Blog Post: Oedipus Rex Introduction

As in introduction to the play, story, and tragedy Oedipus Rex (The King), there is no better place to start than the main character. Oedipus is a king, and a strange one at that. He was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, which was a common monomer for young royal bloodline boys of that time. His parents, disobeying the gods and attempting to change the inevitable fate, told one of their servants to chain Oedipus high atop a mountain and drive steel stakes into his ankles so he couldn't escape. But the servant, taking pity on the young boy, took him to a nearby kingdom to the king and queen that lived there, for he knew they could not produce a child of their own. The king and queen accepted him for theirs to raise, naming him Oedipus after his swollen ankles. His real parents never knew that Oedipus lived this, and when a town drunk told Oedipus that his real parents had left him to die, he was devastated. The town drunk was right, but when Oedipus asked his adopted parents if this was true, they told him that they were defiantly his real parents and not to worry about the drunk, because after all, he is just a drunk. Oedipus believes them, and soon, after a series of events and a riddling sphinx, the fate he so desperately tried to avoid is fulfilled.

Sophocles
 Oedipus Rex is a classified as an ancient Greek Tragedy, and was produced and written as a play in Athens by a wealthy elite named Sophocles. Sophocles was a famous artist even before writing Oedipus Rex, but is most well known for his series including Oedipus and his dramatic irony.


Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony is defined as The dramatic effect achieved by leading an audience to understand an incongruity between a situation and the accompanying speeches, while the characters in the play remain unaware of the incongruity. The audience knows what is going to happen to Oedipus before it happens. Dramatic irony is a way to compel your audience to feel sad for the tragic hero without being confused or unaware of his pain. Oedipus is the tragic hero, and the audience relates to him through dramatic irony.


Teiresias
Teiresias is the son of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. She is constantly struggling to feel excepted by the other people of her kingdom, for they don't respect her and her mark of being an inbred girl. Teiresias is a story of a strong woman, probably the first feminist play ever written, and follows her as she struggles socially in her own life and outside in others. She follows the path any other hero would.


Fate
Fate is a very broad word with a very broad definition. Fate could simply be something you feel that pushes you towards your goals, something your control and make for yourself, or something that you may not even believe exists. To the ancient Greek people, fate was a very important term. Fate was everything to them. In Greek mythology, fate was decided by the oracle of Delphi. Once your fate was determined, you couldn't change it or escape it. Fate was inevitable.


Greek Theater
Greek theater is one of the greatest forms of art and expression throughout history. Greek theater began as a term to describe the idea of huge amphitheaters sometimes holding over 10,000 people all watching a long, play or event together, but it soon evolved to something much more. Greek theater has now become a style. To have a Greek play is to speak in a certain way and follow the hero's circle, but usually a tragic one. Dramatic irony is one of the traits of Greek theater too.


Oedipus Rex
As the character, it is debatable if a real Oedipus ever lived, or if any of this tragic story is based off any real events. Nonetheless, Oedipus is a character we can all enjoy and find our own tragedy comforting in. Oedipus is a king, and a strange one at that. He was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, which was a common monomer for young royal bloodline boys of that time. His parents, disobeying the gods and attempting to change the inevitable fate, told one of their servants to chain Oedipus high atop a mountain and drive steel stakes into his ankles so he couldn't escape. But the servant, taking pity on the young boy, took him to a nearby kingdom to the king and queen that lived there, for he knew they could not produce a child of their own. The king and queen accepted him for theirs to raise, naming him Oedipus after his swollen ankles. His real parents never knew that Oedipus lived this, and when a town drunk told Oedipus that his real parents had left him to die, he was devastated. The town drunk was right, but when Oedipus asked his adopted parents if this was true, they told him that they were defiantly his real parents and not to worry about the drunk, because after all, he is just a drunk. Oedipus believes them, and soon, after a series of events and a riddling sphinx, the fate he so desperately tried to avoid is fulfilled. Oedipus dies as a tragic hero, and is told through a dramatic irony sense.


