Death is extremely final, and life is theoretically the greatest thing one can lose. When reading a tragedy that culminates in death, the majority of readers would say that death is the most significant tragedy in the story. Death is the result of primary hazards, which are the immediate physical hazards leading to death. But the tragedy of death is usually preceded by characters succumbing to other dangers. The dangers that precede death are secondary dangers, like the character flaws of pride and paranoia. Emotional burdens can also pose secondary dangers, as Bobbie Ann Mason explains in her essay “On the Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien. She states that the main struggle in "The Things They Carried" focuses on the intangible baggage that men carry, even though they are at war where their lives are in danger. Secondary hazards are the cause of primary physical and/or fatal hazards. In Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", Montreessor creates Fortunato's main danger by trapping him in a catacomb. In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien, the main danger is war. The supernatural monster Boogeyman is the main danger in Stephen King's "The Boogeyman." These dangers are mortal, but death tragedies are the result of characters succumbing to the secondary dangers they face. So the tragedy of death may not be the “ultimate” tragedy. Although death is the final tragedy, the ultimate tragedy is succumbing to dangers such as emotional burden, paranoia, and pride. Emotional baggage can be the catalyst for a very dangerous event. In “The Things They Carried,” “[the] immediate drama is the effort…to contain the emotion, to carry it” (Mason). The emotion... middle of paper ... is true for both paranoia and pride, as too much of either can lead to dangerous situations. The paranoia, pride, and emotional burden the characters face culminate in the story's ultimate tragedy. Works Cited King, Stephen. “The bogeyman.” Night watch. Stephen King. Mason, Bobbie Ann. “The Things They Carried” by On Time O'Brien. » The story and its author: an introduction to short fiction. 8th ed. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2003. 1515-1516. Print.O'Brien, Tim. “The things they carried.” The story and its author: an introduction to short fiction. 8th ed. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2003. 1001-1014. Print.Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Amontillado barrel.” The story and its author: an introduction to short fiction. 8th ed. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011. 1109-1114. Print.