Do Comedies Beginning in Turmoil but Ending in Harmony Celebrate Life?
DISCLAIMER: this is not the best essay (it's rubbish but take from it what you will)
To some extent, the statement is true as proof lies in many plays and novels. An example of this is Shakespeare’s comedic plays. The play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ begins in Athens where there is turmoil in the sense that Egeus’ daughter, Hermia, does not want to marry Demetrius. At the time of writing the play, these kinds of issues where the epitome of turmoil, parents were desperate to have their daughters married off, the disobedience of this tradition would have caused disharmony and embarrassment, which at the time of writing the plot was abhorrent, demonstrating the turmoil referred to in the question. By the end of the play, the characters fall in love with their respective partners, thus the play ends in harmony. This can mean that the Shakespearean comedy celebrates life as it demonstrates the hardships that the characters faced and how they overcame them. This shows the audience that they can also overcome the situations that they are facing as the audience could relate to the characters. This provided the audience with reassurance and a motive to remain positive, they know that their problems will be solved eventually. The comedy in this sense is celebrating life’s pain, harmony and ability to overcome. However, many comedies that begin in turmoil and end in harmony fail to ‘celebrate life’. Examples include Heller’s ‘Catch 22’. This novel includes the main character Yossarian trapped in the middle of World War II. It is soon revealed that Yossarian seems to think that everyone is trying to kill him, and so takes the war on a personal level. This situation appears quixotic and so the reader is subsequently unattached from the novel and the improbable storyline. Readers are unable to feel a connection to Yossarian, and the plot of the novel means that readers are unable to draw parallels from their own lives to Yossarian’s or any other characters, consequently
To some extent, the statement is true as proof lies in many plays and novels. An example of this is Shakespeare’s comedic plays. The play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ begins in Athens where there is turmoil in the sense that Egeus’ daughter, Hermia, does not want to marry Demetrius. At the time of writing the play, these kinds of issues where the epitome of turmoil, parents were desperate to have their daughters married off, the disobedience of this tradition would have caused disharmony and embarrassment, which at the time of writing the plot was abhorrent, demonstrating the turmoil referred to in the question. By the end of the play, the characters fall in love with their respective partners, thus the play ends in harmony. This can mean that the Shakespearean comedy celebrates life as it demonstrates the hardships that the characters faced and how they overcame them. This shows the audience that they can also overcome the situations that they are facing as the audience could relate to the characters. This provided the audience with reassurance and a motive to remain positive, they know that their problems will be solved eventually. The comedy in this sense is celebrating life’s pain, harmony and ability to overcome. However, many comedies that begin in turmoil and end in harmony fail to ‘celebrate life’. Examples include Heller’s ‘Catch 22’. This novel includes the main character Yossarian trapped in the middle of World War II. It is soon revealed that Yossarian seems to think that everyone is trying to kill him, and so takes the war on a personal level. This situation appears quixotic and so the reader is subsequently unattached from the novel and the improbable storyline. Readers are unable to feel a connection to Yossarian, and the plot of the novel means that readers are unable to draw parallels from their own lives to Yossarian’s or any other characters, consequently