solving in a seemingly harsh, yet true, manner. In Antigone, the problem consists of Antigone’s determination to give her brother a proper burial, despite King Creon’s opposition. She attempts to restore justice, in the form of honor for her brother, and does not care if she loses her life in the process. The play ends as most tragedies do—in death. However, it has some elements of romance in that Antigone’s fiancé, Haemon, kills himself because of his undying love for her. Here, we see how works of art often mix elements of different genres. This indicates that although each narrative—tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire—has specific defining characteristics, they do not limit the works of art. Incorporating a variety of narrative elements represents the modernization of art as with the progression of time.  

          Genres, naturally, evolve over time in order to maintain a connection with the present generation’s norms and behaviors. For example, the sitcom Two and a Half Men involves scatological humor through references to sex, which our present society (for the most part) finds acceptable. Had the 1950’s sitcom, I Love Lucy, involved such vulgar dialogue, the audience would have disapproved. Therefore, topics within comedy are constantly evolving, unlike those of tragedy, which focus on issues relative to human nature. Not to imply that tragedy remains static in its representation of life, but that it consistently maintains a deep connection with its viewers. Tragedy’s powerful messages leave a lasting impression, an element that gives genres their meaningfulness.

          Like tragedy, the dystopic novel focuses on issues regarding ethics and truth, ensuring—hopefully—its place among the meaningful and memorable genre list. A dystopia refers to the opposite of an utopia, or “an experimental community intended to reform or escape from normal human society, often by substituting planning, cooperation, or collective values and practices in place of laissez-faire, competition, and individualism.” The narrative typically involves a protagonist living in a society that has been disrupted in some manner, and now has a strict form of government in place biasedly designed to improve the society. An issue of morality often lies at the center of conflict for the protagonist—seeing fault in their current situation and looking to remedy or correct the problem, despite any possible self-threatening consequences. Tragedy often mimics this issue of morality such as in Antigone when conflict remains centered around the truly honorable process of burial. The narratives of modern day dystopias provide audiences with similar pressing issues where the question entails defining what exactly qualifies as “right” and as “wrong.”

In Lois Lowry’s The Giver, the protagonist, Jonas, watches his father murder a newborn because of their community’s value to reject sameness. However, the father finds no fault in his doing as a result of his community’s strict government, designed to create a utopia. Those that do understand the concept of murder—the “elders,” Jonas, and the giver—face the morality of such issues. Here, the audience is faced with a question of which demands an answer between two extremes: killing off society completely or mandating unwarranted deaths and denying basic human rights. Similarly, Agamemnon must choose between sacrificing his daughter or the entire country. These choices are neither easy nor painless; they deal with the idea that life is not perfect, imitating a reality of truthfulness. Although dystopic novels and tragedy are comparable in this instance, they differ within the genre category of Subject/Audience Identification.

Subject/Audience Identification, unlike Narrative, concerns what type of movie/book/play/etc. the audience expects to see—“the contract with the audience.” The Giver belongs to a class of “teen dystopias,” much like The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies, which clearly does not describe the tragedy of Agamemnon. Rather, if while reading Agamemnon your friend asked, “what kind of book is that?” you would likely reply, “a tragic war story.” In a way, this categorization of genre feeds our need to understand about something—as mentioned earlier—to commit to something before we devote ourselves to it. The idea of Subject/Audience Identification can easily be explained through four lines of dialogue:

SUE Hey babe, there is this movie at the theatre I really wanna go see called Daisy’s Day.

          JIM   Alright, what kinda movie is it?

          SUE   Well, you’d probably call it a “chick flick” but I think its more of a story of finding yourself.

          JIM   Nope, see it with your mom.

Jim does not agree to the “contract” that this movie sets forth because the simple categorization of “chick flick” tells him that he will not enjoy it, even if means seeing Sue happy. As the first impression of a work of art, Subject/Audience Identification remains the most common method of categorizing genre. Once the audience moves past this initial “meeting” phase, they can categorize the piece in regards to its Form.

          Form concerns the “number and types of voices…in which the text appears,” which can emerge in three ways: (1) “narrator or ‘single voice,’” (2) “drama or dialogue,” and (3) “narrator + dialogue.” However, as indefinite categorizations of genre, a work of art can have a variety of forms, such as a speech within a narrated biography. As with Narrative and Subject/Audience Identification, these categories of genre are non-exclusive, they do not confine or limit art. They provide audiences with an understanding of what something is. We attempt to define art for the same reason that we attempt to define society—to fuel our desire to know, to understand. Just as every human is unique, so is every work of art, and therefore neither should nor can fit into one mold.