Friday, January 11, 2008
Blog post #2- rex put me in check
After finishing Oedipus Rex, I have come to realize that there is more than one way to live and interpret life. Oedipus, who I did not care much for as a character throughout the play, ended up being somewhat of a hero in my eyes which I did not think would happen. When reading the play previously aware of the outcome, I did not think I would have the thoughts that I did afterwards. Though some people may see Oedipus as an evil man for killing his father and having children with his mother, he could not help it. Like everyone, he could not avoid his fate. Where he could have taken the easy way out like Iocaste and killed himself, he decided to blind himslef and live on with his fate. He had an eagerness to learn his fate and dealt with the consequences, even though the answers were not the ones that he preferred. In life, not everything turns out the way we want it. Whether or not our bad times are as severe as Oedipus's, we can choose to deal with what is put on our plate (or rather what we have put on our own plate) or we can take the easy way out and continually not take responsibility for our actions. I'm not saying that people should go to the extreme and gauge their eyes out, but I have come to walk away with the realization that in this world, one can eaither live as an Oedipus or an Iocaste. You can know your situation and try your best to take responsibility and move on when your life/fate isn't exactly how you wanted it, or you can choose to go through life avoiding the realities and always take the easy way out in tough situations.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
What I wonder is what you think about all the people who tried to make Oedipus avoid his reality. What does this say about them? They were only trying to help, but would they be the ones avoiding/in denial of fate? Obviously you put Iocaste in the easy way out catagory, but what about the shepard or servant who tried to protect Oedipus? Does the fact that they were unaware of the truth change which group you'd put them in?
Day to day, we make millions of choices without even thinking. Sometimes what we think are the smallest and most unimportant decisions wind up becoming huge obstacles or problems in our lives. I think that the fact that the shepard and the servant were unaware of the truth would not put them in the category of being in either the Iocaste category or the Oedipus category. By making the generalization, I meant that when people are put in positions in which they know the truth and know the problem they are faced with...there are those who choose to take the easy way out like Iocaste and there are those who are like Othello and take responsibility. You wouldn't be able to categorize either the shepard or the servant until they were put in a situation where they know the truth and are then forced to make a decision.
Post a Comment