What Tragedy Reveals About the Human Spirit

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What Tragedy Reveals About Human Spirit
A tragedy is defined as a situation or event that causes an individual great suffering, sadness or distress. The suffering inflicted on the person may be physical, emotional, psychological or a combination of two or more of these aspects. Tragedies may bring out the best or the worst in us depending on how we react which is dictated by our personality.
The Great Gatsby and The Handmaid’s Tale are both set in a historical period when there is a transition and with the various changes occurring, different characters in the two books come face to face with tragedies in form of losing what was dear to them or being under oppression. As such, the different characters adjust their lives to cope with the post-tragedy life. Various similarities and differences are observed in the review of tragedies about the human spirit in these two books. This essay discusses the nature of the human spirit in the face of tragedy as brought out in the two novels.
When faced with tragedy, it is in the human spirit’s nature to adjust to survive or overcome the tragedy. In many cases, the adjustments involve going against what would be considered normal. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby encounters the tragedy of losing the love of his life, Daisy after he enlisted in the military. It seems to him that he would stand a chance of winning her back and subsequently ease his suffering if he accumulates wealth, thus lead h…