12/02/19 Adam Bougaev Period 8

12/2/2019 Adam Bougaev Period 8

Today in Ms. Fusaro’s class, we had a very interesting lesson, continuing on our discussion of the Greek Tragedy Oedipus Rex. 

We started off small with an aim and a question. The question asked was about our reaction to one of two potential scenarios. The scenarios were a) You learned your grandfather was Adolf Hitler, and b) You learned your parents were siblings. We had a lot of interesting dialogue about our opinions on this question, and it seemed that the consensus among those who shared their opinion with the rest of the class was that they much preferred scenario a to b. I was surprised by this, but the rationale provided by my peers is sound. Adolf Hitler was a person who is now dead and would have no real bearing on who you are as a person.

This aim was very similar to many of the aims we had before, where we were asked our honest opinion on the matter, but the question itself was very related to what we were about to read.

The lesson today focused on two components of Greek Tragedies. One was new, referred to as peripeteia, and the other was anagnorisis, which we have discussed in the past. The focus was, of course, on the new component. 

First, we had to understand what was going on in the play. Oedipus had started to uncover the truth of his lineage and sought answers from a shepherd in order to finally piece together the truth. As before, Jocasta (his wife and mother, which isn’t known yet) urged him not to pursue this any longer, but Oedipus in his hubris needed to know the truth. Unfortunately, when the shepherd was tortured into giving answers, the pieces came together, and the plot twist is that the parents he thought were his parents weren’t actually his parents!!!

As it turns out, this ‘plot twist’ is what we call peripeteia. It’s the turning point in the Greek Tragedy, a sort of reversal in the story. Once the audience learns of this new information, Oedipus follows with his anagnorisis, his realization of his true nature. He sought to fight his destiny when he merely pushed himself right into it.

Reflection:

I learned a lot today about certain components used in ancient Greek tragedies, the most important of which for today being peripeteia. This device is one of the most important for the tragedy because it’s the point where the hubris Oedipus had, and for any other Greek tragedy their own hamartias, destroy them. While I was surprised about the aim question, as I usually am with how extreme Greek tragedies can be, and how the aims connect to them, I makes perfect sense that we needed to discuss them. The feelings we had on the aim questions are the same Oedipus had when he found the truth, his anagnorisis right after the truth was revealed in his peripeteia. This lesson made me understand the final component of a Greek tragedy that’s used to lead to its conclusion.