Tragedy essay
March 5, 2012
Mrs. Knight
In a tragedy, the main character is usually dignified and courageous. The characters downfall may be caused by a character flaw, or it may result from forces beyond his or hers control. The tragic hero or heroine usually wins some knowledge and wisdom, even though he or she suffers defeat and often death.
“Beyond his silence, there is a past. Beyond her dreams, there is a feeling. Beyond hope there is a memory. Beyond their journey, there is a love” From Million Dollar Baby. Million Dollar Baby directed by Clint Eastwood is a story about a girl, Maggie who wants desperately to be a fighter, but she only wants to be trained by the best trainer around, Frankie. She succeeds in persuading him to train her and goes on to be a magnificent fighter. Million Dollar Baby is a tragedy because the heroine, Maggie embraces the definition of a tragedy.
Million Dollar Baby is a tragedy because Maggie fits the first part of the definition, she is courageous and dignified. After being punched in the eye and not being able to see out of her eye, her coach, Frankie asks her “How many eyes do you need to finish this fight?” she simply replies “One’s enough.” Maggie should have been done, fighting with one’s eye messes up ones balance, peripheral vision, plus she couldn’t see. But instead of sitting down and being done she was courageous and keep going, winning her fight. A couple fights later Maggie faces her toughest competitor yet, she says to her coach, “She’s tough, I cant go inside, I cant get close enough to hit her” her coach says “You know why that is?” she responds “why?” Frankie says honestly, “’Cause she’s a better fighter than you are, that’s why. She’s younger, she’s stronger, and she’s more experienced. Now what are you going to do about it?” Next round starts, Maggie knocks her out in a few seconds. Maggie being seven years older than a normal fighter is not as quick on her feet and is inexperienced. But after