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LITR 4370
TRAGEDY
Final Exam Samples 2015 (final exam assignment)
Model Answers to Part 3. |
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Part 3. Complete Research Report:
Write at least
8-10 substantial paragraphs with four sources
to complete
your Research Report on selected
special topic.
Michael McDonald
Tragedy’s Fatal Flaw
The heart of tragic plays is their ability to make their audiences feel
the very pain, anguish, and grief that those at the center of the tragedy
experience. Tragedy is meant to connect with the emotions of its audience and
move them, but something seems to be limiting that connection. The teaching of
tragedy has a flaw, and it’s the fatal flaw’s fault. The fatal flaw in recent
years has become a focus of teaching in literature classrooms. Teaching the
fatal flaw isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but what has appeared to happen with
tragedy is that the flaws of the hero have become the sole focus of the plays
rather than the abundance of themes that tragedies present.
Upon asking several of my non-literature friends about a few well known
tragedies, often the only information that they could recount tended to be the
flaws of the tales heroes. Furthermore, asking why teaching the fatal flaw as
the heart of tragedy leads to complicated answers, but Dr. White presents a
viable opinion stating, “The tragic flaw may provide a simple and righteous
answer to a complex and challenging problem” (Fatal
Flaw Webpage).
Tragedies do present complex challenges that often ask its audience to delve
into their own emotions and confront the challenges along with the characters.
I’ve seen that like most literature tragedies ask for something from its reader
to truly be great. It is with that involvement from its audience that Tragedy
becomes truly great. Dr. White goes on to explain that another possibility for
the fatal flaw’s popularity is that it is simply testable. The fatal flaw is
concrete; it is not open to interpretation like much of literature tends to be.
Because of its ability to be quizzed over the fatal flaw seems to find its
popularity in high schools. Dr. White’s does not argue that the fatal flaw hold
value, but that its apparent focus in much of teaching tragedy is misguided as
it takes away from a student’s ability to think creatively about the subject at
hand and places handcuffs on what tragedy is thought to be. Dr. White argues
that “I thought there were more important and rewarding issues to consider,
especially in narrative over characterization” (Fatal Flaw Webpage). Throughout
the process of this course Dr. White rarely mentioned the subject of the fatal
flaw, if he ever mentioned it at all. Instead the focus of the course came in
finding the underlying themes of tragedy. For, Dr. White the true nature of
tragedy comes from behind the curtain and what hides underneath, instead of the
surface nature of the characters. Dr. White is not alone in his fight to topple
the walls that the fatal flaw has built up around tragedy.
In my search for understanding I came across Page DuBois’ article
“Toppling the Hero: Polyphony in the Tragic City.” DuBois in his article is
discussing how at the peak of the O.J. trials he was invited to discuss the
trial and was promptly asked if O.J. was similar to the fatally flawed heroes of
Greek tragedies. DuBois makes the claim that “In popular culture, and in much
literary theory as well, tragedy has become something of a dead signifier,
connoting only these salient feature: the great man or woman, the tragic flaw,
the fall” (64). This article presents an interesting look at how tragedy is
viewed today as DuBois uses current events to provide example and make
connections to his audience to help their understanding in his questioning why
the fatal flaw has consumed tragedy. DuBois aim of the article is to show that
there is more to Tragedy than what is commonly believed.
DuBois argues that popular culture is to blame for the stigma fatal flaw
stigma that tragedy carries. DuBois using the O.J. trials as an example shows
how within society we equate the fall of heroes to that of Greek tragedy,
because it is the simplest and most concrete piece of tragedy that we remember.
The fall of a hero is also a grand story one that draws audiences in and leaves
them hanging on every twist, turn, and word. DuBois argues that the similarities
do exist and that potentially the event could be logically seen in that light,
but that by pigeonholing tragedy in that way takes away from the true complexity
and brilliance of the writers themselves.
