Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Big Question and Oedipus

What is the big question that you have formulated as a means of reading with purpose for this year in A.P. Literature?

How does Oedipus Rex address this question? Is there something you can take away from this play with regards to your question? What character, motif, quotation(s) or other literary pattern from the play has some bearing upon your question?Please make this entry by the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 20.

30 comments:

annab said...

What role do God and religion play in society?

anonymous said...
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anonymous said...

Which God and wich religion?

Katy L said...

Although there is such a loving and caring God, why does He allow so much suffering in the world?

AbbeH said...

Can love truly save a person?

This question is a little tricky because although I do believe that love can save a person I think it can also completely destroy a person too. Such as Oedipus. He loved his "mother" so much and she had saved him from death, but then he also loved his wife and actual mother which destroyed him.

Jacob Danger said...

Why do bad things happen?

The tragedy of Oedipus Rex certainly provides an example of how bad things can really get. Beyond that, however, Sophocles’ play not only illustrates that pain and suffering are apart of life, but that we can combat all tribulation with righteous choice and perspicacity. Moreover, the motif of blindness reveals what can become of those who do not recognize their iniquity, lending preponderance to the contention that bad things can often be perceived and prevented. In truth, some of the greatest tragedies and crimes are a consequence of inner blindness.

DaveW said...

Why do we fear death?
Why isn't right wrong?

I can't really decide beteween these two.

mattf said...

Is rebellion ever appropriate?
Are certain types of rebellion never appropriate?

shamitap said...

My question is a little different, but here it goes:

Why are some young children unwilling to open up to their environment while others rush head first into creating new relationships?

Chutchins said...

Why is evil attractive?

I believe this question has several seperate reasons and is a great foundation for any essay. I also believe this question ties in with the question, "If God doesn't exist, then how should humans behave?"

DaveW said...

Oedipus response

"Let every man in mankinds frailty consider his last day; and let none presume on his good fortune until he find life, at his death, a memory without pain"

This seemed to capture the idea behind Oediups Rex and serves as a warning given by Sophocoles. Man, even in his most blissful and falsely secure state can never be sure of his wellbeing, and he can also never be certain that the truth he knows is in fact the ultimate truth.

shelbyf said...

Which vision is more helpful to man-the comic or the tragic?

Oedipus shows that the tragic vision is more helpful to man because in watching his tragedy unfold, man sees Oedipus' mistakes and learns from them. For example, Oedipus' life ended in tragedy because he tried to change his fate, which teaches man not to try to alter fate.

Krista D said...

My question was why is evil so attractive?

This could relate to Oedipus through the way that he blamed people for his own mistakes. For example, he blames Kreon for his father's death and gets angry at Tyresius when the blind seer tells him the truth. In this instance, evil was attractive to him because he could not look inside himself and see his own guilt.

Evan C said...

Universally speaking, are there such things as good and bad?

OR

Is a person born basically good, bad or neutral?

These big questions are the top two on my list.
In regard to Oedipus Rex, the second question directly applies. When Oedipus is born, he is immediately given to the Oracle to have his future life scrutinized. Oedipus is born with his fate already set for him and he will therefore marry his mother and kill his father. He is born “bad”. However, he is also a great leader and a savior for Thebes. Can an individual change from birth form bad to good or from good to bad? Although Oedipus is prophesized to kill his father and marry his mother, he makes the best out of what he can work with. He saves Thebes from the Sphinx and promotes prosperity until the plague hits. He also aspires to explore the real truth behind his life. One has to give him some credit for trying to do so. Clearly, Oedipus can either be considered good or bad, but at birth he appears most as bad.

ahubert said...

Why do humans feel the natural tendency to hurt one another, or be mean to one another. Is it jealousy, personal gain, or something else?

Oedipus Rex does not address this question as much as he could because Sophacles focuses more on the reality of fate vs. free will. However, Oedipus is mean to the guy that tells him about his father being the current king. That is most likely because he was unwilling to accept the truth. I dont know much else that would relate. If anyone else does, feel free to comment

~*Emily*~ said...

I am unsure which question I want to address. Right now, I am toying with a few ideas.


- Is it possible for one person to truly know another person? Why is it that the people who we think we know and trust betray us?

Oedipus suggests that it is impossible to truly know another person. For example, Oedipus marries Iocaste without having any idea that she is his mother. In addition, Oedipus raises the question of whether it is possible for one to truly know themselves because for the majority of the play, Oedipus lives not knowing who he is and what he has done.

- How much do our past experiences influence our future actions?

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus's past influences his actions drastically. For example,at the end of the play,he tells his daughters straight up the truth of their family history. I believe that this is because Oedipus lived his life not knowing his true identity and that he did not want his daughters to have the same experience as him. In this way,Oedipus suggests that one's past experiences may influence him to go to extremes.