Aristotle
As a brief overview, Aristotle is a very interesting character. He not only attended Plato's School of Thought, but also founded his own Academy soon after Plato's death. Aristotle was known as an incredibly intelligent man, so intelligent that he is credited for all of Alexander the Great's master battle strategy tactics and ability to take control and maintain over such a large empire. Aristotle is also credited with coming up with the idea of logic and reason, and using emotion as a tool. Tragedy is one of his tools he founded. He wrote many books about the idea of tragedy, often describing it as feeling happy about your sadness in a way that others could relate to. Tragedy was taken much further than this obviously, but it was Aristotle that initially came up with many of the fundamentals for it. Aristotle also came up with the idea of Hubris. Hubris means "Pride", but Aristotle always argued that pride is a bad thing. It keeps you from feeling all of the emotions you can, and can often get you into something that is way over your head. Aristotle also made a bold point that all bad things are derived from a man's pride. Aristotle was truly before his time, it would have been great to see what he would think of our world today.

Baraka Reflection

Throughout the movie Baraka, directed by Ron Fricke, there was a common theme that seemed to prove the point of the importance of literature in the world today even more than any other film I have ever seen. It had an ideal around the film as a whole, and was showing the connection the world has to make to itself for everything to work-that link being literature. It shows that communication is important and that when it comes down to it, we are all one. Literature does the same thing. This film was as close to a written document proving the importance of literature and compassion as a film can get, and it didn't even have any words in it. This film made me feel all the emotions I could. Seeing the poor families and mothers scrounging the landfill to scrape by a living was an angering peek outside the first world problems that is so often forgotten as just that-minimal first world problems. Feeling of peace and commitment to your fellow human beings prevailed as beautiful scenes of all the different cultures filled the majority of the film. All the different people from all different age, gender, culture, country, origin, and race staring back at you made you feel true understanding. True compassion. Even with all these sad realizations, there were still some scenes that were simply beautiful. The low clouds over the mountains, the peak of the Himalayas shining, the black stone shine in the middle of the holy land were all stunningly impactful just to see. Even the burning oil fields of Kuwait were majestic in their own way. Each of these shots give the emotion of inner peace, and a lust to see the real world, not the fake one like the busy streets of New York and Tokyo. Slow music for the beautiful scenes and a fast paced tempo for the not so peaceful ones gave the film even more feeling. It intensified the emotions of the shots. The movement and transition of the scenes also intensified the emotions being displayed. Everything started calm, went a little deeper, and then ended a little bit stronger with a more sad but pleasing emotion. As the theme of this movie, it seemed to be pressing the point of unity. It was trying to convey that we're all not that different and that the human race as a whole is one. We shouldn't hate each other over our differences, because our differences are what make our culture. The fact of everyone being the same but still different enough to be unique is the theme portrayed by the film Baraka. Everyone has their own ideals and values, and that's what makes them who they are.
As a personal review of this movie, I can honestly say I enjoyed it. It was a little slow and almost put me to sleep at times, but I thought the cinematographer was a very skilled one, and knew what he was doing. I liked the message that this film portrayed too. I like the idea of peace and unity. I felt good after watching it. Baraka is a great film that I appreciate and would recommend to anyone else I think would enjoy watching it.

