Reading Oedipus Rex, along with all of the other plays that I have read throughout the years, got me thinking: Why does everyone have to die in tragedies? I understand that death is one of the strongest (if not the strongest) causes of feeling upset, but why does everyone have to be killed off? In a day and age where money is king, sequels are a good way to bring in more dollars. You can't have a sequel to a play that all of the main characters are dead. Didn't they care about money back in the time of Shakespeare?
Why can't the endings be like the hero of the story failed to get the girl or the hero gets sent to prison for life or the villain prevails? These are all upsetting things that nobody looks forward to seeing, but they pack less of a punch than someone dying. Even if only one or two of the characters died. It would still be upsetting, but not as depressing as everyone dying.
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