Another question:
Does everyone experience an equal amount of joy and sorrow in their lives? Is there such thing as an "easy" or "hard" life? Do some people suffer more than others?

I am not exactly sure how I could answer this one with Oedipus.

brettner said...

Question: What is love defined as today, and is love limited to only certain people?

annab said...

What role do God and religion play in society?

After reading Oedipus, Mrs. Makovsky posed a question to the class about whether the gods in Oedipus were benign or vicious. While I came to the conclusion that they were a compromise between the two, a more fateful influence. Some character's actions appeared to be dictated by the gods, for instance the blind seer, while Oedipus spent his time running from the actions of the gods, or so it seemed. I am interested in how the presence of God and religion play into society today.

CaylaB said...

Our discussion of fate has really got me thinking lately and I find myself asking if every event that takes place in my life is already scripted out for me.

And so, can a person ever escape their destiny?

As for Oepipus, he doesn't appear as if he does. But underneath it all, he finally figures out who he is and where his roots are embedded. In this way, has he escaped fate? While he's now blind, he's not dead. It is possible for him continue. That fated event doesn't have to be the end of him...

laurenb said...

Can good emerge from evil?

While this idea isn't exactly reflected in Oedipus Rex it is in the later stories of his life. In Oedipus at Colonus Oedipus finds peace, becoming a character similar to that of Tiresias. Although Oedipus is blind he becomes wise traveling from town to town gaining much knowledge and eventually dying in peace having been forgiven by the gods.

Katy L said...

My question, although there is a loving and caring God, then why does He allow so much suffering to occur in this world relates to Oedipus. I don't understand why the God's would ever allow someone to have such a terrible fate as Oedipus'? Why do innocent people have to suffer and tolerate such horrific fates?

Chutchins said...

Why is evil so attractive?

Oedipus's parent's decision to have him killed as a baby presents the common face of Shakespearean evil. This choice was readily made without a second thought due to the fact that by using a means of evil (wounding him in the heels and leaving him on a hillside), the job would be completed efficiently and without any clues as to what had happened.

MakenzieS said...

I have not been able to come to a definite question that I am passionate enough about to answer yet, but have been toying with these:
*In times of great struggle or suffering, what remains as an individual's saving grace?
*What elicits compassion for one's enemy?
*What makes individuals believe they must go on a physical journey to fulfill a spiritual purpose?
*Do individuals strive for their dreams or settle for what they think they can viably acheive?

Oedipus finds fate to be chasing him, he learns of his doomed life and goes on a physical journey in order to escape his predicament. In doing so, Oedipus makes his fate a reality. This can relate to my question concerning going on a physical journey to fulfill a spiritual purpose in that by leaving his home, where he may have been able to do good acts, and avoid killing his father and marrying his mother, he in fact inhibits his own sucess. In relation to my question concerning one's saving grace, Oedipus relies on his pride to pull him through. At first, he rejects the idea that he could be the evil in Thebes, he is too pridefull to even consider such a thing. When he finally sees the truth, once again Oedipus turns to his pride; he banishes himself from Thebes, confessing to all his wickedness and gouging out his own eyes. In punishing himself, he is keeping his pride intact. Faith versus Fate plays a large role in Oedipus and may also aid in the answering of my other questions.

alysons said...

My question is...

Why do people feel the need to run away from the things they fear?

I believe that people often feel the need to flee whenever something bad may happen in order to prevent their disastrous destiny from becoming their treacherous reality. Yet in Oedipus Rex he not only fulfilled is horrid destiny when he ran away, he also destroyed his life and that of his families, by being a coward and not facing the truth in the beginning. If Oedipus had stayed where he was and confronted his dread, he would have discovered that he should never leave his place, for that if he were to depart then it could result in him marrying his mother and killing his father. Oedipus Rex displays the idea that you cannot run from your troubles because they will not only follow you but they will also heighten the more you hide.

shamitap said...

The connection I tried to make between Oedipus and my question is at the ending of the play, when Oedipus reveals his truth to his children/siblings. Here, the children I'm assuming had chose to open up to his character believing that he was their father and nothing else. But it is heartbreaking and shocking for them to discover that Oedipus is their brother along with their father. For this reason, I'm concluding that children who fear forming a new relationship fear it because it may be either short-lived or full of deception--in other words the person who they befriend may trick them somehow. So they refrain from forming new relationships in the first place.

Katy L said...

I am not sure if this new blogging account works

Katy L said...
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Katy L said...

Testing

Katy L said...
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Katy L said...

IT WORKS!!!!!