Thursday, October 14, 2010

To what extent is 'All My Sons' a Classical Greek Tragedy, and are there elements of modern tragedy in it?

"All My Sons" falls into the category for Classical Greek Tragedy because the tragic hero, Joe Keller suffers from hubris, or the sin of too much pride, and because of this sin, he makes a tragic mistake which ends up causing his death. Joe's behavior is responsible for his tragic circumstances, it is not by accident that he ends up committing suicide. 


There is a relationship between Joe Keller's fate and his free will, he chose to send the faulty parts to the military, thereby putting his fate or destiny in jeopardy by making such a tragic decision.  And, in Classical Greek Tragedy, the tragic hero's actual strength becomes the means of his undoing. 


There are four specific elements that must be present:



"1. Shame, 2. Suffering, 3. Knowledge,


4. Affirmation of what is right." (See link below for more details)



Or in Joe Keller's case, his ability to support his family, his ability to build his business, work his way up, this very aspect of his life, what he said drove him to make the decision to send the faulty parts, because he was afraid to not meet the contracts deadline, is what leads to his ultimate end.  


One important difference between Classical Greek Tragedy which usually involves a tragic hero who is of noble birth and Modern Tragedy is that the latter involves ordinary people in tragic circumstances.


Also, according to Modern Tragedy, once the tragic hero realizes that he has made a terrible mistake, there is no undoing it, you can't take it back, as much as he may want to retrieve the mistake, it is done.  Ultimately in the Modern Tragedy, the protagonist takes responsibility for his actions and ends up suffering or dying.   And, those around him suffer permanent emotional damage, thereby changing their lives forever.

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