Prince Zhang, Period 2, 12/4, B

Reading and Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding the most current reading.

In my modern mythology class, we recently started reading Oedipus the King, a tragic play by Sophocles. The story up to now is about the king of Thebes, Oedipus, who has been given a prophecy by Tiresias, who states that he will kill his father and marry his mother. At first, Oedipus was skeptical of the prophecy, as any sane person would be. But as the plot progressed, bits and pieces started coming together. For one, Jocasta, his wife, proclaims that Laius, a former king, died a triple crossroad, which matches the location of someone who Oedipus killed before arriving in Thebes. Jocasta further adds on to his doubt by giving the description of Laius' appearance which also lines up with the description of the man that Oedipus killed.

My thoughts on the reading so far is one wonder. I admire Oedipus' belief that he did not kill Laius and how he believes in himself. However, I can see that this is hubris as he believes that the prophecy is not real and that he is right. I liked to add on to the dramatic irony in which Tiresias, the blind prophet, has more metaphorical sight than Oedipus who is blinded by his own beliefs. Furthermore, with a reader's perspective, I find it amusing how Jocasta is starting to pick up on the bits and pieces and start realizing that the prophecy might be true, while Oedipus is being blissfully ignorant.

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

Through the interactions between the blind prophet, Tiresias, and Oedipus, I can learn the importance of irony in the story. Despite being physically blind, Tiresias can still see [the truth]. Oedipus on the other hand, can see, but is blinded by his own stubbornness and does not believe the prophecy. Also, in this situation, I can see the different perspectives of the characters. For example, in Oedipus' eyes, he has trouble believing this prophecy(for obvious reasons), but someone like Jocasta would hope to believe that he is right, but after starting to see pieces of evidence, her view on the prophecy would change. Furthermore, I wanted to talk about the paradox of prophecy. By stating that something is going to happen, it causes someone to do everything they can to prevent it to no avail as the prophecies come true.

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

From the reading and my own analysis, I can apply what I learned to other aspects of my life. As Oedipus was stubborn to believe his prophecy, I learned that I should be open to other facts, opinions, and ideas. For instance, if I was given an outrageous claim, I would not need to agree with it, but I should still respect it (to some degree). For example, in my daily Among Us games, I should be open to the evidence given by other players, but taking it with a grain of salt. Onto more obvious things I learned, killing random people is not a good thing.