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To what should the fairytale ending not make us insensitive?

User Amit Kumar
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Final answer:

The fairytale ending should not desensitize us to life's complexities and the need for active engagement with serious challenges. Encouraging simplistic conclusions may lead to alienation, not awareness. The essence of a story should induce emotion through its plot and characters, as exemplified by the works of a superior poet or playwright.

Step-by-step explanation:

The fairytale ending should not make us insensitive to the complexities and harsh realities of life. In storytelling and other forms of media, we often seek and are provided with neatly tied-up endings that satisfy our psychological need for closure. However, in real life, such resolutions are rare, as nature and the world do not operate with the intent of fulfilling our desires for a narrative conclusion. Acknowledgement of this can prevent us from becoming indifferent to the perils and uncertainty of our times, which is crucial for mounting a collective and effective response to global challenges.

When communicating about sensitive topics, we must be aware that pushing for a positive spin can inadvertently cause alienation rather than enlightenment. In historical and challenging contexts, private grief and the loss of life should be approached with empathy, and the individual experiences should not be downplayed or invalidated due to an overarching narrative of resilience or hope.

A superior narrative, as indicated by Aristotle in his discussion of Tragedy, is one that elicits fear and pity not through spectacle, but through the inner structure of the story. This insight underscores the importance of substance over mere form in storytelling, emphasizing that the effects of tragedy should arise naturally from the plot and characters, rather than relying on external means to induce emotion.

User Sicr
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