11/26/19
Alicia Yu #32
Period 7
Modern Mythology 2020
Aim: How does the paradox of blindness illuminate the Oedipus' tragic flaw of hubris?
Do Now: The Full Story
We started class with Ms. Fusaro telling us the full story of Oedipus. Oedipus’ story begins with the King of
Thebes, Laius, going to the Oracle of Delphi since his wife, Jocosta, was expecting their child soon. The oracle
told him that his son would kill him and marry his wife. After hearing this, like many other Greek fathers, Laius
came up with a plan to kill his child. It was considered as one of the most heinous crimes to kill your own child
so he told the shepherd to throw his child off the mountain once he was born. He binds Oedipus’ feet together
and stabs the feet together with a stake, wraps the baby up, and hands him over to the shepherd. The shepherd
couldn’t go through with throwing him off the mountain so he gave Oedipus to the shepherd at Corinth to give
to the King of Corinth since him and his wife couldn’t have a child. 18 years later, Oedipus is at a bar and a
drunkard sees the scars on Oedipus’ feet due to what his father did to him when he was an infant and tells him
that he is the one the prophecy is about. Oedipus has no idea what he is talking about and he sets himself on a
quest to go look for the Oracle of Delphi to hear about this prophecy himself. The Oracle of Delphi tells him the
same thing the drunkard says so he leaves Corinth and goes to Thebes. Along the way, he comes across what he
believes to be robbers in the road. They get into an argument and Oedipus kills all of them, one of them being
his father, King Laius. He continues on his journey and comes across the Sphinx who is plaguing the city of
Thebes. Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddle and saves the city from the plague. In return, they make Oedipus
the new King of Thebes and he marries the Queen of Thebes, his mother. Afterwards, there was a new plague
that hit the city and Oedipus needs to figure out how to save the city.
Thebes, Laius, going to the Oracle of Delphi since his wife, Jocosta, was expecting their child soon. The oracle
told him that his son would kill him and marry his wife. After hearing this, like many other Greek fathers, Laius
came up with a plan to kill his child. It was considered as one of the most heinous crimes to kill your own child
so he told the shepherd to throw his child off the mountain once he was born. He binds Oedipus’ feet together
and stabs the feet together with a stake, wraps the baby up, and hands him over to the shepherd. The shepherd
couldn’t go through with throwing him off the mountain so he gave Oedipus to the shepherd at Corinth to give
to the King of Corinth since him and his wife couldn’t have a child. 18 years later, Oedipus is at a bar and a
drunkard sees the scars on Oedipus’ feet due to what his father did to him when he was an infant and tells him
that he is the one the prophecy is about. Oedipus has no idea what he is talking about and he sets himself on a
quest to go look for the Oracle of Delphi to hear about this prophecy himself. The Oracle of Delphi tells him the
same thing the drunkard says so he leaves Corinth and goes to Thebes. Along the way, he comes across what he
believes to be robbers in the road. They get into an argument and Oedipus kills all of them, one of them being
his father, King Laius. He continues on his journey and comes across the Sphinx who is plaguing the city of
Thebes. Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddle and saves the city from the plague. In return, they make Oedipus
the new King of Thebes and he marries the Queen of Thebes, his mother. Afterwards, there was a new plague
that hit the city and Oedipus needs to figure out how to save the city.
Oedipus = “swollen feet”
After Ms. Fusaro finished telling us the backstory of Oedipus, we moved onto a pair share.
Pair Share: Choose a Side
Option 1 - All truths, whether they hurt, destroy, unveil, or enlighten, must be discovered.
Option 2 - Truth is a commodity which should be careful and tactful, used only when beneficial.
Option 3 - Write your own.
Taya started off the pair share by saying that she would choose Option 2 because Option 1 would be chaotic
since the truth is extremely powerful and can hurt people. Billy added on by saying that he agreed with Taya
and also chose Option 2. He would not choose Option 1 and the example he gave was having a bad impression
of someone when you first meet them but eventually coming to like them. It would be better to just never
mention it, as some things are better left not said. Some more people shared their sides and Steven finished
off the discussion by saying that he chooses Option 3, where he would want people to only tell the truth if it
doesn’t directly negatively affect himself. He also says that it is better to play it safe and remain quiet unless
you really need to say it.
since the truth is extremely powerful and can hurt people. Billy added on by saying that he agreed with Taya
and also chose Option 2. He would not choose Option 1 and the example he gave was having a bad impression
of someone when you first meet them but eventually coming to like them. It would be better to just never
mention it, as some things are better left not said. Some more people shared their sides and Steven finished
off the discussion by saying that he chooses Option 3, where he would want people to only tell the truth if it
doesn’t directly negatively affect himself. He also says that it is better to play it safe and remain quiet unless
you really need to say it.
After the pair share, we moved on to talk about paradoxes.
