Today in class, we watched a Ted Talk on how our minds work and our options. We don't always know what we want between two options until a third option is presented. I can't really think of a way to relate this to tragedy. I guess it's that we don't always have control.
We also got our poem of the week this week, and it is entitled "Barbie Doll". It has to do with a girl who is on the butt end of a joke in her childhood and is never able to get past it. She has self esteem issues because she thinks she has a big nose and fat legs. Someone told her she has a big nose and fat legs, and now that's all she can focus on. She can't think of anything other than her body image.
To me, this relates well to tragedy because sometimes tragedy can occur because of unimportant details. People can end their own lives because of what others think of their unimportant details. We can get so hung up on what other people think that we may not be able to focus on what we think. This is one of the biggest obstacles in life, but it is also so common.
I guess suicide is the result of being presented a third option. The first two options are deal with it or end your life, then throw in fight back. Perhaps that sounds unappealing and they choose the second option. I don't know if that makes any sense but I thought I would try to relate them.
I also think it goes back to having too many expectations. A large part of tragedy is the idea that man is limited and can't do everything he wants. This girl wanted to please everyone and couldn't. She tried but to no avail. Man has limits, and they cannot be exceeded without tragedy. I think she tried too hard to protect her dignity.