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(2016
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2016 Essay 1. Define "genre" + examples |
LITR 4370 Tragedy
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(Authors & titles in alphabetical order; scroll down to see essays)
Michael
Bradshaw
Angela
Copper,
Genre in General: A Look at Literature
Classification through Anime
Nikki
Jones,
The Little Genre That Could
Tedra Mendoza
Cassandra Parke
Adrian Russell, Batman: The Tragic Hero (Comic Books)
Michael
Bradshaw
Swords, Sorcery, Student Loans?
The Kingkiller Chronicle and the Evolving
Fantasy Genre
Dr. White on his genre webpage stated that the classifications of genre
“amount to a contract with the audience,” letting them know at least in broad
terms what to expect from a novel before they read the first page. Few genres
are as blatant about this as fantasy. Many times a reader can predict a number
of familiar fantasy trope he or she can expect from a novel, just by looking at
the cover. The Name of the Wind, and The
Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss do contain many of the traditional
trappings of fantasy; where it differs makes it wholly unique, and proves
another of Dr. White’s statements that “Genre is not a box in which to
put a work of art but a yardstick to measure it by.”
The main characteristic of the fantasy genre is that it is… well
fantastic. There is always an element of the other, be it the existence of
magic, the supernatural, or some other thing that differs from our own world. In
this regard, The Kingkiller Chronicle
fits the fantasy mold. There is
magic that allows a person to command the wind, or use a drop of another’s blood
to boil them from the inside out. There are swords older than recorded history
with edges keen enough to cut a hair. There are great roads, the likes of which
can no longer be built, spanning the countryside. Beings as old as time,
beautiful and terrible to behold, exist in another realm, able to pass into the
mortal realm when the moon is full. On a moonless night, a mortal may wander the
woods, only to find themselves in Fae. Said Felurian, one of these ageless
beings to Kvothe, the protagonist of the story ““I do this so you cannot help
but hear. A wise man views a moonless night with fear.” (WMF)
Another common trait of fantasy is a nostalgia for the past and a disdain
for modern civilization. While Rothfuss’ novels often have the educated Kvothe
learn from those with no formal schooling, these people are the exception. Most
people outside of the University Kvothe attends, treat him with suspicion and
superstition. Along with this nostalgia of the past, the fantasy genre often
places great importance on bloodlines, with its heroes springing from noble
houses. Arguably the most famous example of this would be Aragorn from J.R.R.
Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
trilogy. Rothfuss inverts this trope with Kvothe. He is Edema Ruh, a nomadic
people, who usually make their living as traveling performers. They are looked
upon as the lowest class of people, and Kvothe is often hindered by this
perception.
One of the most unique aspects of
The Kingkiller Chronicle is the narration style. Instead of the traditional
invisible narrator who tells the story while the characters interact with each
other, Rothfuss alternates between this and a first person narrative. Kvothe is
approached by the Chronicler so that Kvothe can recount the story of his life.
The majority of the story is told from a first person perspective as Kvothe
reminisces about his life, while the interludes are told in the traditional
narrative fashion.
“I know what kind of story I’m telling. This is no comedy… this is not a
dashing romance. This is no fable where folk come back from the dead. It’s not a
rousing epic meant to stir the blood. No. We all know what kind of story this
is,” (WMF). In Kvothe’s own words he spells out that the ending of
The Kingkiller Chronicle will not be a
happy one. Though it is unfinished, it has all the makings of a tragedy. Kvothe
is found in hiding under an assumed name in a remote town as far from anything
as it could be. He is assumed dead, and his exploits are slowly turning into
legend. Later in the story it is revealed that the powers which made him famous
are no longer his to command. Kvothe has all the makings of the Byronic hero. He
is haunted by loss and seems to be waiting for death. In his reminiscence, he
portrays himself as brilliant but rash, which often gets him into trouble. One
of his friends remarks, “I swear I’ve never met a man who has your knack for
lack of social grace. If you weren’t naturally charming someone would have
stabbed you by now,” to which Kvothe replies, “You’re assuming.” Kvothe’s
hamartia, or tragic flaw, is his pride. He feels that he must accomplish his
tasks on his own or that he can resolve his own problems, a trait which more
often than not makes things harder for him. The trilogy is as yet unfinished;
all signs point to it ending in tragedy. However, as Chronicler points out.
“It’s not over if you’re still here. It’s not a tragedy if you’re still alive,”
(WMF).
