Using Groen's Essay “Books Still Win” Tragic Realism Is Seen in Joshua Ferris' Novel “Then We Came to the End.” Tragic Realism Is Evident in Ferris' Novel

Reality is Quality There are many perspectives and definitions on art, an abstract topic. In the world of books, nothing is considered art unless the novel can engage the readers through the author's use of emotions and stylistic syntax. Using Groen's essay “Books Still Win” tragic realism is seen in Joshua Ferris' novel “Then We Came to the End.” Tragic realism is evident in Ferris' novel through the fact there is both good and bad within a person, that life improves with struggles and that sadness is always evident. An author's piece begins to impact the audience once connections are made between the readers and characters of the novel. Rick Groen states that fictional characters acquire more personality compared to those who invented them: their characters are not as 2-D as the “culture that has become as binary as the computer that dominates it, (Groen 2)” thus there is a contrast to reality, and this creates a higher appeal for books. 2D products are mainly created for entertainment purposes, but with the advancements and struggles of technology, one can now enjoy visualizing media in 3D. On a computer, the outer appearance is more visual compared to anything else on the screen. In modern society, authorities first judge the person based on looks, rather than personality. The perfect body, perfect vision, genius academic, great curiosity, perfectly still, listening assists in the establishment of the ideal figure. Computers and various other technologies make entertainment products that are usually 2-D – unless people are lucky enough to receive 3-D glasses. On a computer, no one sees anything but the outer appearance of something. Authorities in modern society base a person off appearance first before looking into personality. The perfect body, perfect vision, genius academic marks, and the perfect record are all that matters in this world at first (this is 2-D) – personality (3-D) always comes second despite all denials from anyone. It is now exceedingly