A Walk on the Wild Side: Oedipus Rex and the Real World
After our vocabulary quiz on week 5 today (note that we are shifting away from the meta-terms and onto the more useful SAT terms that the SAT will most likely do away with in the 2016 version), we examined some real world instances of how the "DNA" of a text determines the overall appearance and shape of the text body.
Yesterday, I asked everyone to create a list/chart of instances/references to sight/blindness in the text of Oedipus. The DNA of these references leads us to a more molecular understanding of the play.
For example, the overall gist of the play can be characterized as being about what happens when people in general refuse and simply can't see the truth or reality of the situations in which they find themselves. We find evidence for this statement in the multitudinous references to sight. Clearly, sight is related to insight, and when someone has sight but no "insight" we can immediately see the irony. Having eyes, they are still blind to the truth. This notion isn't merely suggested by the text--it's hammered by the text. The textual features are so crisply coded that it's hard not to see the profile of the story when examining the story's "DNA."
We saw real world example of a woman who, like Oedipus, failed to "see" the truth of her situation, and who, also like Oedipus, had a less than desirable morally difficult origin (Oedipus' parents attempt infanticide; Spruill's parents give her up under less than desirable conditions):
Yesterday, I asked everyone to create a list/chart of instances/references to sight/blindness in the text of Oedipus. The DNA of these references leads us to a more molecular understanding of the play.
For example, the overall gist of the play can be characterized as being about what happens when people in general refuse and simply can't see the truth or reality of the situations in which they find themselves. We find evidence for this statement in the multitudinous references to sight. Clearly, sight is related to insight, and when someone has sight but no "insight" we can immediately see the irony. Having eyes, they are still blind to the truth. This notion isn't merely suggested by the text--it's hammered by the text. The textual features are so crisply coded that it's hard not to see the profile of the story when examining the story's "DNA."
We saw real world example of a woman who, like Oedipus, failed to "see" the truth of her situation, and who, also like Oedipus, had a less than desirable morally difficult origin (Oedipus' parents attempt infanticide; Spruill's parents give her up under less than desirable conditions):
For those of who didn't finish your Oedipus Bracket in this March Madness, the political cartoon on which it is based is below, and the assignment is as follows: Take the cartoon from Thursday and create your own version, replacing the content of the Malaysian Flight 370 Madness with the March to Madness in Oedipus Rex. Remember that Oedipus has conflicting outcomes that are, in his mind, real possibilities. I bet nobody saw his ocular enucleation coming on! Yuck!
HOMEWORK
For next week, we will be moving towards these quizlet words: http://quizlet.com/25139150/sat-list-week-6-flash-cards/
Quiz #6 on Friday, March 28.
HOMEWORK
For next week, we will be moving towards these quizlet words: http://quizlet.com/25139150/sat-list-week-6-flash-cards/
Quiz #6 on Friday, March 28.