Discussion tragedies

University of Hertfordshire – Assignment Edwin Lai William Shakespeare and ‘Disney’ Cinderella In a feature article published on October 8, 2008 in the Straits Times, the piece touched on the literary success of a writer who compared himself as a modern day contemporary of Shakespeare because of his preference on writing romance tragedies. Without going into details, it is of a general consensus that only smaller audiences can truly appreciate modern day versions of tragedies.

However, that being said, are tragedies depicted in books—a typical scenario of a bad ending where all if not the main character faces his impending and largely predictable demise and the audience is left to sob in tears or compounded with a philosophical examination of their own lives; that the character(s)’ tragedy in the book is but a mirror reflection of what real life can or may sometimes hold—concepts so difficult to grasp that we shun the very mention of it? Or have we rescinded ourselves to a false expectation that books and novels should not conclude with ‘bad endings’? Can life really do without tragedy?

Perhaps our modern day expectation of what a good story should hold is but of a single and sole definition (tossing out literary conventions of plot, character development and literary style in writing) that it must come with a ‘happy ending’ where everyone or if not, the main character(s) lives happily ever after. It is acceptable for the main protagonist to face difficult hardships through the story and through sheer determination and grit, come through the experience unscathed, becomes a better person and walks off into the sunset (a modern day representation of the age old phrase of ‘living happily ever after’). It is also perfectly acceptable for the main protagonist to be profoundly oblivious to an impending doom and through what can only be described as ‘Olympic standards of gymnastic maneuvers’, manages to avoid the tragedy and even concludes with a spectacular ending.

Aren’t those scenarios false depictions of what really happens in real life? Perhaps tragedies do not merely mean to tug at heartstrings of sorrow but are really life’s journal of the world we live in. Perhaps tragedies depicted in books are like archives of films on what really happens in real life. Do we not face tragedies at least once in our lives? The passing of many lives in terrorist attacks, the death of a loved one, the stresses and burdens of monetary obligations – are these not real instances of what really goes on? Or have we chosen the alternative path of an atheist and refuse to acknowledge the existence of such events?