Paradox (n): a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable
premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
An example of a paradox that was discussed in class was Pinocchio. When Pinocchio says “My nose will
grow now!” that means that he just lied. This doesn’t make sense because that means that he lied about lying.
Another example of a paradox that was discussed in class was when Ms. Fusaro wrote: “Ignore this text” on
the board. It is a paradox because you already read the text so you can’t ignore it. After this, we had a whole
class discussion.
grow now!” that means that he just lied. This doesn’t make sense because that means that he lied about lying.
Another example of a paradox that was discussed in class was when Ms. Fusaro wrote: “Ignore this text” on
the board. It is a paradox because you already read the text so you can’t ignore it. After this, we had a whole
class discussion.
Whole Class Discussion: How are prophecies/oracles paradoxes?
As a class, we discussed that when you hear that something bad is going to happen to you, you try to stop it
from happening but if you hear something good is going to happen to you, you want to know how to make sure
it becomes true. Taya then gives an example using the story of Perseus. When Perseus’ grandfather heard about
his prophecy, he locks up his daughter in a chamber underground to try and prevent it from happening, which
made him end up with a grandson. Trying to get rid of the bad outcome ends up leading you to the supposed
bad outcome.
from happening but if you hear something good is going to happen to you, you want to know how to make sure
it becomes true. Taya then gives an example using the story of Perseus. When Perseus’ grandfather heard about
his prophecy, he locks up his daughter in a chamber underground to try and prevent it from happening, which
made him end up with a grandson. Trying to get rid of the bad outcome ends up leading you to the supposed
bad outcome.
After the class discussion, we read pages 128-132 in the book out loud.
Afterwards, we did another pair share. During this, it is important to keep in mind that Apollo is the deity in
charge of prophecy and he can not lie in prophecies. It is possible to get around with not saying the exact truth
but it is not possible to say false things.
charge of prophecy and he can not lie in prophecies. It is possible to get around with not saying the exact truth
but it is not possible to say false things.
Pair Share:
1 - What initial signs of rashness do we see in Oedipus?
As a class, we discussed that Oedipus is oblivious to everything and refuses to believe prophecies even though
they are always 100% true. We also discussed how you have to tell him what he wants to hear or else he won’t
listen, such as telling him that he is the hero of Thebes and saved the city.
they are always 100% true. We also discussed how you have to tell him what he wants to hear or else he won’t
listen, such as telling him that he is the hero of Thebes and saved the city.
2 - Why does Teiresias argue so hard against telling Oedipus anything? What does this illustrate about his
character?
character?
William describes the juxtaposition that occurs when Oedipus says that Teiresias is blind, literally, while when
Teiresias says that Oedipus is blind, he meant that Oedipus is blind to see the truth. This illustrates that Teiresias
didn’t see a need to tell Oedipus the prophecy as it would only make Oedipus feel horrible about himself.
Teiresias made sure to take into Oedipus’ feelings into account.
Teiresias says that Oedipus is blind, he meant that Oedipus is blind to see the truth. This illustrates that Teiresias
didn’t see a need to tell Oedipus the prophecy as it would only make Oedipus feel horrible about himself.
Teiresias made sure to take into Oedipus’ feelings into account.
After we finished this pair share, we did some group work.
Group Work: Theodore Roethke once said “In a dark time, the eye begins to see…”. Using Oedipus Rex,
explain and demonstrate the meaning of the quote.
explain and demonstrate the meaning of the quote.
Billy started off the conversation by saying that you shouldn’t be blinded by what is in front of you and that
you should see beyond that. He also mentions that it is ironic because people who can see say that they can
see better than those that are blind but when you’re blind, you actually have a better understanding than those
who can see. On a final note, Ms. Fusaro adds in that hubris makes you blind.
you should see beyond that. He also mentions that it is ironic because people who can see say that they can
see better than those that are blind but when you’re blind, you actually have a better understanding than those
who can see. On a final note, Ms. Fusaro adds in that hubris makes you blind.
Student Reflection:
Today, the lesson was heavily geared towards the usage and understanding of paradoxes. Paradoxes are
prevalent throughout Greek mythology and one in particular is the paradox of blindness. The paradox of
blindness is shown within Oedipus Rex through the scene where Oedipus and Teiresius are talking. The
paradox of blindness that was shown was that Teiresius is actually blind while Oedipus is blind to see the truth.
This ties into the first pair share we did in class where we discussed about truths. It is relevant to real life as we
learn that there are times for certain truths to be said and when it is better to keep it to yourself.
prevalent throughout Greek mythology and one in particular is the paradox of blindness. The paradox of
blindness is shown within Oedipus Rex through the scene where Oedipus and Teiresius are talking. The
paradox of blindness that was shown was that Teiresius is actually blind while Oedipus is blind to see the truth.
This ties into the first pair share we did in class where we discussed about truths. It is relevant to real life as we
learn that there are times for certain truths to be said and when it is better to keep it to yourself.
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