A man is on his honeymoon, which he paid with money that he had won from the lottery. It was a substantial amount, so with it, he also buys a house. Suddenly, he’s out of money. Unknown to his wife, he begins buying more and more lottery tickets. He has a “fatal flaw” - gambling. It turns out that he couldn’t afford the house completely, so he took out some loans and hasn’t been able to make ends meet since. The story will follow his tragic decline, as his relationship and life crumble.
Hurm... I like the story, but make sure to give substantial background and character development to support this guy. I do not have too much sympathy for over-gamblers who lose all of their money because it is a self-inflicted wound, so maybe you could establish that the character has no other options, or maybe that his parents gambled a lot and he finds himself following in their footsteps.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe it shouldn't be JUST lottery tickets. Tickets cost what, about $5.00 or so? It would be hard to spend ALL of your money on lottery tickets without being conscious of your own stupidity. Maybe casino gambling could be a part of it too.
I like it! It is very tragic. I think you should just end it with the guy losing everything and his wife leaving him. It could teach a lesson!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited for your final product. It seems like your adding numerous characteristics that reveal your view of a "tragedy"
ReplyDeleteI'd say that your tragedy very fittingly adheres to the concepts brought forth by Miller in his essay. It seems that this story, though it does indeed contain aspects of classic tragedy (the tragic flaw and hero), it more deeply reflects stories like Death of a Salesman. It sounds like a solid start!
ReplyDelete