Mermaids By Richard Van Camp Analysis - 798 Words

Tragedy is defined as an event that causes suffering, destruction and death. When one is not fully aware of their knowledge, terrible events will correspond to what one has done. In the short story Mermaids by Richard Van Camp, the human suffering of Torchy resembles an Aristotle tragedy. Firstly, Torchy demonstrates hamartia when he is gambling. Additionally, the outcome of Torchy’s hamartia leads him to peripeteia which Torchy runs out of medicine. Lastly, Torchy wonders if he is a villain and this shows anagnorisis. Torchy’s actions ultimately lead his life to a downfall that is caused through accidental events, and this overall demonstrates the concept of an Aristotle tragedy. When one has fulfilled their goal without any downfalls,†¦show more content†¦This is an enormous indication that Torchy went beyond his limit and should have stopped when he had reached his goal. As the story progresses, Torchy says â€Å"When i went back to the room, the twins had vanished with all my money†. (4) This means that Torchy’s blind actions directed him to his own self destruction. This shows peripeteia because it shows the consequence of a tragic flaw. During Torchy’s talk with Stephanie, Torchy foreshadows what will happen in his tragic future by saying â€Å"They forgot about God and anytime men forget about God, He reminds them He’s still there. That’s why he brought AIDS. Because we forgot†. (2) This is an exact analogy of what happens to Torchy as he forgets about the medicine and his forgetfulness leads him to lose all the money he won. These facts furthermore prove how Torchy’s actions resembles an Aristot le tragedy because of the downfalls that he created for himself. Lastly, Torchy portrays anagnorisis by gaining knowledge of himself in the past that he was neglecting. During his talk with Stephanie, Torchy about himself â€Å" Am I a bad man†¦ I’m not a bad man. I just leave for a while and let the bad man in†. (2) This is Torchy obtaining his knowledge of the past that he was a bad guy when he kept gambling after getting eighty thousand dollars, and letting his brother die without stopping him from committing suicide. At this point,Show MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of Mermaid By Richard Van Camp709 Words   |  3 PagesRichard Van Camp shares the story of Torchy and his series of events that takes the reader along to see and feel the tragedies of Torchy with his past and current experiences. In the short story â€Å"Mermaid† by Richard Van Camp, the author explores the realm of a true tragedy in this story through the use of the Aristotle style of the element s of tragedy displayed by the means of Torchy’s series of unfortunate events through willing blindness, dramatized actions and pity developed for the character