I don’t read much, I have a hard time reading because I lose interest quick. But a problem I have is with sad books, books like the old man and the sea. I know you’re supposed to feel sad, depressing books aren’t supposed to be happy. But whenever I try to enjoy or appreciate a book or even a movie that’s depressing I feel too sad to like it, I find myself liking the story but negative meanings just leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Too bitter to taste sweet.
by Content_Art_5282
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I didn’t think that book was sad. It’s sad that we must all get old and die, but the way he went out to face his fate head on made me cheer for the old man. I hope when my time comes I can be as strong as him.
I feel like reading sad books helps you to deal with your own negative emotions and feelings as well as developing compassion and empathy
Put them in a pile, light them on fire, and roast marshmallows over the flames.
I hate to get too “in the weeds” about this, but I think tragedy hits at not only the heart of the human condition, but the function of art. I’ll try to explain my thinking below if you’re interested.
Art, I think, speaks to us for a few reasons. (i) I believe moral development comes from a kind of experiential learning through aesthetic experience.
(ii) we are creators. As rational beings we have the inherent capability of imagination. This allows us to project things within our minds and extrapolate and think about our respective place in the future and in the past and put ourselves in situations weve never been before. It even allows us to imagine ourselves as someone or something else.
(iii) art tickles this imagination and creates an aesthetic experience that moves us to emotion or a kind of moral learning through placing ourselves in mental and emotional states we may not otherwise find ourselves in. The real value of art being the moral growth derived from a kind of experiential learning (even though the experience is an imagined experience)
(iv) as creators of art (literature, music, cinema, visual art, etc) the artist guides us through an experience they have crafted and often with the goal of teaching a sort of lesson. Even in the case of music, though, the fundamental, underlying emotional constant is a connection with other humans also experiencing the same thing and being provoked to aesthetic experience.
(v) which brings me to tragedy. Although sad stories might speak to some individuals differently, there’s a real beauty (I think it’s one of the most beautiful experiences) in sharing the woes of someone who isn’t you. Getting into their mind, feeling empathy for them as if they are you and you are them. It breaks down the barriers between humans and brings us together in a way that little else can. Plus whatever other moral learning the story may produce in us, but this seems to me to be the core function of aesthetic experience and why tragedy is SO important for achieving this.