Decide for yourself what tragedy is, and then examine Oedipus the King and Death of a Salesman as tragedies. How are they different from or similar to one another Realizing that 2400 years separate these plays, what do these differences/ similarities mea - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Looking at Oedipuss story, we get that being the King, he had a lot of transgressions and error. Due to his weaknesses and flaws during when he was the King were said to be the result of his downfall. The downfall brings the irony that this King already became a hero. However, this hero is now set to before his downfall because of the sins he committed when he was a King. Aristotle, therefore, describes him as a tragic hero who had a tragic flaw, and this seem to fit him very well. It is from the story of Oedipus that it becomes clear that every hero always have their bad side which can sometimes be fatal or a weakness. These always have none but just a bad end for such heroes, and the same happened to Oedipus. It is explained that Oedipus had involved himself in what was considered as extreme pride. The bad side of such kind of transgression is such that it leads to overconfidence and hatred and contempt. It, therefore, becomes clear that, however one might look at it; the result is that Oedipuss downfall must have been contributed by his wrong act. One might say that somehow, the people around him also erred, and that might be correct. However, to a bigger side of it, it must have been that the Kings downfall was contributed by his on uncouth acts. He is, therefore, liable to suffer the consequences of his transgression. In his position as a King, or a hero, he was charged with the responsibility of making decisions, choices and also accepting the consequences. Since decisions have consequences, the King had no otherwise than to accept the consequences of his decisions and choices.
According to Aristotle, when one has witnessed a tragedy like the one that happened to Oedipus, he gets purified and remains to live a better life. A better life would result from the fact that the tragedy would serve as a life lesson learnt by the person so that they dont find themselves in a similar ...Download file to see next pagesRead More