Oedipus is BLIND!!!!!!

Well, I had to get everyone's attention somehow with the title. Before reading this post, watch the following video:

That's pretty interesting. I think we can all agree that fate and free will are the forefront of this play. But like the woman in the video mentions, truth is equally important. Had Oedipus never felt the need to find the truth,  he wouldn't have sought out the oracle that told him he would kill his father and marry his mother. 

Truth is important, but I think hubris is the most important of all. One of my discussion ideas for today dealt with Oedipus' hubris, or overreaching qualities. I interpret hubris to be a characteristic that causes one to take responsibility for every problem, compelling them to try to resolve it. (So, if the Harry Potter series were a Greek tragedy, I would say that Harry's flaw is hubris because he feels responsible for basically anything bad that happens at Hogwarts. Actually, Harry Potter resembles Oedipus with regards to the whole prophecy thing, but that's another blog post.)

Anyway, my opinion is that Oedipus' hubris contributed to his downfall. He heard the oracle before he left Corinth and took it upon himself to evade his fate. He took responsibility for this problem and thought that he had the power to fix it, when in fact he didn't. This occurs again at the beginning of the play, when he feels it is his responsibility to find out why the plague is spreading. I agree that as King of Thebes, he should be concerned for his people. But I also believe that a concerned ruler should seek a rational solution instead of resorting to oracles and seers. Then again, this was at around 430 B.C., when everything was dictated by the gods so I may be raising a very controversial issue. I just thought it was cool to consider the fact that although Oedipus didn't mean to reveal all of these truths, they eventually led to his downfall because he thought he could solve all his problems.

Another interesting point of discussion is at the very end of the video. The woman mentions that by gouging his eyes out, Oedipus is making himself blind to the truth of his actions. I actually saw this in the opposite way. I thought that Oedipus finally realized the truth of his actions as he gouged his eyes out, even though he was physically blind. I thought that Sophocles chose to contrast him with Teiresias, who was always physically blind but knew the truth all along. This video really made me consider a different position for that topic.

This play is just full of analysis. Maybe not so much as Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," but the symbolism definitely makes it a close second.

The Irritating Yet Inevitable Phenomenon Known As The College Application Process

To me, the college application process is more than just a process. It's a battle. Every time I log into my Common Application account, I get so lazy that I end up staring at the screen for thirty minutes. Whenever I'm not doing something college-related, I feel anxious and guilty because I feel like I'm neglecting it. Right now, for example, I was in the middle of writing one of my essays when poof! I started writing this blog. Kudos to the application for inspiring me to write this but it's not helping me finish my essay!

I know that a lot of people feel this way, but I really just need to vent about it (mostly because my parents are probably tired of hearing me complain, and my sister is in college so I can't complain to her). So here goes.

Until just a few minutes ago, applying to college didn't seem that bad. I even made a schedule for myself to plan out which scholarship applications to do when so that it wouldn't seem so overwhelming. But what really grinds my gears the most about it are the essays. Apparently, they are supposed to help us become better writers in the future. I can guarantee that these college essays aren't helping me in English class, and I don't see how they are supposed to help in the future. Some of my friends say that a prompt for a supplement essay was: "Where is Waldo?" I'm glad I'm not applying to that college. 

Another thing: the word limit. It's seem confusing to me. At the end of every prompt, there is always something to the effect of "Please limit your response to no more than 500 words." Are we supposed to use 500 words exactly, and if we have 520 words will our response get cut off? If we only use 300 words, is that insufficient?

So that's pretty much it about college apps. What do you guys think? Am I exaggerating or are my complaints actually logical?

Looks Can Be Deceiving

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-vyUQx5Yss

I know that we had a discussion in class about "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Good Country People," but most of the conversation revolved around the latter. So this week, I made an attempt to find a video related to either of Flannery O'Connor's stories.  This one is from "Good Country People." (Fast forward to 5:25 to watch the part where Manley and Hulga go on their date. If the video doesn't play for some reason, I put the link under it, so just click on that.) 

Poor Hulga. She has a wooden leg and she was taken advantage of. While I do pity her situation, I still think that she shouldn't have been so naive. I mentioned this in class, but I will say it once again: I don't mean to be rude or insensitive by any means. I understand that handicapped people face obstacles that I cannot even begin to fathom. However, Hulga is 32 years old and has little room for excuses. Given that the story was published in 1955, I'm assuming that most women, especially women in Hulga's predicament, were not as gregarious as they are now. Therefore, I think Hulga should have picked up on the fact that Manley, on the first date, was being a bit too forward in asking her to remove her wooden leg.  And maybe it's just me being too sheltered or something, but who tells someone they love them on the first date? Wasn't it kind of obvious to her that he wanted something? Also, he didn't even care that she lied about her age, considering the fact that Hulga claimed to be 17, a grand total of 15 years of difference.

Overall, I do feel badly that Hulga was abandoned without her wooden leg. Just to be perfectly clear, I do not hate Hulga or think that she deserved what she got, but I think that given her age and her experiences she should have been more cautious. I know that the purpose of this story is to show that looks can be deceiving with Manley. However, I think that looks can be deceiving with regards to Hulga as well. I expected her to be extremely sheltered because she is a 32-year-old woman living at home with an apparently useless degree in philosophy, yet she randomly decides to go on a picnic with a guy named Manley Pointer. Again, this might just be me, but Hulga should have seen it coming.  

Existentialism...NOT Explained

Existentialism. Where to begin? Even after our discussion in class on Monday, it's hard for me to understand the logic behind this stance. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that selfishness is always bad.  It's just that I think existentialism is a bit extreme for my taste. I couldn't find many relevant videos on existentialism to supplement this post (the ones I did find made me question whether they were school-appropriate), so instead I searched quotes on existentialism.  The following quote really stood out to me:

"There is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point... The truly adult view, by contrast, is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it." - Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion 

This quote seems outspoken to me. I was searching videos and quotes not only to supplement this blog post but also to try to understand why existentialists believe what they do. However, this quote just confused me even more. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with feeling a certain way due to someone else. I don't believe that one should let others control them, but it's okay to feel happy because of someone else's actions.  For example, if someone throws you a surprise party for your birthday, it's natural to feel happy. So I don't know why Dawkins thinks that this would be an example of someone else having "a responsibility to give your life meaning and point."  

Moving on to the second part of this quote: 

"The truly adult view, by contrast, is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it."

As much as I dislike Dawkins' quote, I actually agree with this part. I believe that unless you actively make a difference in your life, there won't be any progress. What I don't appreciate is his statement that this a "truly adult view." I am only seventeen years old and I most certainly lack the maturity of an adult, but I am aware that I choose to make my life a certain way.  I know that I choose to be a positive or negative person. I know that I can be a better person or a worse person. So for Dawkins to say that this is only an adult view seems almost hurtful and harsh because it seems like he's belittling teenagers.
I may be taking this quote completely out of context. Perhaps if I knew why he made that statement or what situation he was in, my perspective would change. But as a student who strongly disagrees with this philosophy  this is my opinion.