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LITR 4370
TRAGEDY
Midterm2 Samples 2015 (midterm2 assignment)
Model Answers to Part 3. |
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Part 3. Begin Research Report: Write at least
3-4 substantial paragraphs with two sources toward completion of
your Research Report on selected special topic
(to be completed on
Final Exam)
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 are experiencing. 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” (Course
Website). 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 flaws 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.
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.
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.
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
Hyperlink for
article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20057821
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