Case for Hope: Is Life a Tragedy?
The tragedy is a theme popular all around the world, from times we know not of, used in almost every genre that has ever existed in human history. May it had been Greek dramas or Persian ghazals, tragedy is as common as the language itself. Tragedy can be defined as:
An event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe.
Ending with the death of the protagonist, it possesses everything but a happy ending. From the death of Odysseus by a poisoned spear to Othello stabbing himself, tragedy leaves the readers in tears. Even poetry, especially the elite, has tragedies at the best. Take the example of Ozymandias.
Literature is referred, by most philosophers, as the manifestation of collective human thought in a given culture. It depicts what an epoch is in its internal and external phenomena. The success of the tragedy in literature always causes a thinking person to contemplate its role in human society. How it enters our life and why it matters. Under these circumstances, we cannot avoid the question: Is tragedy a part of our lives? or life is a tragedy itself? After all, life is not so pleasant.
The most important event of our life, death, is itself tragic: the fear that we shall be no more one day. The fear that we shall end. The fear of Adam and Eve: the fear of extinction.
Tragedy in History
Man’s history is full of tragedy.
From the era of hunting, humans have seen death, sorrow, and catastrophe. Towns have been destroyed. Wars have dreaded civilizations for centuries. People have been burnt alive. A large portion of the human race has dwelled as slaves to others for millenniums. Not mentioning the havoc of natural disasters that have dismantled joyous amenities.
It was natural for us to admire the tragedy, for philosophers to analyze it, for poets to poeticize it, and for writers to fantasize it. But this detail only confirms that tragedy is a part of human life.
You Are What You Think
The next part depends less on reality rather on the perception of a person.
The classic concept of half-filled glass takes over here. The world may be a large place where thousands of human beings have died, civilizations have ended, and misery has ruled. But apart from this you, in your introverted being, decide what you would accept.
Reality of Life
Leaving aside all the debate and coming to reality, the life around us mostly cares less about it. Most of the people live, eat, reproduce, and die away. They never care if it is a blessing or a curse. They just have to spend it. To the minority whose minds are evaded by the concerned question, there will always be two approaches:
- Half-empty glass approach: The world has always been a place of persecution. Tyrants have ruled. Seldom in history, justice had been rightly established. Everyone is on his way, no one cares about others.
- Half-filled glass approach: Though human beings have a humongous history of oppression and abuse, we have been improving all the time. There is always space for the better.
Hope and Despair
The world, in its long history, has added quiet a large material to interpret the world in both ways. Still, the question remains: What interpretation should you adopt?
Regardless of all the facts and philosophies, the simple fact is that the people who have succeeded in their lives were optimistic. On the other side, the worst manifestation of despair is suicide. Now, it may sound cliche that we should be optimistic but:
We shouldn’t be optimistic because it is good but it is the only option.
The other option is death and despair.
The Argument of History
Going back to history, we have to answer the question: Wasn’t history a story of misery. Wasn’t there too little hope in it?
The fact itself is undeniable that human history has seen chaos as much as was possible for it. But we can’t deny the improvement it has made. Alluding to the past century, we know slavery was abolished, the UN was established, women were given their rights, and so on. In fact, if you take the example of World War II, after the destruction and havoc of the war, we — human beings — recovered and have recreated the cities which were nothing but debris. In Urdu allegory, the phenomenon of hope is described as:
How thick the darkness may be, it can’t stop the light to spread.
There’s always been hope. There always will be hope.
The Concept of God and Hereafter:
If you’re a religious person, you should have noticed that what great hope the notion of God and hereafter provides. It turns all the misery we face to the hardships of a test. A test whose results we will get on the judgment day.
If you’re an atheist, still it provides you with an example that how humanity has always been optimistic. How it has invented (if you think so) the concept of God and hereafter to not despair.
A Poem
The whole concept of hope and despair is beautifully captured by Walter D. Wintle in his poem Thinking:
If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost a cinch you won’t.If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost;
For out in this world we find
Success begins with a person’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.If you think you’re outclassed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the person who wins
Is the one who thinks he can!
