Tragedy of The Common Man

 In Arthur Miller's passage, "Tragedy and the Common Man," he outlines his ideas on what a tragedy and tragic hero are today. He argues that the tragic hero does not have to be a king or of a noble background, but instead, the common man can be considered a tragic hero. Miller makes the point that the tragic flaw is the idea that the tragic hero is unable to accept anything that may affect their status or self-image. Miller also states that tragedy is not supposed to be pessimistic, but rather an optimistic display of human qualities. In his first argument, Miller states that the tragic hero does not need to be royal or noble, for the common man can fit the role as aptly. Miller explains that this is now obvious through the concepts such as the Oedipus complex, which were originally "enacted by royal beings, but which apply to everyone in similar situations." He believes that if tragedy were to only apply to kings, then it would be impossible for everyone else to cherish and comprehend it. The only quality needed for a character to be a tragic hero, according to Miller, is the readiness to "lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity." This concept of the average man being a tragic hero is evident in The Crucible, for it is portrayed through John Proctor, a local farmer. Proctor makes use of the same mental processes as kings in previous tragedies when making his decisions, and he fights to keep his name, which holds his sense of dignity, from being ruined. The common man, according to Miller, is capable of "questioning [...] what has previously been unquestioned," which is the key quality that gives them this tragic flaw and sets them up to work dynamically in a tragedy. John Proctor exhibits this quality throughout the novel when he resists the ideas of the Puritan community around him. In the end of The Crucible, Proctor's tragic flaw is completely exposed when he tears his confession in order to preserve his good name, even at the cost of his life.

On Close Readings

In Peter Rabinowitz's "On Close Readings", he depicts different types of reading and the effects they have on readers. I agree with what he is saying, because he talks about how reading one type of literature won't help your mind grow intellectually and that is true. The piece really speaks to people that should be open minded and start to read other types of literature. It also explains the conflicts readers will have if they don't do that.

On Minimalist Fiction

In John Barth's "On Minimalist Fiction", Barth discusses minimalist fiction and what it is. The piece could easily be found difficult to read. I couldn't really understand what he was saying at first because of all the extra words in parenthesis. Then it hit me and I realized the irony of the piece. It was saying that minimalist fiction was short and to the point, but in the piece it has a lot of extra things in there that was unnecessary. It was strange to see that in a piece where the author is saying minimalist fictions preaches less is more. I understand, however, where Bath is going with this because I do get tired of books putting to much into a story and it starts to take out the significance of a piece.

On the Dangers of Reading Fiction

In "On the Dangers of Reading Fiction" by Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson depicts his deep disgust for fiction. He says statements such as, "When this poison infects your mind, it destroys the tone and revolts it against wholesome reading." He also discussed fiction to be lost time and poor judgment in reading. He also, however, says that reading fiction helps develop a sound morality. He obviously was someone who liked reading more serious pieces instead of fake stories. I respect his opinion on what he's saying, but I have to disagree. I believe fiction helps us with imagination and helps us paint pictures in our heads of what's going on in the literature.

On the Differences between Poetry and Prose

In T.E. Hulme's "On the Differences between Poetry and Prose", he delineates the difference between poetry and prose in an interesting way. He first compares Prose to Algebra and I thought it was riveting how he used that to make his point. He talks about how Algebra/Prose conveys concrete things without any imagery or visualization in the process; basically he's saying that prose really has no flavor or imagination to it. With poetry, however, he talks about how it is more flexible and has more style. He talks about how poetry appeals more to the senses, making it deliver a physical image and decorate the poem. He made very good points with the examples he used to convey them. It really makes me appreciate poetry a little more.

Figuring Out Metaphors

    In John R Seale's poem,Figuring Out Metaphors, it explains how people perceive metaphors and how they are used. He stated facts and metaphors about metaphors. He also is expressing his love for metaphors. It makes a point that metaphors make a poem more interesting and they add flare to them. They are sometimes hard to understand though.They are enjoyable also because they challenge your brain.To conclude, the poem was enjoyable and and interesting read.

On The Words In Poetry

  The poem On the words in poetry  was very captivating. Dylan Thomas expressed in the poem how much he loves words and poetry. He also expressed how nursery rhymes lead him to fall in love with words, even though he didn't know or cared to know what was going on. He really wanted to get his point across that he has great passion for the sounds each word makes. I can kind of relate to him, because sometimes when I read novels or poems I can feel the words of the poem. However, I don't really have the passion for words like he does. In all, this is a great poem.