Death is extremely final and life is theoretically the greatest thing anyone can lose. Reading a tragedy that culminates in death, most readers would say that the death is the most significant tragedy in the story. Death is the result of primary hazards, which are the immediate physical hazards that cause death. But the tragedy of death is typically preceded by the characters' deaths in the face of other dangers. The dangers that precede death are secondary dangers, such as the character defects of pride and paranoia. Emotional burdens can also be secondary dangers, as Bobbie Ann Mason explains in her essay “On Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried'.” She says the main struggle in “The Things They Carried” centers on the intangible baggage that men carry, despite being at war where their lives are in danger. Secondary hazards are the source of primary physical and/or fatal hazards. In "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe, Montressor creates Fortunato's main danger by trapping him in a catacomb. In “The Things They Carryed” 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 the tragedies of death are the result of characters succumbing to the secondary dangers they face. Therefore, the tragedy of death may not be the “final” tragedy. While death is the final tragedy, the final tragedy is succumbing to dangers such as emotional burdens, paranoia, and pride. Emotional baggage can be the catalyst for a seriously dangerous event. In “The Things They Carried,” “[t]he immediate drama is the effort…to contain the emotion, to carry it” (Mason). Emotion…half of the card…is true of paranoia and pride, as an excess of both can lead to dangerous situations. The paranoia, pride, and emotional burden the characters face culminate in the story's final tragedy. Works Cited King, Stephen. “The Black Man”. Night guard. Stephen King.Mason, Bobbie Ann. "'The Things They Carried' by On Time O'Brien." The story and its writer: an introduction to short fiction. 8th ed. Ed. Anna Charter. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2003. 1515-1516. Print.O'Brien, Tim. “The things they carried.” The story and its writer: an introduction to short fiction. 8th ed. Ed. Anna Charter. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2003. 1001-1014. Print.Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." The story and its writer: an introduction to short fiction. 8th ed. Ed. Anna Charter. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011. 1109-1114. Press.