Works Cited
Rothfuss, Patrick. The Wise Man's Fear. New York: DAW, 2011. Print.
White,
Craig. "Byronic Hero." Terms & Themes. University of Houston Clear Lake,
n.d. Web. 17 June 2016.
White,
Craig. "Critical Sources." Critical Sources. University of Houston Clear
Lake, n.d. Web. 15 June 2016.
White,
Craig. "Hamartia" Terms & Themes. University of Houston Clear Lake, n.d.
Web. 17 June 2016.
Angela
Copper
16 June
2016
Genre in General: A Look at Literature
Classification through Anime
The taxonomy of literature is as
complex as literature itself. Genre as it pertains to literature can be defined
as a “type” of literature, but this definition, in its brevity, creates more
questions than answers. Not only are there different types of genres, as in
subject/audience identification, form, and narrative, but there is also the
matter of subgenres. Additionally, most works have more than one genre
classification – such as a romantic comedy. In this sense, there is no one genre
that will define any artistic work. Also, two titles with the same
subject/audience genre and form genre may have different narrative genres. The
intricacies of genres can be explained through a comparison of the titles
Hunter x Hunter (2011) and
Naruto (2002).
Perhaps the most common way that
the term “genre” is used is in reference to “subject/audience identification”
genres. The “subject” refers to the content found in a work of art – for
example, the Japanese animation style is what classifies both
Hunter x Hunter and Naruto
as anime. The anime subject genre is characterized by its tendency toward
accurate body proportions, hard lines, cinematic camera angles,
disproportionately large eyes, unique or vividly colored hair, exaggerated
facial expressions, and its origin in Japan. However, all of these elements do
not have to be present for a work of art to qualify as anime, as seen through
the exaggerated muscles and comically large stomach size of
Naruto’s Legendary Stupid Brothers.
This distortion of proportions for the sake of humor is part of what makes
Naruto and
Hunter x Hunter animes shōnen
anime. Literally meaning “boy animation” in Japanese, Shōnen anime is a
subgenre of anime which refers to the “audience” of the viewers. While the
demographic for a particular anime within the shōnen genre can vary, shōnen
anime are typically aimed at boys between the ages of 8 and 18. Thus, when
someone refers to Hunter x Hunter as a
“shōnen anime,” they are classifying it through the use of its subject/audience
identification genre.
A second type of genre that can be used to classify a work is its
“narrative genre.” The narrative genre is used to classify a work by how the
plot is constructed. There are four major narrative genres as defined by Northop
Frye in Anatomy of Criticism (1957): tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire.
In Hunter x Hunter, the plot centers
around the main character Gon in his quest to find his long lost father, Ging.
In seasons one through six, Gon’s relatively peaceful life is taken over by his
desire to meet his father. He sets off on an adventure, wherein he has to fight
for survival in the name of achieving his goal. Along the way, Gon makes friends
and in the final, seventh season he meets his father. This is what drives
Hunter x Hunter into the romance
genre, which is defined by a story driven by a problem of separation, action
involving the furthering of a physical quest, and challenges or trials along the
way. Gon’s desire to meet his father
matches with a Romance protagonist’s desire for fulfillment, and in the last
episode of the series, he and his father look out into the sunset from atop a
large, mountainous tree – creating the characteristically romantic “larger than
life” point of view that symbolizes transcendence of the main character.
However,
Hunter x Hunter cannot be defined as a
pure romance. The majority of characters from
Hunter x Hunter are far from solely good or bad. While the
protagonist Gon may be a “true good” character, an optimistic ten-year-old boy
who would do anything to help a friend, this could be contrasted with the
character of Hisoka, who loves to kill people for fun and initially is an
adversary of Gon, though he later becomes a strong ally and helps Gon to reach
his goal. The “mixed” character of Hisoka fits more into the realm of tragedies,
which typically have less exclusively good or bad characters. Tragedy also fits
the story of Hunter x Hunter in the
subplot or story arc of season six, wherein the main antagonist of the season, a
humanoid creature called King Meruem, finds himself with amnesia. Meruem spends
the better half of the season trying to discover the truth about his past, while
his followers try to convince him to destroy the human race. The season ends
with the deaths of King Meruem, as well as the death of his only friend, just as
he discovers the truth about himself and begins to develop true compassion
toward the human race. The problem of Meruem’s threat to mankind is resolved,
and yet due to the season’s focus on his characterization, he has become a
tragic hero of sorts. The viewer empathizes with Meruem as do the characters
within the show. Due to the intricate characterization and the separation of
story arcs from season to season, Hunter x
Hunter is alike to most works in that it cannot therefore fit into one
single narrative genre.
