How Jeff Smith Landed In Jail Essay

How Jeff Smith landed in jail is an enthralling parable of a spirited and ambitious young man looking to bring positive change to the nation. Jeff Smith was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1973 to a middle class family. Smith attended Ladue high school and then went on to graduate from UNC and Washington University with degrees in political science. In 2004 a Democratic Primary was being held for a Missouri U.S. congressional seat, and Smith decided to run. Smith at the time was a virtually unknown figure in the political world, but with the help from a young, bright, and driven campaign staff, he decided to run against a the scion Russ Carnahan. With the hard work of his campaign staff, Smith lost the primary by a mere 1800 votes. Two years

Jeff Smith’s sentence of one year in jail exceeded his crime. When Aristotle is talking the tragic hero evoking pity, he says that the pity is caused by “unmerited misfortune” (Aristotle 23) of the hero. In a tragedy, the punishment that the hero receives will outweigh the committed deed or crime. The unnecessary suffering will elicit pity from the audience. Jeff Smith did not deserve to serve a year and one day in jail. Although Smith did lie to the FBI, he said his mea culpa speech that the ends justified the means. By this, Smith meant that at the time of the campaign, making sure that a passionate and concerned man as he would make it to Washington and improve the nation was his only focus. At the time the noble action of making sure that the nation had strong leaders justified a miniscule campaign law infringement. This type of tragedy, according to The Poetics, is a pathetic tragedy since passion motivated Smith. A federal investigation is over the top for a small infraction of the law and thus the FBI punished Smith for a year and one day of his life for simply trying to help make the country better. Senator Scott Rupp said in the St. Louis Post Dispatch: “It’s sad. He served his district well. He made a huge impact in the senate. I hope he can put it all behind him” (Wagman A1). The senator demonstrates an example of the pity that the discovery of Smith’s fate aroused in people, an emotion attributed to tragic heroes. Next, a tragic hero must have a recognition of their actions and change from ignorance to knowledgeable. When Aristotle is describing elements of a plot, he says that “Recognition, as the name indicates, is a change from ignorance to knowledge . . . The best form of recognition is coincidental with a Reversal of the Situation (Aristotle 20). A complex plot is where the reversal happens simultaneously with the recognition. The hero suffers a reversal of the