An Analysis Of Mermaid By Richard Van Camp - 709 Words

Richard Van Camp shares the story of Torchy and his series of events that takes the reader along to see and feel the tragedies of Torchy with his past and current experiences. In the short story â€Å"Mermaid† by Richard Van Camp, the author explores the realm of a true tragedy in this story through the use of the Aristotle style of the elements of tragedy displayed by the means of Torchy’s series of unfortunate events through willing blindness, dramatized actions and pity developed for the character throughout the novel. With a closer look one can identify Peripeteia among many elements of tragedy found within this novel. Torchy choosing to willfully blind himself from the truth leads himself and others to pursue actions that ended up being a†¦show more content†¦I have to keep it quiet but I can’t stop† (Camp 5). This passage shows the mood in this scene and the emotions that are filled in both Stephanie and Torchy through their actions, even though no words were spoken between the two. It is therefore clear that the actions of Torchy’s internal conflict, convey a deeper message and atmosphere than mere dialogue. After all that has happen to Torchy, the author’s method of displaying of these events induces the reader to feel sympathy and pity for Torchy. This can be seen when Stephanie and Torchy are talking to one another and he indicates that the one person he has been looking for all this time was his late brother. â€Å"You were calling for Sfen, Who’s Sfen?† I look down. â€Å"My brother.† â€Å"Where is he? Is that who you were looking for?† â€Å"yeah,† I wipe my sleeve across my eyes, â€Å"but he’s gone† (Camp 5). This passage shows how one feels pity towards Torchy when he indicates that he has not gotten over the loss of his sibling. Which seems to be his only source of happiness as after the loss, his life began spiraling downwards. Therefore it is evident that with the impact the loss of Sfen on Torchy himself causes the reader to feel sympathy and pity for this tragic event. In the short story, the author depicted tragedy through dramatized actions, willing blindness and pity using the Aristotle style of the elements of tragedy. Alongside Torchy losing his beloved brother through his blindShow MoreRelatedMermaids By Richard Van Camp Analysis798 Words   |  4 PagesTragedy is defined as an event that causes suffering, destruction and death. When one is not fully aware of their knowledge, terrible events will correspond to what one has done. In the short story Mermaids by Richard Van Camp, the human suffering of Torchy resembles an Aristotle tragedy. Firstly, Torchy demonstrates hamartia when he is gambling. Additionally, the outcome of Torchy’s hamartia leads him to peripeteia which Torchy runs out of medicine. Lastly, Torchy wonders if he is a villain and