Tragedy and the Common Man

Tragedy and the Common Man

1. What is tragedy?

   • A brave questioning of the seemingly immovable and everlasting
     • Customs
     • Institutions
     • Habits
     • The Crucible link: John Proctor and the others who resisted the witch hunts, representing the struggle of individuality in the strictly Puritan, unforgiving society of Salem
   • The consequence of a man's total need to evaluate himself justly
     • The Crucible Link: John Proctor's struggle with his own conscience after his affair with Abigail, as well as his inability to come to terms with his perceived hypocrisy.
   • A sense of a complete onslaught of terror associated with the destruction of every institution thought to be unchanging

2. Characteristics of a tragic hero

   • Has a crippling 'tragic flaw' that plagues him throughout the play
     • The Crucible link: John's affair with Abigail
   • Has been displaced from his rightful postition in society
     • The Crucible link: John's self-imposed banishment from society, due to his deep shame over his affair
   • Is seeking to gain/ regain his rightful place in society.
     • The Crucible link: the climatic finale of Act III, where, in order to restore his name, John defies the judges and chooses to hang instead.

3. Tragic misconceptions about Tragedy

   • Only people of higher social standing (kings, royals etc.) are fit for the appreciation and portrayal of tragedy
     • If this were true, mankind as a whole would not treasure and enjoy tragedy as much as we do now
       • Macbeth
         • Romeo and Juliet
       • Macbeth
     • The 'tragic flaws' faced by the protagonists of the play are seldom exclusive to people of higher standing, and thus anyone in the same emotional straits as the protagonist would be able to understand
     • Tragedy is a highly intellectual form of drama, and more often than not, intellect is wrongly associated with ONLY higher class folks. Intellectual capability cannot be associated with social class, thus debunking the myth that only people of higher social standing are fit for tragedy, simply on the assumption of high intellect.
   • Tragedy is sad and gloomy, and depicts only morose and macabre subjects
     • Tragedy discusses the perilous journey of a character to find his true meaning and place in his society, even at the cost of losing something he holds dear
       • Ultimately, it is the fear and terror of displacement and loss the character encounters along the way that invokes tragic feeling, and this sense of fear is often associated with gloomy and macabre topics, resulting in the unfair accusation of tragedy being nothing more than a grim soap opera.