There is a distinct longing that is clear in both “Noises Off” by Michal Frayn and “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder. The overarching theme of the loss of other people permeates these plays. Wilder expresses this feeling through the words of Emily, as she mourns the deaths of her acquaintances and relatives and states that “[time] goes so fast” (xx). The author refers to the time that has passed since the event described by the characters.
At the same time, the second author reviews a similar topic through different means. Frayn states a similar longing as he writes that “he don’t live here now because he lives in Spain” (xx). Instead of time, the issue that causes a character their grief is distance. However, these two factors are used to provoke a similar emotion, which is anxiety and yearning for those who are deeply missed.
Elements of a Tragic Hero in “The Displaced Person” by Flannery O’Connor
The story “The Displaced Person” by Flannery O’Connor is not a story that has a hero in a sense that readers might be used to seeing. There are flaws in Shortleys’ work ethics and morals that can be considered to become their downfall later. The punishment that Mrs. Shortley receives at the end of the story is far from equal, as she dies in a violent fashion that is compared with the death of people she despises out of jealousy. Mrs. Shortley passes away in a manner that was described as dramatically as when she spoke of dead Europeans from the concentration camps (O’Connor 654). Her death is unlikely to be seen as a pitiful end but a lesson from fate. In conclusion, there are elements of a tragic hero story in O’Connor’s work, yet they do not paint an exact stereotype that fits into this model.
Works Cited
Frayn, Michael. Noises Off. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
O’Connor, Flannery. “The Displaced Person.” The Sewanee Review, vol. 62, no. 4, 1954, pp. 634-654.
Wilder, Thornton. Our Town: A Play in Three Acts. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2020.