Lastly there is the formal genre, which categorizes a work based on its
number of narrative voices as well as the type of voice(s) and its relation to
the audience. There are three major forms, “narrator or single voice”, “drama or
dialogue”, and “narrator + dialogue.” The characters of
Naruto never speak directly to the
audience, and there is no narrator in the series. Thus, it is classified as a
drama or dialogue. Conversely, while the characters of
Hunter x Hunter never directly address
the audience, there is a narrator who voices over many scenes and speaks
directly to the viewer. Due to this difference in narrative voice,
Hunter x Hunter fits within the
narrator + dialogue genre. Both series differ distinctly from the narrator or
“single voice” genre, in which there is no dialogue but rather a monologue of a
voice or narrator speaking directly to an audience.
Though Naruto and Hunter x Hunter
are both in the subject/audience identification genre of shōnen anime, they
branch in different directions when it comes to narrative and formal genre. Even
within the subject/audience identification genre, the shows diverge into
different subject genres based on the contents of each show. Genres are diverse
and constantly overlap, with no one piece of literature being a “pure” genre.
This mixture is what keeps literature interesting – if a film or a book or a
play was following a strict formula for tragedy, for example, it would be too
heavy. This is where we find aspects of “comedic relief” within an otherwise
bleak story. The most important thing about genre is that it is not always
clearly defined. After all, genres are more in the business of classifying other
works instead of being classified, themselves.
Nikki
Jones
17 June
2016
The Little Genre That Could
Horror is arguably the youngest and among the most controversial genres
around today. It may be anticipated in today’s society, but this genre and its
champions had to fight for its way into the mainstream in order to make its mark
on society today. But what is the horror genre and how do we define it with just
one example? Well, there is an easy answer. We cannot. It is nearly impossible
to do the genre and the horror industry giants like John Carpenter, James Wan,
George A. Romero, Alfred Hitchcock, Stephen King, and the late Wes Craven any
justice to just pick one of their masterpieces to represent this vast genre.
What really makes horror unique in a way like no other genre is that it
physically changes from decade to decade to meet the needs of the audience. We
can see it. We can track it. That is why you can watch a horror movie and
automatically know it was made in the 1950s without ever looking it up.
This type of change over time reflects the subject/audience aspect of
genre because more than any other genre it really has to satisfy its target
audience. Directors and screen play writers understand this need to satiate
“audience appeal”, as the Introduction to Genres page terms it, and we can see
it mapped out all the way from the 1920’s. With the 1920’s and 30’s came the
popularization of the classic gothic monsters such as
Nosferatu, The Wolfman, and
Frankenstein. The impact of World War II is also reflected in the horror
movies of these decades. Men were returning from the war and coming back home
with missing limbs. The monsters, in turn, became people with deformities, as we
see in the film classic Phantom of the Opera and
Freaks. The “Red Scare” and the looming threat of the atomic bomb shaped the
horror movies of the 1940’s and 50’s. The focus in these movies became less on
man and more on creatures that are products of the atomic bomb, like
Tarantula, The Thing, and
Them. As the 1960s and 70s got
underway, it was the Vietnam War and the counterculture that really impacted the
horror film industry. Many Americans in this decade took on the motto that they
were the last generation and it reflected in films like
Rosemary’s Baby, The Birds, Psycho, and
Night of the Living Dead. In the late 70s we see a shift to suburban
middle class America as well, with movies like
Jaws, The Stepford Wives, Carrie, and
Halloween. The latter two examples also reflect the frustrations of
female sexuality in light of the Roe v Wade court case.
The rise
of consumerism and a re-visitation to the fear of communism shaped the 1980s and
90s with The Dead Zone and
They Live, but this is also the
decades where another legend was born: the slasher movie.
Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Child’s Play,
Hellraiser, Scream, and the Oscar award winning Silence of the Lambs are all movies and franchises born from these
decades that satisfied the audiences need for more slasher films. Finally, from
2000 and upward the horror genre has expanded to out of the box concepts like
psychological and paranormal movies. The
Saw franchise, Paranormal Activity,
The Conjuring, and Insidious are
all examples of these movies. The 2000’s has also been notorious for remakes and
revamping the big horror movies of the 80’s and 90’s.
Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street,
and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are
all movies that have been remade within the last sixteen years. Remakes are in
demand now because it is giving a new generation a chance to love something that
their parents might have loved, but updating it to be something they can
appreciate. It usually loses its original charm, though, in my opinion, and can
turn out corny or just plain bad if done wrong.
Formal Genre is easy and difficult at the same time to describe in the
sense of a horror movie. Typically, we see the movie stay within the rules of
the dialogue being between two characters, though this is not always the case.
Usually with slasher movies, this element transcends the physicality of dialogue
for the assailant. What I mean is, you will notice that the killer just seems to
automatically know who the bad teenagers are so that they can kill them or they
know exactly the place teen lovers are at in the secluded woods. We see this
especially in the case of Freddy Kruger in
A Nightmare on Elm Street. He is an aggressor who exceeds reality to enter
his victims’ dreams. He automatically knows what the person is thinking,
feeling, where they are going, and what they are most afraid of without ever
having to ask because his is inside their mind. He has complete control in his
domain. Scream capitalizes on this as
well but puts a spin on it. They do not pretend the bad guys are supernatural
like Freddy or all-knowing like Jason, they are humans bound to the laws of
reality. If they do not see what their victim is doing, then they do not know
what is going on, and this is how they are ultimately bested.
The horror genre usually gets mocked because of its supposed
predictability. In her midterm, “Oh! The Horror!”, Sarah Roelse refers to this
as the “typical formula” of a horror movie. This is understandable to an extent,
seeing as through the decades we notice that at the heart of every horror movie
or novel is a romance narrative. From the classic gothic movies to the hardcore
slasher movie, there is always going to be someone having to overcome some type
of force, whether it be Dracula or Jason.
Scream capitalizes on this element yet again and in the movie creates the
rules of horror. The character of Randy states that to survive a horror movie
the character must never have sex, drink or do drugs, or say I will be right
back. These rules are meant to be cheeky and we find it is true for some horror
movies, particularly the slashers, but not for every horror movie. The formula
is also different for each movie and franchise. For example, the original
A Nightmare on Elm Street is horrifying which reflects tragedy and
the main female character, Nancy, must overcome Freddy Kruger, which reflects
romance, but Freddy is also witty and cheesy as the movies continue which ties
in elements of satire and comedy. All these elements are what made the franchise
such a success.
Tedra Mendoza
Blended Together
Often times, many people have
considered genre as a simple word to define, although it is not. We would like
to think that each piece of art that we encounter can be placed into one
specific genre; however, it is a little more complicated than that. Dr. White
suggests that “genre
is not
a box in
which to put a work of art but
a yardstick to
measure it by” (White, Genre notes, 2016). Genres can overlap and blend together
much like weaving something together. There are many different genres but one
that stands out to me is hospital drama. One show that falls under this genre is
Grey’s Anatomy that is now going on its thirteenth season.
Grey’s Anatomy
has a very high rating due to its subject/audience genre. This is when the
audience “identifies with the content or characters” (White, Genre notes, 2016).
This television show appeals to the audience because of the medical issues that
happen within the show, the romance between multiple characters, and the horror
that takes place in most of the episodes. This show keeps the audience on the
edge of their seat because something drastic happens every episode and they
leave the audience wanting more. They have even killed off multiple popular
characters but that has not dropped the ratings. This show could fall under a
chick flick, comedy, romance, hospital drama, horror, thriller, etc. The list
goes on and on because genres begin to morph together which is perfectly
acceptable.
The formal genre of Grey’s
Anatomy also blends together. Formal genre is defined by Dr. White as the “"form"
in which the text appears” (White, Genre notes, 2016).
The show has a narrator and dialogue between the characters. When the episode
begins, the main character, Meredith, begins speaking. She is talking directly
to the audience in order to gain our attention. After she ends her one to two
minute narration, the dialogue between the characters on the screen takes place.
This happens for the remainder of the show until the last two minutes of
the episode where Meredith concludes the episode by speaking directly to the
audience.
As Dr. White
states, “narrative genre
refers to the type of story or
plot that a work of literature
tells or enacts” (White, Genre notes, 2016). There are four types of story lines
but Grey’s Anatomy falls under the romance story line. In the majority of
the episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, there is always a conflict that arises
with two lovers but typically they resolve the situation by the end of the
episode. There is always a problem to solve medically speaking as well which
also translates into romance because the patients need some type of saving. If
they do not resolve the problem, it continues onto the next episode.