DuBois is not alone in his feelings that the fatal flaw minimizes the
brilliance of tragedy. Author Isabel Hyde in her article “The Tragic Flaw: Is It
a Tragic Error?” looks at both sides of the argument regarding the fatal flaws
importance to tragedy. Hayes
attempts to look objectively at both sides of the fatal flaw argument, but ends
up on the same side as DuBois in the feeling that by giving the fatal flaw the
spotlight of tragedy diminishes tragedy as a whole. Hayes argues that, “the
student and devotee of the art of tragedy, in the study and in the theatre, may
benefit from a warning: if the so-called doctrine of the ‘tragic flaw’, in any
but the most limited sense, is made to serve as the mainspring of tragedy it
leads to a narrowing of scope and significance which is stultifying and
crippling. On the other hand if it is given a very wide significance, it ceases
to have any meaning at all” (323). Hayes argues that if the fatal flaw is
allowed to be the sole reason for the progression of a tragedy the play is
crippled and the flaw becomes a chore within the narrative, but if the fatal
flaw is allowed to have a major significance to the meaning of the play then the
plays loses its luster and appeal.
Luckily for me and my quest for answers, I happen to have a sibling who
teaches literature at the high school level and plan on asking him and some of
his colleagues as to why they feel that the fatal flaw is a viable and prominent
teaching point with tragedy. When asked about why he felt that the fatal flaw
took center stage to all that tragedy offers, Bryan’s answer surprised me, but
was one that generally made a good bit of sense. Bryan argued that at the high
school level, most students don’t have the knowledge to reach into history or
various other literatures to understand what tragedy is attempting to present to
its audience. He argued that he believed the reason for the fatal flaw’s
popularity among teachers is that it was a stepping stone on the way to higher
learning involving literature. Students are often asked to read a text and
regurgitate what knowledge they found at the surface of the literature. Bryan
felt as though most high school students didn’t have the necessary knowledge to
look beneath the surface of literature to find deeper meaning and themes. He
semi-jokingly referenced the student response of “the author said the sky is
blue, why does it have to mean he was sad, can’t the sky just be blue?” When I
asked Bryan if he felt as though the possibility for its popularity was because
of the fatal flaw’s concrete nature within the text, he generally agreed. Bryan
felt as though that it is deemed important because of its ability to be tested
and shows that a student paid attention to the surface of the text and has a
general knowledge of the basic questions who, what, when, and where. It is with
the question “why” that the fatal flaw becomes subjective to students due to the
fact that its importance lies in subtext, subtext that Bryan felt high school
students were not well versed enough in to present reasoned argument. The most
interesting part of his argument came when he questioned my own understanding of
literature and how it had grown in my five years of college, to answer that I
had to look no further than the journey of learning that I had experienced
within this course. Because I was somewhat familiar with the material being
presented I could then attempt to look for the narrative themes that we as a
class discussed. Bryan closed his argument stating that his reasoning for the
fatal flaw was that it gave those students who would go on to take higher level
literature course, would be able to reproduce that concrete questions of who,
what, when, and where and with the aid of more in depth teaching be able to
begin to formulate their own opinions and arguments of why.
Tragedy thrives on the theme of mimesis, the portrayal of real life, for
its stories to carry meaning. Without the possibility of real events occurring
the cathartic effect that tragedy wishes to attain is impossible. Due to mimesis
characters in tragedy are flawed individuals, it is what makes them relatable
and allows us to empathize with them. Unfortunately, it is those flaws that have
taken hold of what tragedy is to the general public. Before my research I felt
unsure about the reason for the fatal flaw and in some ways reassured by my
findings. My own opinions fell in line with Dr. White and understood the
importance of what Page DuBois was arguing. Isabel Hayes and Bryan McDonald
showed though that the fatal flaw cannot be the point that tragedy zeroes in on,
but also cannot be ignored entirely. Teaching the fatal flaw can be a way to
introduce tragedy and allow young undeveloped thinkers a chance to dip their
toes into the rough waters that tragedy brings, rather than be the head first
dive that it has become in modern teachings.
Works
Cited
DuBois, Page. “Toppling the Hero: Polyphony in the Tragic City” New Literary
History.
Vol. 35, No. 1, Rethinking Tragedy (Winter, 2004), pp. 63-81
Hyde, Isabel. “The Tragic Flaw: Is It a Tragic Error?”
The Modern Language Review. Vol. 58,
No. 3 (Jul., 1963). Modern Humanities Research Association. pp. 321-325
Interview with Bryan McDonald, English teacher at J. Frank Dobie High school,
if conformation of interview is needed can be reached at
bryanmc1@sbcglobal.net
(Fairly sure that is still a valid
email address, if not will provide a more up to date one if deemed necessary)
Dr. White Tragic Flaw webpage on Course Website
URL for DuBois article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20057821
URL
for Hyde article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3721422
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