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Mermaids Richard Van Camp Analysis

Decent Essays

A tragic story in its own right, is a story that deals with tragic events, including an unhappy ending that usually involves the death or demise of the main protagonist. Although “Mermaids” is a truly sad and unforgiving story, it does not classify as a tragedy. Mermaids by Richard Van Camp has close to none of the aspects that make a tragic story, truly tragic. The characters development, ending, and tragic pattern, all support the fact that this story is sad, but not tragic.
First and foremost, the character development in “Mermaids,” is the polar opposite of what any tragic story would be. The main character Torchy has no evident or visible hamartia, he is indeed a weak character when he is first presented, however he does not have that key tragic flaw that every protagonist in a tragic story has. He also lacks the element of peripeteia, it is true that he does many foolish things, such as gambling, drugs, and self inflicting harm. However, none of these acts initially lead to his demise, in fact, his poor experiences help him grow as a character. “I feel my blood drain… I lean hard against a parking meter” (Van Camp 1). When first presented to us, Torchy is shown as a person that is strong on the outside, he always has his guard up and is constantly aware of his surroundings. However, on the inside he is a vulnerable man, conscious of his mortality where he harms himself to relieve the pain that he is feeling. “I can feel it build. I don’t want to scare her… I hug her

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