Modernism Test

Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is “to arouse pity and fear so we may be purged, or cleansed, of these emotions”. Robert Duncan, like Aristotle, Belives that in downfall, meaning is gained. One thought of Modernists is that absurdism and mythology pave the path to truth.

In Camus’ Stranger, the character Meursault finds himself in a moment of truth as he walks down the path towards death. He learns that every person in his life is important. In jail, he says, “Maman was free and ready to begin again”. During his confinement, Meursault learns about his meaning in life. It is his moment of truth that one gains through loss and suffering. Meursault, always rejecting society, finally gave up and accepted the world. Throughout the Modernist age, there were improvements on technology and wars. People of the world experience war over and over again, but at one moment, they accept all of the destruction and death. It can’t be helped; if events such as war occur, one must make the best out of it.

Tragedy is used by Modernists to show that something is gained through loss. In the myth of Daedelus and Icarus, the fall of Icarus teaches Daedelus about karma. Icarus was told to “keep to the middle path”, but he flew too close to the sun and lost his wings. They should have stayed confined on the island of Crete to avoid this death. Icarus would also realize that he should have heeded the wise words of his father. Daedelus’ futile creation of the wings only led to despair, but in return he gains a glimpse of how the world operates and its consequences.