Read pgs. 1490- the top of pg. 1495 (don't read "Antigone's Flaw"). The
reading should comprise four different critical perspectives on tragedy
and Oedipus. Post a BRIEF entry on whichever article you find most
compelling and why you find it compelling.
Have a great weekend!
I found two articles that were the most compelling because they provide a more introspective level of thought on humanity, in general, and ourselves, personally. I found Sigmund Freud's The Destiny of Oedipus very enjoyable because he gives a rational assumption as to why there are stories that 'move' us; that they reflect our primal instincts. That stories move us because they may have been ours. I wonder... is that why Harry Potter and Twilight so famous? Because the former reflects our childhood ignorance/imagination and the latter, forbidden/eternal love? The Oedipus and Electra complexes are referred to in his criticism; it brings a whole new meaning to "Daddy's girl" or "Momma's boy." I believe there is a correlation there or else why would the phrases be popular? Oedipus serves to reflect the other side of who we are. We, according to Freud, have learn to detach ourselves from our sexual impulses which can be compared the philosopher I cannot recall about having two sides to a person: a rational and an emotional side. And it is our choice which to live by. Oedipus, like us, have chosen to repressed (rather unconsciously or not) these wishes due to Nature and in doing so, we should just forget about our childhood.
In E.R. Dodds' On Misunderstanding Oedipus, Dodds sees Oedipus' greatness not from his position, but in his inner strength to take responsibility in his acts no matter the costs and in pursuing the truth despite the cost. He represents the human need to know. Because we're curious creatures. Heck, it takes a lot of self-control not to be curious. Oedipus would have been a great journalist exposing the horrors human trafficking and government corruption. It's too bad he had to go blind himself. It also brings to mind why happiness is often correlated with ignorance and anger/sadness/cynicism with truth and this article supports it in saying that happiness is an illusion. “Nothing Will Come of Nothing” Isa kai to meden zosas enarithmo.
In a more broader scale, I believe both criticisms allude that personal conflicts of a person. It seems that there's an internal struggle in who we really are and how we would like to be perceived as. If you want to see who a person truly is, let him wear a mask. Are we true to ourselves or do we live to the expectations of others? And if we are open and honest, can we ever truly be loved? Can we find the courage to release our deepest secrets? Or in the end are we all unknowable even to ourselves
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