Outdated Parts

Key:

Aristotle’s Theory (Black)

Irrelevant (Highlighted)

Why it is irrelevant and comparing the two different time periods (Red)

• We realize that a person may be destroyed even while attempting to be good
• Whereas Oedipus was doing his best to find the truth, save his people, and return Thebes to its normal, un-plagued state, Christopher McCandless from Into the Wild is purely attempting to escape society’s over-materialism and corruption.
• We realize that there is a conflict between human goodness and reality
• As stated above, Christopher does not attempt to be good in his endeavor to have a solitary life: it is simply an escape
• We see that even in the name of goodness a human can cause his/her own downfall (IRONY)
• While yes, his downfall is a result of his decision to live a life in the wild, he did not perform any major acts that would benefit others in any way (it was in his own self-interest)

He identified 5 essential criteria:

1. A tragedy is an imitation of action (mimesis) that is complete -- it has a definite beginning, middle, and end (Freytag's pyramid is seen: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution).  
2. A tragedy has a unified, complex plot in which all actions are connected -- every cause has an effect, there aren't any random events or loose ends.
• Although in Into the Wild, there is a unified, complex plot in which all actions are connected and every cause has an effect, there are many random events and loose ends. While in The Great Gatsby, everything is summed up very nicely at the end, and there are no random events, as the reader learns about Gatsby’s funeral and what happens to Daisy and Tom. Into the Wild has many random events in it because the point of the movie is that enjoyment in life comes from little random moments. The loose ends occur when the audience doesn’t know what happens to Christopher’s family or anyone he met on the way.
3. A tragedy possesses a certain magnitude (universal relevance or significance).
4. A tragedy arouses pity and fear in the audience.
5. A tragedy causes catharsis (purging of emotions) at the end.

Eventually the Aristotelian tragic hero dies a tragic death, having fallen from great heights and having made an irreversible mistake. The hero must courageously accept his/her death with honor.

Other Common Traits:

• Hero must suffer more than he deserves.
• Hero must be doomed from the start, but bears no responsibility for possessing his flaw.
• This is not apparent in Into the Wild like it is in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, but Christopher made a decision to live a solitary life, ultimately leading to his downfall
• Hero must be noble in nature, but imperfect so that the audience can see themselves in him/her.
• Hero must have discovered his/her fate by his/her own actions, not by things happening to him/her.
• Hero must see and understand his/her doom, as well the fact that his fate was discovered by his/her own actions.
• Hero’s story should arouse fear and empathy.
• Hero must be physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his/her death.
• Ideally, the hero should be a king or leader of men, so that his/her people experience his/her fall with him/her.
• While the decisions he made did indeed affect others, such as his family and those he met during his journey, he was no leader of men like Oedipus or Hamlet.
• Hero must be intelligent so he/she may learn from his/her mistakes.
• Hero must have a weakness; usually it is pride.
• Unlike Gatsby who was prideful and overly optimistic, Christopher’s error in judgment was his belief that a solitary life would provide him with true happiness. In the end, he discovers that true happiness is shared with others.
• Hero has to be faced with a very serious decision.
• Hero must have something gone wrong in his/her current life.
• The suffering of the hero must have meaning.

Freytag’s Pyramid

Inciting Moment

Exposition

• Exposition consists of early material providing the theme,
  establishing the setting, and introducing the major characters and sometimes
  early hints of the coming conflict.

Rising Action

• Rising action is an increase in tension or uncertainty developing out
  of the conflict the protagonist faces
• While in the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby did slightly lose certainty in his pursuit of   Daisy, Christopher never loses certainty until he recognizes that he cannot cross the river to return back to where he came from.

Complication

Climax

• Traditionally situated in the third act of a play, the climax is the moment of greatest tension, uncertainty, or audience involvement. The climax is also called the crisis.
• Since not all movies are split into acts in modern times, this typically occurs in what could be considered ⅔ of the way into the storyline

Reversal

• The moment of reversal is also called the peripeteia. In classical tragedy, the reversal is that moment in which the protagonist’s fortunes change irrecoverably for the worse. Frequently, the very trait we admire in a tragic hero is the same trait that begins about the hero’s downfall. At some point after the reversal, the tragic hero realizes or verbalizes his tragic error. This moment of tragic recognition is called the anagnorisis.

Falling Action

• During the falling action, the earlier tragic force causes the failing fortunes of the hero. This culminates in the final catastrophe and invokes catharsis (emotional purgation) in the audience

Catastrophe

• The catastrophe often spirals outward. Not only does the hero suffer for
  an earlier choice, but that choice causes suffering to those the hero loves or wants to protect.
• While in Hamlet, the catastrophe spiraled outward as everyone he loved around him was affected by what had occurred, in Into the Wild, Christopher was, in the end, the only one that was greatly affected by his decision. His parents and friends had already come to the realization that he would not be coming back, and had already moved on.

Moment of Last Suspense

• After the suspense ends, the denouement unwinds previous tension and helps provide closure.
• Unlike in Hamlet where previous tension with Fortinbras is relieved, in Into the Wild, after Christopher dies, there is no further closure (the story simply ends).