Oedipus Rex (Quarter 2)

            In literature class this quarter, we read Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, a Greek playwright. The main character, Oedipus, learns from the oracle that he must drive out something evil from Thebes in order to save it. He deduces that he must find and exile the murderer of the former king, Laios. Through another clairvoyant and the accounts of eye witnesses, Oedipus learns that he killed Laios. Therefore, he blinds himself. The theme of blindness is used a multitude of times throughout the play. For example, the blind prophet, Tiresias tells Oedipus what has happened, but Oedipus refuses to believe him. Tiresias accuses Oedipus of being the one who is blind. Then after Oedipus finds out the truth, he stabs his eyes in order to blind himself. It is hard to tell if he does as an act of bravery, to punish himself, or an act of cowardice, to not have to see what he has done. I believe that it is more courage because Oedipus follows through with his promise to punish Laios’s killer. This play is widely agreed to be a masterpiece, but I do not fully agree. Everything in the plot seems to be impossibly convenient. I think that if this story were written now instead of in ancient times, no one would think it was anything special. Furthermore, the odes, while they are supposed to connect the reader with the story, are not really necessary to understand what is going on. However, one good thing about the play is that Oedipus is the perfect example of a tragic character. He is a great king at first, but then he becomes an incestuous murderer and is forced to blind himself. I still do not think that Oedipus Rex is as wonderful as people say it is, but I am still glad that I got the chance to read it.

Cat's Cradle Journal 3 (Quarter 2)

            I finished Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In the end, the ice-nine falls into the ocean, and the world ends. The ocean turns to stone, and tornadoes tear up the land. The narrator survives by hiding in an underground dungeon with Mona, his new wife. It is implied that most, if not all, of the rest of humanity has perished, but no one can be sure. In the final chapter of the novel, the narrator finally meets Bokonon, who is writing the last sentence of his book. He writes that if he was younger, then he would “write a history of human stupidity … climb to the top the top of Mount McCabe… [and die] grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who.” The story’s conclusion is open-ended, but the reader can infer that the narrator does exactly what Bokonon suggests. I could not have predicted that the book would end this way, but it was foreshadowed. The narrator had stated several times that he felt irrationally compelled to climb Mount McCabe, but he did not know why. Also, Frank Hoenikker tells the narrator that no one has ever climbed Mount McCabe, simply because they have not felt the need to do so. There is a chilling scene after the narrator returns to the surface, when he sees the citizens of San Lorenzo have committed mass suicide at the suggestion of Bokonon, though Bokonon himself still lives. Mona tells that the narrator that Bokonon would never follow his own advice because he knew how worthless it was. Naturally, the narrator views this as a terrible atrocity. However, Mona sees everyone’s deaths as an appropriate response to the circumstances and kills herself as well. I believe that this is a good representation of the madness that goes with the horror of the situation. I really enjoyed reading Cat’s Cradle and might even consider reading it again someday.