What is Tragedy?
During the ted talk "Are we in control of our own decisions" the author argues that our decision making is irrational and that it doesn't make sense. The author believes that we can benefit from becoming more aware of psychological biases. In a way we think we are making our own decisions but sometimes fate just does it for us. Although the ted talk doesn't mention tragedy directly in the video., it does have something to do with tragedy. Our decisions can reflect the way we feel about something/ someone, if we make a good decision it can improve our lives more than what we know. An example of how this can connect to tragedy is from Oedipus Rex, Oedipus does everything he can not to kill his father and marry his mom, he thinks he is doing everything right and making the right decisions but then the truth comes out that he made the wrong decisions. Being in control of our own decisions can help us make right ones so that we don't experience our own tragedies but sometimes you think you are making your own decisions but it's really just fate putting you in it's own path.
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In the tragedy Oedipus Rex, the story is about Oedipus who is looking for the murderer of the king. The playwright gives an example of a tragic reveal of the truth. In the beginning of the story it start off with introducing a small town that is starting to fall apart and is seeking help from Oedipus. As Oedipus begins searching for the murderer of the king, the truth then comes out that Oedipus was the murderer of his father the king and that he had married his mother. The tragedy that comes with the truth made it difficult for the people who were involved with it. Oedipus's mother and wife ended up hanging herself from the painful truth and when Oedipus finds her body he stabs himself in the eyes from anger towards his mother. Tragedy is a great example in this playwright becomes it tells a story about how the truth will come out and it's not always going to be a good thing. In Miller's article "Tragedy and the Common man" his argument was that basically people will do anything to protect their dignity and that tragedy has a lot to do with the kind of person you are, he believes tragedy comes when a character is willing to lay down their lives to save someone/something. Millers also states in his article that even if you are a common man you still can face the same tragedy if not more than a king or queen. Overall with Miller's argument I agree, I do think that people you are more willing to lay down their lives are more heroic and will experience more tragedy in their lives. Miller's argument changed some of the things I think about tragedy by showing me different ways to interpret, I never thought that a common man is more likely to experience a greater tragedy than a noble I always interpreted it the same for both. I agree with Miller's perspective that tragedy is a type of literature that is should be used and appreciated by everyone, not just those who come from higher positions in society. The ted talk we watched in class was really interesting and it gave me more of an idea of what tragedy really is. I thought the speaker had some good ideas and opinions about society today and how people will judge you based on your successes and failures. Another thing I liked that the speaker talked about was moving past snobbery to find pleasure in the work we do. A few good points I liked about what the speaker said was that we are all equal but there is still envy between us, and "We don't fear failure we fear the judgement and ridicule of others." I really like this idea he had because it's true, we are only afraid of failing when you know someone will judge you for it. Listening to this ted talk really helped me understanding different stories of tragedy and everything that people fear about it. To me tragedy just means being sad or experiencing an event that has made a negative impact on my life. Something I didn't know about tragedy was all the emotions and different reactions one can get from experiencing a tragic event. Another thing about tragedy I didn't know about was all the events that could cause it. I didn't know that you could either be in the tragic event that happened or you could have just watched it. Tragedy is more than just tragedy, there are many different types of tragedy. What really is tragedy? Tragedy is a drama based on human suffering and something I found while researching what a tragedy is, was the fact that it can be something as big as a car accident to a natural disaster that happened around the world. A lot of different types of tragedy is shown in movies, plays, documentaries and T.V shows. After suffering a tragic event some people will argue that it made them more thankful and kind but others argue that it doesn't change anything and will sometimes make them feel worse. |