Triumph over Adversity, a Good Story

I just finished reading the "Modern Love Column" in the 'Styles' section of today's Sunday New York Times. It is my favorite column of the week. The stories range from ones where love conquers all to those where love doesn't succeed. In today's column, love permitted the writer to move on from tragic losses. It made me wonder whether sadness is the sole impetus for evocative prose? Jeanette Walls's "The Glass Castle," which recounts a most fantastic childhood with mentally ill parents is riveting. Frank McCourt's book, "Angela's Ashes" was a remarkable ouvre. These works grab your attention.

A former colleague was a student of Frank McCourt's at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. He told me that McCourt had no patience for anyone who handed in a story that didn't include a healthy dose of suffering and deprivation. As far as McCourt was concerned, exposure to alchoholism was a necessary life experience. I suppose the man had a point; sad stories are compelling.

Tragic events provide dramatic action forcing change. To succeed, the change must be inspirational. Otherwise, the story wouldn't be worth telling. Certainly, had McCourt or Walls not overcome their pasts, they would not have been capable of writing their works. Perhaps someone else would have picked up the story of someone who survived a broken childhood only to continue a pattern of destitution. That story would just show how some people lack the ability to extract themselves from pathetic lives. A desperate situation is an attention grabber. The reader must find out what happens and how the protagonist emerges victorious. How did McCourt go from being an urchin to a distinguished educator? How did Walls end up living on Park Avenue while her mother scavenged in garbage cans? Somehow, they do move beyond their circumstances, and if they can do it, so, too, can the reader. The contrast is essential to the inspirational message. I suppose that we must accept that triumph over adversity is an essential ingredient to a story worth reading.