Tragedy is All About Failure

In all tragic literature, there is a failure of some sort. "Tragic art was an art form devoted to tracing how people fail."  (A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of Success, Alain de Botton) Looking back at tragedies from centuries ago, there is always a failure involved. 

Normally people might think tragedy is only a story leaving the audience feeling extremely sad and unhappy, but really there is more to tragedy than that. What tragedy is really doing, besides devastating the audience, is  showing how people fail and how they deal with their failure. In all tragic literature, there is some kind of flaw that leads the to the fall of the principle character. 

In today's society, we are afraid of tragic failures. We are afraid that we will fail and be judged harshly by others. Sometimes tragic events do occur. Something happens and someone "fails" at something. However, according to Alain de Botton, that is completely normal. It is impossible for someone to be able to be successful with everything. There will always be mess ups, or failures. 

In that case, tragedy is everywhere. If tragedy is based on how people fail, then it is literally impossible to avoid tragedy. It is found not only purposefully in novels and films, but it is also found not on purpose in real life. People have a deep fear of tragedy. It is interesting to watch a tragic movie, or read a tragic book, but it would not be fun to have to deal with a tragic event in real life. People do not want to fail and then be judged. In today's society, people are afraid of being considered "losers". When someone goes through a tragic event, they lose something. However, that does not necessarily make them "losers". People still do not want to lose things, though, in fear of being judged.

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