Tragedy, Closure, and Society: Agamemnon

The guy gets the girl. The poor man wins the lottery. The orphan gets a home. They lived happily ever after. Americans are so used to endings that provide closure and warm, fuzzy feelings, that it is difficult to understand the appeal of a tragic ending. For the Greeks, the ending that does not provide that same satisfaction as the "happy ending" is what brings them back for more. In a society so engaged in the theater and the arts, those endings that are left open to interpretation, or those that provoke emotions of shock and pity, are the sequel setups and movie trailers of our society today.…