Semester Reflection

Throughout this semester, a lot happened. Literature form all sources and genres came together into an overall study of allegorical meaning and the importance of literature, and everyone learned a as much as they could. The first piece of literature we all read was The Hero's Journey, an interview with Joseph Campbell conduced by Mr. Moyers. It was a short interview explaining Joseph's idea of The Hero's Circle, a cycle every person has to go through to accomplish their own personal goals. I liked this piece of literature the second most out of all of them, Lord of the Flies being the first. The next piece of literature was Johnathan Swift's A Modest Proposal. It was a style of satire, with which Swift is credited to have fostered. It was a sarcastic criticism proposal used to expose the horrible things happening to Ireland by the English. Seeing how convincing this was, and how much humor it held, it shows how effective satire can be, and how influential it can be to a group of undecided people. Swift was sarcastically putting forward the solution for the people of Ireland to simply eat their children, as to reduce labor and hardship on the mother and to solve the hunger problem that ravaged most of Ireland. He was literally trying to prove the point that Ireland was being starved to the point of almost resorting to cannibalism by the English. I enjoyed this piece, but I didn't connect to it on so much of a personal level, and found it hard to fully grasp the aspects of satire. The only full book we read, which is now in my top five favorite, is Sir William Golding's Lord of the Flies. This book changed my life. Granted, it did depress me a bit, but the whole meaning of it really got to me. I feel like I have a much better understanding of not only allegory, but human nature and myself also. The last piece we read, to help us tie them all together in our synthesis essay, was Solzhenitsyn's One Great Heart. It was a short speech on why he thought literature was important not only to ourselves, but to the world as a whole. I had never thought of literature as this, but after connecting it to what we are learning in history about the printing press and all the other innovations of the scientific revolution, I see it could possibly be the single most important invention of all time.  
All these pieces of literature have brought me to the conclusion that reading and writing is important, but why really? This is what we have to synthesize for our final, and now that I have a strong overview, I can prove this many ways. Literature, is the link of the world to itself. It bonds us all. It brings people of all nations together under the idea to serve us all and to improve our ever-expansion and movement. (NOT FINISHED)

Lord of the Flies Reflection

Throughout the ending of Lord of the Flies, it seems to be wrapping up the story, but also wrapping up the whole deeper meaning of the story too. In the last few chapters, Ralph and Samneric are trying to keep their small tribe of youngins together. Ralph tries to rely them on keeping the fire going, but with only the three of them able to keep it going it seems futile and they decide to let it go out for the night. Leaving the fire out for the night is the first part that puts the island into complete madness. In the night, the boys are obviously scared. The island has become a lot more evil, and death is seen more plainly. It becomes even more menacing for the boys when Jack and his hunters decide to attack them and steal piggy's glasses. It is too dark to tell if it is one of the hunters, the beast, or one of themselves they are fighting. At this point, the hunters become defined as hostile for Ralph and his lingering tribe. "From the darkness of the further end of the shelter came a dreadful moaning and they shattered the leaves in their fear." (Golding, 168) This is just showing how the boys are beginning to see how much danger they are in. They are starting the decent into complete terror and loss. The next morning Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric decide to go to castle rock and confront the hunters. Piggy is practically blind, and can only trail behind carrying the conch. When they get to castle rock, a lot of arguing occurs. Ralph finds himself in a fight with Jack after they take Samneric and all Piggy can do is clutch to the land-neck and conch trying to restore order throughout the boys. As tempers continue to rise, order is thrown completely out the window. In a tangle of anger and battle, the rock is released on the neck of land and Piggy and the conch are knocked down forty feet into the sucking sea. "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. " (Golding, 185) This is when order is completely lost. Piggy was the only voice of reason on the island, and the most grown up. Piggy represented the only system of law and repentance on the island, and now with the conch gone too, the only symbol that banded them together, the island is now in a free-for-all. All order is now obliterated, just like the shell. At this, the hunters turn on Ralph. He is chased away back to the far side of the island, but comes back to see Samneric. To further Ralph's digression, Samneric are now part of Jack's hunters. They seem a little sorry for Ralph at first, but they also have respect and a more partial duty to attend to with Jack. Ralph tries to talk to them over the edge of the wall, but they leave him with only a piece of meat from their last hunt. The last thing Samneric tell Ralph is to run. Jack and his hunters will be coming for him tomorrow. Ralph is scared. He is now more scared of Jack and his hunters then he is of the beast, or other supernatural entities on the island. He sleeps on the edge of the jungle near castle rock, as to be safe from the beast, but also safe from the hunters. In the morning, Ralph hears the hunters coming. He crawls under the rock that crashed into Piggy for cover, and protects himself in the tangle of branches pointing his spear towards the only entrance. He is found, and starts his crazy flee across the island. They hunters are still coming, and Ralph knows he can't hide forever. In a blaze of crazy rage Ralph sprints through the line of hunters and onto the beach. The hunters have already burnt down most of the jungle, and he burst through Simon's place of peace. Ralph bursts onto the beach still blind with emotion and lands at the feet of a Naval Officer. The other boys stand silently behind him. He doesn't know what to say. This is when the boys are rescued from their own madness and fear. The presence of an adult, someone who can support order, puts them back to the kids they really are deep down. The masks can't hide what they really are. Adults see it as one big play that they need to give up. "And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." (Golding, 208) This is when all the boys have to face their own life, and what they've done. They have to repent for what they have done in their madness. The boys are now, truly, sadly, men.

