Essential Parts

Most of the essential parts of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy found in The Great Gatsby, Oedipus, and Hamlet remain relevant and parallel with our modern day version of the tragic hero.  Certain parts of the first identified criterion of the tragedy, essentially Freytag’s pyramid, are important to all four tragedies.  For instance, the inciting moment in Into the Wild is when Christopher McCandless learns that he and his sister are in fact bastard children since his father was never legally married to his mother and had another family prior to meeting her but denies this information to him.  This revelation causes him to cut all ties with his family and leave. The exposition for Hamlet is revealed early on in the first act with the information that King Hamlet has died and Gertrude is married with his brother Claudius.  Another important part of Freytag’s Pyramid is the complication which is different for each tragedy and for Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby he suffers from his inability to pass this social boundary to be a part of the American upper class and be with Daisy Buchanan.  In Oedipus, the reversal of intention, or peripeteia, occurs when the Corinthian messenger speaks of Oedipus' birth in the Thebian royal household and Oedipus realizes that his horrible prophesied fate as his father's killer and mother's husband are true.  The falling action is the last vital part of Freytag’s pyramid as every hero suffers from earlier tragic forces and invokes catharsis in the audience, whether it be pity and fear for Oedipus who stabs his eyes to suffer for the pain that he has caused his people or astonishment of the death of almost every major character after an unfair sword fight in Hamlet without any closure.

One of the most common elements is the universal and timeless magnitude in each of these tragedies.  In The Great Gatsby, we see a man, Jay Gatsby, who falls into the myth of the American Dream.  Despite being able to attain fortune and a reputation for himself, he is unable to cross this indiscernible barbed wire into the wealthy and highly respected class that is born with pedigree which still exists in our modern day society.  Although Oedipus provides a highly sophisticated and unlikely story, some great questions are raised as to whether or not we as humans are really free or are we ruled by an unseen and commanding force?  Hamlet also presents great importance to today through Hamlet’s reflections on mankind questioning the calamity of life, whether life is worth putting up with the ridiculousness people put us through on a daily basis.  In Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless holds strong to this strong idea that one can live independently off nature and that society and its institutions ultimately corrupt the purity of the individual that has lasted since the early 1800’s through the transcendentalists. (see video below)

Each one of these tragic heroes also arouses pity and fear in the audience by the end of their story.  Beloved Jay Gatsby, a self-made man, achieves fame and fortune but is dismissed for not being born of noble birth.  Although he made money by means of illegal activity, people can appreciate how far he has made it from a poor German farming family in rural North Dakota and his immense optimism.   Oedipus, on the other hand, suffers from his bizarre yet tragic fate that he cannot escape.  The audience is able to pity Oedipus for his severe actions as he had no way of knowing what he had done and even when he had suspicion of the truth, he continued pursuing it for his people and takes full responsibility by banishing himself from Thebes.  Hamlet is a young man who is able to transmit pity into audiences of all ages by posing the essential question of what is the purpose of life.  He is put into a position where he is confined by the limits of a higher power and is damned if he kills Claudius, damned if he does not.  We also sympathize for McCandless who shows his growth in his journey to Alaska where he leads himself to his own death after eating poisonous berries.  It is not a quick and painless one, but one hard to watch as he realizes his error in judgment moments before his death. (see video below)

Lastly, we experience a purge of emotions after all of these characters have died or realized their downfall at the end of their catastrophic tale.  Jay Gatsby managed to have entire crowds of people to celebrate and let loose in his home and spent years of his life striving to make Daisy fall in love with him.  In the end, he is left with nothing but being accused of murdering Myrtle Wilson and nothing but careless people ignoring his existence besides the man with owl-eyed glasses and Nick Carraway at his funeral while we are left with nothing but disgust for the higher class society.  Oedipus provides a different source of catharsis as he blinds and banishes himself for his grave wrongdoings despite the fact that none of it was ever his fault, just his inevitable fate.  At the end of Hamlet, Hamlet, his mother Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern are discovered dead and even Fortinbras, prince of the enemy of Denmark, realizes that there is something very wrong with this scene.  Into the Wild offers a more pleasant emotional relief moments before our tragic hero dies. McCandless sees the error in his judgment and comes to the conclusion that true happiness can only be achieved when shared with others, allowing us to appreciate those around us and open up to the people we will meet along our own journey. (see video below)