"Assignment #10--Oedipus"

Oedipus the King as we all know has several themes in the story. The story itself has themes of truth, blindness, ignorance, and darkness. The story I believe is filled with many ironies concerning Oedipus and these themes. The main character of the story known as Oedipus despite being very intelligent is blind to the truth of his current situation. He is blinded by his own pride in his abilities and looked down on others. Oedipus could see but was unknowingly trapped in the darkness of ignorance. The blind prophet Teiresias could not see anything with his eyes but he could still see the truth that Oedipus could not. It’s ironic that even though Teiresias can not physically see anything, he can see more than anyone else. Rage was an emotion that Oedipus was quick to fall to and it was one of the reasons he is in this mess in the first place. He would not see the truth that he had slept with his mother and killed his father until he saw undeniable proof. He was ignorant to the fact of who were his real parents and in a fit of blind rage murdered his father. He foolishly believed he could outsmart the gods and avoid the cursed fate they had planned for him. Oedipus believed that he was living in the light of truth when he was really living in the darkness of ignorance. When he finds out that he really did sleep with his mother, he was so horrified by the revelation that he gouged out his own eyes.

assignment 9

I really liked the poem The Last Buchees that we read last week I have to be honest that I did not understand the poem the first time I read it because of it use of old English. I found the poem very funny in a dark sense of humor. It is almost ridiculous how the duke over reacts to his wife minor quirks. He has her killed because he though talking to would be too much trouble and that he think it is beneath him. He speaks of her murder as if it is not a big deal and speaks of it as casually as one might comment on the weather. The icing on the cake is that he told this to a servant of a count who he was planning on asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage. It reminds me of one of my favorite shows Dexter. The main character of the show, Dexter, who also kills people without remorse but all of his victims were killers and he tries to kill his killings secret, in contrast to the duke. These two would probably enjoy each others company before Dexter decides to add the duke to his large body count for his crimes.

assignment 8

I believe for the reader response criticism to look at “Stopping by the woods On a Snowy evening” by Robert Frost. The reason why that this form of criticism works so well with this poem is because the poem is left very open to interpretation by the writer. It is left up to from in their own mind what is happening in the poem. Things I believe the poem is about a old man who was riding by horse next to the woods. He is just riding by the woods until something makes him stop. When he stops all he does is watch the snow fall in the woods and blanket the ground. This is a very unusual thing for him to do that even his horse finds it strange. What makes him stop is not stated in the poem so it up to the reader thinks of one. He could have stopped because the woods make him remember fond memories of his long life. It could be that that the dark, calm, and peaceful look of the woods is comforting for him. The one interpretation I believe that the dark woods remind the old man of death. It could that he is dying or wants to die. It is most likely that he has lived a long, hard life and wishes that he can just rest and let everything stop. The reason he continues on is because he feels that are still a lot of left for him to do before he dies and takes his final rest.