Chap. 8 Analysis: Simon's Interaction

In the very end of the 8th chapter, The setting is a little lost and hard to decipher. Simon is in the jungle alone, with only the boar's head on a pike in the middle if the clearing. A very strange thing happens next. The pig's head begins to talk to him. It speaks to him, calling him a foolish boy for thinking they could kill him, for he is the beast, and the beast is inside them. "We're going to have fun on this island." The he says. Now there is obviously a deeper meaning of the representation of this situation, but it is a little hard to break down unless you read the next few chapters and fully analyse this excerpt. We have not yet discussed what the deeper meaning is in class yet, so I will take a guess and leave it at that. I feel that the whole situation, the pig's head on the stick, is a representation of violence. It comes as the term, "If someone hits you and you hit them back, are you any better?" violent interaction turns man into beasts, and it is the only way to define the difference.

Journal Post: Nov. 15, 2013

So far in reading Lord of the Flies, there has been many obvious symbols and metaphors. I'm sure they all add up to something, but for now there is little to be seen past the first few layers of it. The Island for example, often seems to be portrayed as a menacing place and alive in its own way. It is described as violent and harsh on the boys, wanting them to leave and waking destruction, such as the fire. In my opinion though, I think the island may represent this on one level but is mainly represented as the fear of each boy. It attacks them when they are most vulnerable, and prey on them often. It is its own entity, but a malicious one. Fear is a common aspect among the boys, especially among the younger ones, claiming to see a beasty in the night. Piggy, seems to still be representing the voice of reason and order. He is the rightful conscious, often ignored and shunned. If everyone did what Piggy did, the story would probably have no conflict. Piggy is the parent figure. It would be a more "civil" if they all at least listened to him. They would all be their own adult that they lack now and need so much. As another example, I think the dead pilot that lands on the mountainside in the night is a physical manifestation of the boy's hope. It represents all of their last options of getting off the island, in the literal meaning of their hope, in fact, being dead. Their hope is always trying to get back up, but, it is beyond that. It can be nothing other than what outside forces influence on it. After reading the evaluation in the back of the book in class though, it seems Golding sees the pilot as a metaphor for history. We did a separate evaluation of how this applies, but I still think my metaphor is right on another layer, even if it is just not so deep. These are all the main points I will continue to touch on as we continue the book.

Nov. 8, 2013: Friday Free Write

Everyday, you wake up scared. You go to sleep, already loathing the morning where you have to rip yourself out of bed and face the world. When your alarm clock goes off, you are already scared. This fear can, and will turn into anger. The anger of yourself, forcing you to go out into the world. You don't want to get up. You don't want to face the problems of the average day. You're scared. Scared of the cold floor when you get up, scared of missing the bus, scared of the test you didn't study for, that girl in your class... But you still get up. Only you know why you get up. Because you have to. You have to brace the cold floor. You wouldn't want to miss the bus. You have to get good grades and get into college to for fill your dreams and goals, and even though it makes you blush just thinking about it, you wouldn't mind seeing her smile one more time. You know what that drive is that pushes you out of bed in the morning? Love. It's the only thing stronger than fear. The world is a scary place, and from a young age you are taught to be weary of it. But love helps you. The people you love the places, the things... They lighten the the load of the world you carry so diligently on your shoulders, and drive you forward. Give up on fear. The world is a dark, dying place on it's last limb. There is no saving the world, but you can save yourself. Fear will hold you down. Love is a crutch to help you up. When you fall, love cannot catch you, but it can make it a little easier to get back up.