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In The Sweet Hereafter by Ansel, what are the ways the characters of the novel try to explain the tragedy? What is the author saying about...

In The Sweet Hereafter, Ansel says, "It's a way of living with tragedy, I guess, to claim after it happens that you saw it coming, as if somehow you had already made the necessary adjustments beforehand."


1. What are the other ways the characters of the novel try to explain the tragedy?


While Ansel and several other characters accept that the accident was a tragedy that likely could not have been prevented, other parents...

In The Sweet Hereafter, Ansel says, "It's a way of living with tragedy, I guess, to claim after it happens that you saw it coming, as if somehow you had already made the necessary adjustments beforehand."


1. What are the other ways the characters of the novel try to explain the tragedy?


While Ansel and several other characters accept that the accident was a tragedy that likely could not have been prevented, other parents in town want justice. Ansel has an understanding that there is no justice in what happened and he recognizes that pursuing a lawsuit will only cause more discord and prevent people from healing. The Burnells, the Ottos and the Walkers are the parents who most strongly support the lawsuit, which is their attempt to explain the tragedy by placing blame on anyone connected with the school district. Others in town place the blame on Dolores, the bus driver.


2. What is the author saying about tragedy through Billy?


Ansel's quote in reference to the accident touches on the human need to rationalize tragic events. Ansel is a Vietnam War veteran with a somewhat fatalistic view of the world in the sense that he views death as inevitable. Because of this view, he does not see the accident as being anyone's fault, but rather an unpredictable act of fate. In this quote, he is explaining that people have the need to regain some sense of control after a tragic event by telling themselves they saw it coming. For many people, the idea of a world in which bad things happen without notice or reason is too chaotic to accept. These people must tell themselves that the world has maintained its order because the event was not really surprising at all. In this way, they regain some agency even if it is only an illusion.

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