Thursday, December 8, 2011

Oedipus and Antigone Test


McKenzie Cooke
December 7, 2011
A block

Oedipus and Antigone Test

1.)        Fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person. This means that one’s fortune or destiny is already predefined for them by someone other than themselves. Sometimes, in life, things occur that really surprise us. These events can be negative or positive, but seem to come out of the blue like they were destined to happen at that very moment. These things in life that we have no control over must happen for a reason. That reason is that they are part of our fates. Although I am a strong believer that fate comes from a higher power that ultimately maps our courses in life, I think that it is capable of being altered. Our free will can sometimes triumph our fate and change it. Our own will and decisions can change things on a dime, regardless of how set-in-stone our fates may already be. I think the choices we make in life now are continually changing what will happen for us in the future.
            If the forces of our own free wills were solely what ran our lives, every person would be completely responsible for their own future. I personally do not believe humans are the highest power of being in this world, so I attribute some of what happens in our lives to the pre-charted course of fate instead. I believe that most situations have to do with both powers of fate and free will. I think that my fate was what decided I would be born into this world. However, it was by my parents’ free wills that I was created. I also think it was the hands of fate that decided I would go to school and become educated. However, I do well in school based on my own free will because of the responsible decisions I make and work habits that I have developed. It seems to me that fate is what makes the outlines for us, and our choices are what fill in the space.
           I am spiritual, but still skeptical about how large of an influence fate has on each individual situation. I do not know how to determine whether each outcome of events in my life result more out of fate or free will. For example, I could be a girl because that was fate’s plan for me, or it could have no background meaning at all. I could be a girl just be the Punnet Square outcome of my parents’ genes. I’d also like to believe I am the person I am inside because of the way my parents brought me up, but that may not be true. Perhaps it is already decided who will be a “good” person and who will be a “bad” person before we are born. Perhaps it instead has to do with the ways we were raised and influences from our upbringings. I think I stand in the middle of believing in fate and free will.

2.)        Lying is a part of life. The weather man tells us to expect rain on days that end up being sunny, our friends tell us they like our outfits when they really hate them, and people fool us into believing things that are untrue. Mostly every day we are lied to in some way, whether intentionally or unintentionally. I do not think lying is necessarily an “OK” thing to do, but I have accepted that it is going to happen regardless of how I feel about it. I do think we should “pick our battles” when it comes to lies. We should shake the minuscule ones off ones with a smile, and save the fight for lies that are worth it.
            Growing up, I was told by my parents to never tell a lie because it is the wrong thing to do. This is almost a lie within itself, because my parents were acting like they believed in something that they really didn’t. I remember one time when I was young when my dad had scratch on his face. When I asked him what had happened, he told me a tiger had attacked him at work. I didn’t believe this because I knew my father worked at a factory and not a zoo, so I protested. He then told me a board fell on him, which was another lie, but this one I believed. I learned years after this that my dad had been in a fight, and that he lied to me so I would not be scared. Lies like these are often told to protect other people’s feelings rather than saving your own ass.
            “White lies” are different from the kind of lies that can really hurt someone. These lies are often made up to avoid being scrutinized for one’s own actions because they know they were wrong. About a year ago, a close friend of mine stopped talking to me out of the blue. This really hurt my feelings, so I confronted him because I really wanted to know the answer. He told me that it was because he was just too busy to talk as much as we used to. I naively believed this. Later I discovered that it was not because he was busy, but because he had started taking drugs. It is true that lies are sometimes acceptable, but not lies on your own selfish behalf. This was a time when the truth potentially could have set both of us free.
           
3.)        Sigmund Freud was a psychoanalyst who developed many theories about the stages of maturation. He developed a famous theorem bases on the famous Greek play about the legend of Kind Oedipus. This theory was developed into what is known as the Oedipus Complex. This complex states that young children desire their mother and resent their father. They resent their father to the point of desiring his death. Without proper progression out of this phase in life, Freud stated, individuals can express their feelings in abnormal or exaggerated ways.
Freud’s ideas on human sexual development hold points I both agree with and disagree with. I think Freud was a little too specific with what he stated in his studies. I don’t see the obsession with one’s mother going as far as wanting to have sexual relations with her. I also don’t think a child would plan the murder of his father simply because he was too much to compete with at home. Freud studied human behavior for many years, so to call his opinions hogwash is almost silly to me. It seems logical to me that young children are very close to their mothers because they lived and grew inside of them for nine months, and lived only off of their mother’s nutrients. I also understand that a child could be jealous of their dad because he gets in the way of their infatuation with their mother. I connect Freud’s thoughts on this jealousy to when I was little and I was envious when my siblings would receive more attention than me. I do not remember being resentful towards my father, but it does not seem like a ridiculous theory because humans are jealous of each other for various reasons even as grown-ups.
Reading Freud’s findings makes me think of watching episodes of crime shows on television like Law and Order. Most of the criminals on these shows have stories of harsh or abusive childhoods, which may have kept their brains from developing out of the early stages of life. Harsh situations may have kept their brain from progressing into what we consider “normal” ways of thinking, which could lead to a lot of confusion or stress for the individual. I agree that not growing properly into the latency period, where one learns to experience independence, could be attributed to why some of the criminals in life and on TV become murderers or rapists.

4.)             Antigone was a brave character. She was able to go against the law and stand up for what she thought was right. Antigone was a key character in the story, for her rebellion in wanting to bury her brother Polyneicies appropriately against Creon’s orders ultimately ended in her suicide, which changed many of the other characters’ lives. I think that although Antigone knew that the gods liked bodies to be buried properly, she made her final decision to defy the rules and bury him because she knew that was what he deserved. Antigone’s beliefs were so strong that went to desperate measures and even risked the death penalty to follow through with what she knew she had to do. She fully respected doing what was right.
            Rules exist everywhere. We are all forced to follow many rules on a daily basis; usually without question. As a citizen of the United States, I have to follow all of the laws created by our country such as not speeding or committing murder. Breaking these laws would result in being arrested or sent to jail. As part of the community of South Hadley, I also have to follow specific regulations from the town, such as buying and using the ridiculous Green Bag trash bags only. In school, I once again have another set of rules to obey. I must act under the codes in the handbook along with following the rules of the hallway, attendance policies, along with each teacher’s individual homework and class conduct standards. Lastly, I have rules at home and in my extra-curricular activities. Guidelines at home include doing chores, and at dance I must be on time, stretched, and prepared.
            It is almost impossible to escape from living by certain rules. It is obvious that sets of laws and regulations date all the way back to the time period of Antigone. Breaking certain criteria can result in serious consequence, but it is my choice which rules I choose to follow or not follow. I don’t have a problem bending certain rules if I know they won’t affect me too strongly. For example, if my parents tell me to put away my laundry after school, I don’t necessarily get around to it until much later at night. I know that even if my parents are angry with me for bending this rule they will not be angry with me forever. I am all right with breaking rules that I think are unjust. I don’t see the point in having only twelve allowed absences in the entire school year. I think that as a young adult I am responsible enough to know when I am sick, and what I need to get done at school. Facing a loss of credit due to being out too many times is absurd if you still have a passing grade. Rules I follow would be federal laws. I will not commit murder because I agree that we should not kill other people. Laws that are fair will better a community by following them, and laws that are unfair will worsen it because they are not just for all parts of the community. I think that fair laws are the ones most people would agree one, where unfair laws cause a great deal of controversy and difference in opinion.