Titanic: A Tragedy

Titanic is a film from 1997 that is based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic. This movie starts as a romance but quickly shifts towards a tragic ending. In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio plays the hero, Jack Dawson. The hero in a tragedy must display great strengths, and Jack displays this when he saves Rose's life. However, a hero must have some small imperfections, and one of Jack's minor imperfections is that he is of a lower class than Rose. Since the first instance when Jack and Rose meet, their relationship builds, and they quickly fall in love. As the ship hits the iceberg and begins to sink, the passengers evacuate desperately. Despite all the chaos, Jack and Rose stay together and try to find a way off the ship. They find a way off the boat, and stay together until Jack dies from hypothermia and Rose is rescued by another boat.

This movie is a good example of a tragedy. As said before, Leonardo DiCaprio's character plays an accurate role of a tragic hero because of his nobility and certain imperfections.The end of the movie also creates a tragic story. The shipwreck causes a number of people to die, including Jack. Rose survives, but must live without her lover.

Comments

[Megan T.]

I also think The Titanic can be expressed as a tragedy because of the self-knowledge Leonardo DiCaprio's character gains. Through his relationship with Rose, he learns about himself and what he truly cares about in life. I also believe he brought on his own downfall by associating himself with Rose, who was obviously of a higher social status than him. Even though this didn't directly relate to his death, it still caused him a lot of problems.

[dan r]

In a way the Titanic is sort of like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet seeing as how two lovers were not meant to be. Romeo and Juliet were not meant to be because of their family differences and Rose and Jack weren't meant to be because if they were Jack wouldn't have died. Romeo loved Juliet enough that he killed himself in order to be with her and Jack loved Rose enough that he was willing to sacrifice himself in order to save her. Romeo and Jack are alike due to their affection and their deep love for their women.

[Katy O.]

I think that the movie Titanic is a great example of a tragedy. I also think that the actual sinking of the RMS Titanic is an example of a tragedy because it begins by holding "noble stature" and due to overconfidence and arrogance, the Titanic sunk and countless lives were lost. The movie is a good example as well because it includes the aspect of love and personal loss in the tragedy.

[Hannah Meyer]

Titanic is a wonderful example of a tragedy. It is quite similar to "West Side Story", the movie I blogged about. A young man and woman, one of high stature and the other lower, try to keep their love a secret. The two do not deserve death but the man ends up dying and leaving the woman. Their love for each other is irreplaceable and the loss in the movie perfectly defines the tragedy and loss experienced by innocent people.

[Catie H.]

I think that the Titanic is a definite example of a tragedy. I also think that it's really interesting what dan said about Romeo and Juliet, considering that it was written by Shakespeare like King Lear was. Although Jack and Rose were from completely different worlds, Jack still did whatever he could to save her and be with her. However, this ultimately resulted in his death. In this case, Jack's punishment of death definitely exceeded his crime of being with her while she was already in a relationship showing that his misfortune was not wholly deserved.

[Andrew D.]

I think that Titanic is definitely a tragic story, but I don't know if Leonardo Dicaprio's character is actually a tragic hero because he doesn't have a noble stature. Kate Winslet's character might be more of a tragic hero because of her fall from grace as a well-to-do young woman, even though she doesn't die at the end of the story.

[Justine M]

I definitely think that the Titanic is a great example of a tragic story. There were many examples of who could be viewed as the tragic hero of the movie.

[Zack W.]

Michael, this is an excellent example of a tragedy. It is actually one of my favorite movies and it brings me tears everytime I watch it. It is clearly a tragedy because of the death and love that occurs. Great example buddy.

[divx movies]

I think "Titanic" is an example of a tragedy, but not in the Sophocles meaning of the word. In the Greek tragedy there is usually a hero who does something bad, who sins in some way, what doesn't happen in Titanic.