Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Big Question: Oedipus Rex
My big question was:Does our actions or our external environment define us as individuals?In relation to Oedipus Rex, this question is very applicable and stimulating. As a tragedy geared towards emphasizing the inevitably of fate, this question undermines the importance of action. Oedipus, no matter how hard he tried, was destined to fulfill his fate of murdering his father and marrying his mother. It seemed his actions actually undermined the power of action. Because he chose to act to change his fate, Oedipus helped fulfill the prophecy. Therefore, his actions to avoid his fate actually propelled him towards it. Therefore, his external environment (the people that predicted his fate) had more of an impact on him as an individual. Although, it can be argued that his actions defined his ultimate downfall, and thus his character. Because Oedipus Rex's tragic flaw was his celerity and haste, his thoughtless pursuit for the truth ultimately led to his downfall. His actions, then, in a way defined his fate. Oedipus's actions led to the consequences that awaited him, and didn't necessarily change his fate. His fate was predetermined, and thus his external environment (the soothsayers predicting his fate and the people around him who foresaw his downfall) played a greater impact on him than did his actions. His actions may have expedited the process of his downfall, but his external environment ultimately caused his downfall. Obviously, it is difficult to pinpoint Oedipus as someone defined by actions or surroundings because an either-or outlook on character is not realistic. However, as the tragedy unfolds, it is apparent that his external surroundings have a bigger impact on him than do his actions because his external environment is what causes him to act in the way he does. His surroundings cause him to choose his path of downfall, although inevitable. His actions only determine the matter of time before he falls, while his external surroundings determine that he will fall, and thus show the individual that he will become. Thus, Oedipus Rex's external environment plays a bigger part in determining who he ends up being as a person. He falls, and his surroundings are to be blamed, because they have foretold this fate.
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Hi, Anish.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to read about your mother in your first blog post. I met her briefly at back-to-school night and she seemed like an interesting person. Now I know she is! How lucky you are to have such a positive influence in your life. It sounds like she really had to struggle against a lot of environmental factors telling her to give up, stop, or quit acting like a man. Good for her for pursuing her dreams in spite of all that. Sometimes that kind of pressure is enough to smother the spark of inspiration in many. I can’t imagine growing up in an environment that didn’t support me and my dreams. There are enough obstacles to deal with even when we have support, and it’s hard to imagine what it would be like without it.
Your question sounds like the classic Nature vs. Nurture. Is it? If not, let us know how you’re distinguishing it from that debate. You’re asking, “Do our actions (not does) or our environment have a stronger impact on our identity,” right? As we find out more and more about how powerful and influential genetics are on our “character” it becomes, strangely, more and more like the Oedipus story—not in any specifics, but in the sense that there are lots of people, scientists among them, who assert that we really don’t have that much freedom over who we are, because our genetics determine a large part of that (“determine” being the key word, as in “determinism”). So it may be that the three goddesses who “spin” our fate, do so in a spiral helix pattern. A lovely choice.
So I think, as you explore this question, that you’re bound to run into issues revolving around freedom, identity, and determinism. If character defines fate, and our character is determined by who our parents are, what’s left for us to carve out? The prophecy in Oedipus is that kind of deterministic lock on his future. Sure, he might be free in every other aspect, but if he’s determined to do just two things, it dooms his entire identity. I wonder if some criminals, who never dreamed they’d commit a crime, then do so in a traumatic or stressful situation, feel the way that Oedipus does. They might also have this sense that their punishment is disproportionate to their crime, or that they did one thing wrong at the wrong moment and will never escape that…it defines their character. I can’t wait to see how you work with this question when we get to Crime & Punishment. These are interesting questions, and I look forward to seeing how you pursue them in all of the upcoming books.