This popular
television show along with many other works of art, we have come to see that
many genres overlap and blend together. Just as Victoria Webb states in her
paper, “when we
stop looking at genres like primary colors, and begin to mix them together, we
create a brilliant spectrum of genres.”
Cassandra Parke
Genre-Related Distinctions Amongst
Dystopian Novels
Genres create expectations for audience members and allow artists to make
statements about the nature and intended purpose of their work. However, genres
are fluid and dynamic; they can change over time, or when viewed from different
perspectives, they intertwine or overlap. Works that share one genre
categorization may differ in other classifications. According to the course
website’s “Introduction to Genres” page, there are three types of genre
categories: subject/audience identification, which focuses on which demographic
or group a work appeals to, formal genre, which examines the number and types of
voices in a work, and narrative genre, which categorizes artistic works based on
their resemblance to archetypal or model plots.
Narrative genres are often the first that come to mind when considering a
work. For example, dystopian novels have become very popular amongst young
adults, and are frequently incorporated into literary studies. Of the four major
narrative genres, dystopian novels most closely resemble tragedy. However, while
tragedy tends to feature the revelation or awakening of human virtue through
suffering, dystopian works often feature the erosion of humanity through
derision or misery. Two examples of dystopian novels include
The Hunger Games and Margaret Atwood’s
The Handmaid’s Tale.
Both of
these works fit nicely into the dystopian genre: They commence in a utopia gone
wrong (Course website’s “Utopia, Dystopia & Ecotopia” page). Both Gilead and
Panem are far from what they profess to be. These works are also similar in
terms of the number and types of voices present: As fiction, both of these works
incorporate both narration and dialogue. There is dialogue between characters,
such as that between Offred and Serena, or that between Katniss and Peeta, and
the remainder of the text constitutes narration; the author describing setting,
action, tone, or the characters’ thought processes. At first glance, it is easy
to assume, based on these shared classifications, that these works are very much
alike. However, there are several other genre classifications which one might
apply that would differentiate the two works and provide better insight into
their nature.
At the
conclusion of the Hunger Games trilogy, the corruption of President Coin has
been eliminated, and the protagonists escape the world they have created in a
distinctly romantic fashion (Course website’s “Romance” page). Conversely, at
the closure of The Handmaid’s Tale,
the fate of the main character, Offred, whose plight the reader has followed, is
unknown, and the validity of the supposed “progress” that has been made by
society through the dissolution of Gilead is questioned. There is no safe haven.
There is no certainty. There are no answers. This inconclusiveness parallels
reality, and so is mimesis (Course website’s “Mimesis” page). In this respect,
The Handmaid’s Tale resembles tragedy
to a greater extent than The Hunger Games
does.
Furthermore, The Handmaid’s Tale
focuses a great deal on Offred’s internal struggles consistent with the pattern
of psychological novels (Course website’s “list of genres” page). Conversely,
the external danger, violence and horror of The Hunger Games arena more closely
resembles a “thriller.” According to the course website’s Speculative Fiction
page, The Handmaid’s Tale falls into
this category due to its focus on politics and gender roles. Meanwhile,
The Hunger Games more specifically
resembles science fiction, especially through the invention of creatures such as
“tracker-jackers” and “mutts” (Course website’s “Science Fiction” page).
These
works can be further differentiated based on their ability to appeal to
different audiences. The Hunger Games
appeals largely to young adults as it features adolescent characters, while
The Handmaid’s Tale is decidedly grim
and intended for more mature audiences. Beyond that,
The Handmaid’s Tale, as a story about sexual exploitation of women
and hegemony, may resonate more with female readers, while
The Hunger Games, which features a great deal of “action”, might
appeal more to both genders. Of course, these assumptions about literary taste
and gender are sweeping and stereotypical, but no more so than the thought
processes that go into the making of a “chick flick”.
In
conclusion, it is tempting to view genre as simplistic, and to assume that works
that share one genre categorization are nearly identical, but it is important to
remember that genre is multi-faceted and dynamic, and that it can aid in
distinguishing similar works. When selecting a book, movie or other work,
individuals often only search with one type of genre in mind. However,
considering other classifications can result in a more satisfactory selection.
