In media res: Houston, Harvey and the catastrophe of climate change
“In media res” is Latin for “in the middle of things.” Frequently, it refers to the literary device of plunging readers into some central action of a story (often an epic) and then filling in the details and background later.
The residents of Houston must have felt that they were plunged into the middle of some epic story as Hurricane Harvey dumped up to 50 inches of rain on them and flooded much of the city. Early estimatessuggest that this hurricane could end up being the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Hurricane Harvey is almost certainly an epic story unfolding before our eyes. That means the significance of events and outcomes surrounding the hurricane will only be filled in later–creating analysis, folklore and perhaps even a cultural output on par with that which followed Hurricane Katrina (think: the television series “Tremé”).
There will be stories about the failure or success of the emergency response effort. There will be denunciations of those officials who recommended staying put and recriminations of those doing the denouncing. There will be riveting accounts of suffering and also of heroic rescues and exceptional kindness. And, there will be stories of lawlessness and cruelty.
Harvey will almost certainly be styled as a tragedy. The storm is undoubtedly a colossal misfortune, and we should have compassion for those affected. But from a literary standpoint, it is not a tragedy at all. A genuine tragedy requires that the main players be unaware of how their own flawed character is leading them to self-destruction. A genuine tragedy depicts an ineluctable course of events. Nothing and no one could have prevented them. Greek tragedians relied on Ananke, the goddess of fate, to drive the action of their plays.
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