Catharsis

Last week, we discussed the concept of catharsis in class, which is a very interesting subject because I believe everyone has felt it at some point in their lives. Mr. DeLaCruz (and Abby Ruch) described catharsis as the act of purging emotions, especially pity and fear, through a work of literature of art. On other words, we watch or read something tragic that, in turn, makes us feel better. It is a feeling I thought I had never experienced before. At first, it seemed somewhat sociopathic to find pleasure in horror. Upon closer investigation of the term, however, I found catharsis is something I do weekly, if not on a daily basis. The best example of my catharsis addiction is my obsession with The Walking Dead. This show consumes me when I watch it. I cannot take my eyes away from the screen. I love the intensity, the fight, and the grit of the show. Using my newfound knowledge of catharsis, I can recollect how content I feel after an especially sad episode of The Walking Dead. I always think how happy I am with the status of my life, and how grateful I am. This is catharsis at it’s finest.

This concept, originally put forth by Aristotle, states there is rejuvenation and renewal of the emotions after catharsis. I am now realizing why horror movies, tragedies, and other highly emotional works are so popular with the mainstream. It is a way for us to cleanse our feelings. Catharsis is a way for us to deal with our emotions without even knowing it. While watching horrors happen to someone else, our own feelings of pity and fear are expunged, thus leaving us feeling happier at the end. This process is very thought provoking about human nature. We really must have to watch something tragic happen to another human to make our lives better? Are we naturally driven towards fear? Tons of existential questions stem off of catharsis, which, speaking of, The Walking Dead is calling my name. Time to go purge some emotions by watching other people get eaten alive by zombies! Sounds awesome!
In this post, I focused on my sentence variety. This is evident in the first paragraph. I begin the paragraph with numerous long sentences. This allowed me to accurately, and in detail, introduce my topic: catharsis. From the longer sentences, I utilized short, simple sentences to emphasize how engrossed I am in The Walking Dead. The excerpt, "This show consumes me when I watch it. I cannot take my eyes from the screen," shows how The Walking Dead consumes me because there are succinct. The addition of these sentences also adds variety and makes it easier to read.