Anna in the Tropics - Essay Example

Anna in the Tropics In literature, tragedy can be understood in different perspectives. It does not literally mean “accident” as most people today associate it with. Rather, tragedy means a bad ending. Something that was originally perceived to have a good ending somehow, in a twist of fate, ends up awry. Such is the case that is witnessed in the play Anna in the Tropics. To have an in-depth understanding of tragedy, the paper looks at how different theorists viewed tragedy: Aristotle concentrates on the hero who offends the law of the universe. “Universe” here means the natural or original order of events (Lucas, 65). Looking at the play, the heroes in the play can be perceived as the lectors who charm the women in the cigarette factory. They are educated, well dressed, literate and enlightened. They represent the ideal candidates any woman would look for. To cap it all, they have good looks. They are called upon to read for the workers, perhaps to educate them so that they become literate. However, tragedy occurs when Juan, a lector, gets romantically involved with one of the wives of the factory men. This causes resentment and hatred towards the lectors. To add salt to an injury, Cheche’s wife leaves him for one of the lectors (Cruz, 57). It is psychological war. The hero suffers because they have good looks and are more enlightened. “Our culture [civilization] demands other sacrifices besides that of sexual gratification” (Hegel qtd in Aiello slide 29). According to Hegel, tragedy occurs when there is a collision between “two goods”. Both heroes, the “two goods” end up in tragedy. From the play, the opposing goods can be loosely interpreted as follows: The lectors are supposed to teach the workers to be literate, so that they can start working with the machines in the farms. As a result of love and the tragedies they created, the workers hate them. This means that relationship within them will be sore. The adoption of machines as suggested by Cheche is not a welcome move to the workers who feel that they will lose their jobs. Conchita’s beauty causes tragedy (Cruz, 36). She leaves her husband and sleeps with Marela’s husband. In revenge, Marela sleeps with Juan. Lovers are doomed, and this affects work at the factory. The collision between “goods”-what was originally perceived to be good-and the real turn of events, causes the misfortune at the end of the play. The dramatic story of Anna in the Tropics is one that projects the true essence of tragedy. This time round, the tragedy is brought about by love. The play talks about sexual frustrations, arousing clashes and tragedy that occur within families that are supposed to be close together. The “Lector” hired to read for the factory workers have a charm on the wife of a factory worker. As a result, the husband hates all the lectors and makes it so obvious to anyone that he does so. Tragedy arises in life when one feels that their self-esteem and ego is bruised. Something that should have brought happiness ends up hurting the very people it was intended for. Life sometimes does not treat people fairly. Instead, the charming person becomes the hero, sometimes without even knowing it. Nietzsche views tragedy as a collision between irrational side of a man and his irrational side. Cheche becomes irrational when he views all lectors as bad and hates them instead. The fact that his wife left him for a lector does not make him justified to hate all the lectors, to the extent that he gets into a fight with his brother for a share of the company. The transfer of some shares to him hurts the security of the factory. His threat to have the company modernized will not go well with the workers (Cruz, 29). This is another tragedy occasioned by irrationality. Choosing to sleep with Juan in revenge to her sister’s sleeping with her husband is an irrational move on the part of Marela. The people who end up suffering are not the people who caused the problems. In the end, lovers are doomed, and service delivery at the factory is thwarted. The “common man” who strives to have personal dignity in a society that tries to strip them of the dignity controls Miller’s argument of tragedy. In the play, lectors represent a new breed of elites who use their position enlightening the illiterate- to strip them of their dignity. Sleeping with the wives or the girlfriends of the workers is an act of indignity to the workers. It is humiliation. The men resent this act. Cheche is a perfect example. He sees every lector through the same lens as the others. He hates them-each one of them. The lectors become heroes of sorts. This heroism causes strategy when relationships at the work place get sore. The situation of the workers in the factory made it necessary for the management to bring in the lectors to help them have a smooth day as they worked. Eventually, the result was a tragedy-sadness, twist of fate, revenge, and doomed relationship. Tragedy occurs when the original expectations are not met. The play Anna in the Tropics brings out the picture of tragedy clearly. Whereas men can be viewed as gentle creatures who wish to love and defend themselves when attacked, unfortunately, this is not always the case. They sleep with other men’s wives. This is not an act of gentleness. In the play, if Juan was a gentleman, he would have resisted advances by Marela. He ended up sleeping with her. Sexual objects and sexual desires easily tempt them. In fact, the whole story revolves around sex and attraction to members of the opposite sex. The lectors are attracted to the female workers. This brings about the tragedy at the end of the play. Lovers become doomed. The lectors become heroes, a paradox considering that men such as Cheche hate them with a passion and want their services withdrawn. Men only need a slight provocation to act. The provocation comes in terms of interfering with their objects of desire-usually their women or girlfriends. Psychology plays a major role in the play. The issues of rationality and irrationality are considered in the play. People such as Cheche and Marela make irrational judgments, recipes for tragedy at the end of the story. The theories of Miller, Aristotle, Hegel and Nietzsche all come in handy in explaining tragedy. The long and short of tragedy is that it is something that people always trigger, whether directly or indirectly (Lucas, 242). It is something that is within them. It is in their looks; in their charm; in mannerisms and words of mouth. The psychology behind tragedy is a puzzle that many thinkers and sociologists continue to explore. The play just Anna in the Tropics highlights just a slight meaning and interpretation of tragedy as applies in daily life. Works Cited Cruz, Nilo. Anna in the Tropics. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2003. Lucas, F L. Tragedy in Relation to Aristotle's "poetics,". New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 2008 Read More