The sense of tragedy - according to Aristotle - comes, ironically enough, not from the protagonist's weak points but from his good qualities. Do you know what I'm getting at? People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues....[ But] we accept irony through a device called metaphor. And through that we grow and become deeper human beings. Haruki Murakami
About This Quote

The idea of the metaphor as a device is profound. In order for us to see someone as a full human being, we must see that person through a lens that makes them seem unreal. So, we have to use a metaphor that contrasts the person we are looking at with something else. In this case, it is his human qualities that make him seem unreal.

Once we see him through the lens of the metaphor, we become more human, able to understand how he feels and how he acts. That means our understanding grows and our actions become more compassionate.

Source: Kafka On The Shore

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