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Tragic Flaw

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Tragic Flaw
and The Flaw
By Phanit Asavanamaung 10B
Stories are told in many styles, through different medias; all which are to entertain or educate its audience. Christopher Booker, the author of the book 'The Seven Basic Plots', introduces the idea of the seven basics categories of any story told. The seven basic archetypes are Over Coming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Rebirth and Tragedy. Tragedy as one of the seven archetypes, are found in any type of stories; from the most recent published novel to the almost forgotten ancient myths of the earth. Tragedy is mostly used to describe when there is a death in the story, but which the term ‘tragedy’ can also be used to describe when the character has fallen into a lower state. It is better defined when there is a downfall of the main character in the story. In all the stories which are categorized under tragedy, has one thing in common. It is that those characters have a tragic flaw; that influences the character to their downfall. The tragic flaw for each character is different. It is influenced by many factors, such as family and the environment they are exposed to. These influences lead to the death of the eternal love of Romeo and Juliet, or even the life of a school girl, Alaska; in Looking for Alaska. The tragic flaw of a character is influenced by many factors, leading to the character’s downfall. The tragic flaw could be observed when there is a decision to be made, and the wrong choice is taken. The decision took, is influenced by the characters experience and also the condition that they are in. The experience of the character is from their past, about their families and their environment. This could result a tragic flaw to the character by making a scar to the character mentally. If the character was poorly treated in their childhood, or have experienced a traumatic event; this could cause a flaw in the character. At times, when the condition of the character is at its

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