Oedipus Paper
Alex Fradkin
Honors English II
Mrs. Singer
February 19, 2002 Whoever, with an earnest soul,
Strives for some end from this low world afar,
Still upward travels though he miss the goal,
And strays-but towards a star.
Bulwer
Ever since the early man could use logic to learn and understand, we have questioned the concept of the human condition and its horrifying limitations. Yet with the realization of our set human abilities, we have also created the concept of a human hero; a man who would to some extent is able to rise to great heights despite these limitations. The human hero strives to reach an impossibly elevated goal, and through his attempt to reach this goal, he stumbles and falls and is finally brought down by his own human limitations. Yet through his downfall and his acceptance of it, the human hero is uplifted, becoming greater than even his goals ever intended him to go. He “strays-but towards a star” as the quote says, meaning that he is pulled down only to be brought up again through his newfound knowledge and understanding of his human condition. Because he has been a tremendous part of our history, the human hero has been portrayed in different legends and myths, the greatest of which are the myth of the tragic Oedipus and the absurd Sisyphus. Yet while the story of Oedipus had been adapted 2000 years ago to a tragedy by the Greek writer, Sophocles, the myth of Sisyphus is known for its interpretation by 20th century French author, Albert Camus, who gave the myth its title of the absurd. The distance of time between the two, accounts for a difference in the generations’ opinions and beliefs, separated by modern science and technology as well as by time itself. The play, Oedipus Rex, which is known as the foremost example for a tragedy, displays many concepts and background ideas of the Greek world. The constant mention and reverence to the multiple gods and the idea of the restoration of a worldly order oppose today’s modern concepts
Honors English II
Mrs. Singer
February 19, 2002 Whoever, with an earnest soul,
Strives for some end from this low world afar,
Still upward travels though he miss the goal,
And strays-but towards a star.
Bulwer
Ever since the early man could use logic to learn and understand, we have questioned the concept of the human condition and its horrifying limitations. Yet with the realization of our set human abilities, we have also created the concept of a human hero; a man who would to some extent is able to rise to great heights despite these limitations. The human hero strives to reach an impossibly elevated goal, and through his attempt to reach this goal, he stumbles and falls and is finally brought down by his own human limitations. Yet through his downfall and his acceptance of it, the human hero is uplifted, becoming greater than even his goals ever intended him to go. He “strays-but towards a star” as the quote says, meaning that he is pulled down only to be brought up again through his newfound knowledge and understanding of his human condition. Because he has been a tremendous part of our history, the human hero has been portrayed in different legends and myths, the greatest of which are the myth of the tragic Oedipus and the absurd Sisyphus. Yet while the story of Oedipus had been adapted 2000 years ago to a tragedy by the Greek writer, Sophocles, the myth of Sisyphus is known for its interpretation by 20th century French author, Albert Camus, who gave the myth its title of the absurd. The distance of time between the two, accounts for a difference in the generations’ opinions and beliefs, separated by modern science and technology as well as by time itself. The play, Oedipus Rex, which is known as the foremost example for a tragedy, displays many concepts and background ideas of the Greek world. The constant mention and reverence to the multiple gods and the idea of the restoration of a worldly order oppose today’s modern concepts