Adrian
Russell
16 June
2016
Batman: The Tragic Hero
One can pilfer through any comic book store and find comedy, romance and
most certainly tragedy. However, when discussing tragedy as it related to the
comic book genre, one particular anti-hero stands out. Batman is the ultimate
tragic hero. Using the topics of audience, formal genre and narrative genre, the
comic book genre will be explained along with the notion that Batman is indeed
the ultimate tragic hero.
The comic book genre audience can range from young children to adults of
any age. In fact, there are multiple comic book titles designed to cater to
these specific age groups. Comic books such as Archie and early superheroes,
including Spiderman and Superman, were originally intended for young teen and
pre-teen children. As the allure of comic books progressed over the last
century, comic book writers began to be inclusive towards female comic book fans
by adding characters such as Spiderwoman and Supergirl.
Prior to that, the female characters were typically either the love
interest of the hero, the “damsel in distress”, or both. Many characters are
born in the comic book world and go on to be even more successful as a cartoon
or movie franchise, helping the particular story or character reach an even
bigger audience. This can be seen with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and
nearly any superhero movie.
A major draw towards comic books is that they are very easy to read.
There may be some narration here and there to set a scene, but typically comic
books are comprised of dialogue between characters. With someone like Batman,
his character tends to “think out loud” in order for us to read dialogue and get
a sense of the scene at the same time. For instance, Batman might say, “I’ve
been searching for the Joker all night and no sign of him. Robin never returned
from his mission last night in the south district.
I should head that way and check things out.” Then, Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s
butler, might call and say, “Master Bruce, Ms. Vicki Vale left since you didn’t
show for dinner… again. I am still attempting to triangulate Robin’s position.
However, The Riddler is attempting to release inmates from Arkham Asylum.
You should head North to stop him.” Even from this short amount of
dialogue we know that Batman is searching for The Joker, Robin is missing,
Batman/Bruce is in a troubled relationship with Vicki Vale and the dilemma in
this issue is that Batman must choose between comforting his love interest,
finding his adopted son, or stopping The Riddler from releasing havoc on Gotham.
We have the entire setting.
As stated, tragedy, romance, and comedy are predominant in comic book
culture. However, Batman is mainly a tragedy. The story of Batman begins with
him as a young boy witnessing his mother and father, who are the elite
upper-class of Gotham, murdered in an alley in front of him. Young Bruce Wayne
was deeply affected by this trauma and set out on a quest of spectacle and
vigilante justice against evil-doers in the city of Gotham. Being that he was an
orphan, he has a soft spot for other orphans and adopts a promising young man
named Robin. Family tragedy is very central to the plot of Batman. Duality,
reminiscent of the Apolline/Dionysiac duality described in Nietzche’s
The Birth of Tragedy, is another main
theme of the story. The character is Bruce Wayne by day and Batman by night. As
readers dive deeper into the story, it begins to become more apparent that
Batman feels a strong tie to some of the villains, such as Catwoman and the
Joker. This suggests he is torn between good and evil and may even sympathize
with whatever trauma may have caused these characters to become the villains
they are. The audience is drawn to Batman for the same reason he is drawn to
these villains. The duality of good and evil appeals to us. Tragedy appeals to
us because it is relatable. We are Batman.
The
story of Batman, more than other comics, has all of the makings of a
conventional tragedy. Moreover, Batman may capture villains and stop their evil
plots, but this is never definite. Batman never really wins. Not only that, but
his choice of vigilante justice as a profession consistently puts the ones he
loves in danger. Robin eventually gets murdered by The Joker and Commissioner
Gordon’s daughter, who is also Batgirl, gets shot in the back and paralyzed by
The Joker. The plot and the anguish perpetually develops. The fact that Batman
never really wins rules out the conventions of romance and comedy, though
elements of these conventions are used in particular issues from time to time.
For an example, Batman and Catwoman have an odd romantic attraction to each
other, and The Riddler and The Joker provide comic relief when not terrorizing
the city.
The
comics with the largest audiences are the ones containing characters,
antagonists and protagonists alike, who are not completely good or bad. The
audience can range from young children to grown adults and the text is mainly
dialogue. Being that many other superhero characters exhibit tragic flaws,
spectacle, exaggeration, and tragedy within family ties, this genre is a very
powerful comparison to ancient Greek Tragedy and serves as an example of how
tragedy modernizes.
