Severus Snape Research Paper

Reflection about how tragedy can influence an individual's behavior, psychologically and sociologically
The word “tragedy” evokes connotations of sadness, death, and irony. In literature, a tragedy is a plot in which the protagonist, also called a “tragic hero”, because of some inherent flaw in his/her character, dies. In the Poetics, Aristotle wrote that the purpose of Tragedy is to evoke a wonder born of pity and fear, the result of which is cathartic. As audience members we should sympathize with the protagonist, possibly recognizing in him/her our own human weaknesses. Because tragedy is built around an internal conflict of character, identification with the protagonist is crucial to success. For example, if we cannot understand Romeo’s naive, unsophisticated notion of love, what poignancy does his death have?
Snape's tragic flaw is that he is too obsessed with the past, which makes him not trust Harry's judgement or have faith in his abilities. As the result, Snape got injured when trying to do something that isn't considered fight by Harry or when he has to kill Dumbledore. Although Snape manages to protect Harry and his friends in some situations but because of his flaw he is a tragic hero. Another example is Woody from Toy Story. When Andy gets Buzz for his birthday, Woody is jealous of him because Andy plays with him more. Woody tries to get rid of Buzz so he can become Andy's favorite toy again. However, in the end Woody realizes that Buzz wasn't replacing him and Buzz and Woody become