Blinded.

In the anecdotes by Sophocles, he refers to blindness in more ways than one.  Often times, people do not realize that it is so easy to be figuratively blinded, as opposed to being physically blinded.

Ironically in the short novels, Tiresias mentions that Oedipus was “blinded” and should not wish to “see” the truth.  But, of course, coming from an actually blind prophet, Oedipus replies in anger, condemning his words.  As an audience, we realize that throughout the novels, Tiresias was right and that Oedipus would have been better off without knowing the truth; in addition to him being blinded by lies and stubbornness (about his parents).  He then renders himself physically blind after he discovers his downfall through uncovering the truth.  Continuing this pattern, Creon acts parallel to Oedipus, allowing his blindness to bring misfortune.

There are many different ways a person can be figuratively blinded (these are just the ones that I could come up with, although some are applicable in more ways than one. Feel free to comment and add on down below):

Ignorance is Bliss?

The quote “ignorance is bliss” seems to appear and apply in many aspects of society.  According to several sources, the idea first comes from Alexander Pope in “An Essay on Criticism” and later appears as “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise” by Thomas Gray’s poem “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.”  This theme of ignorance is seen in many novels and recently I’ve discovered, Greek anecdotes.

First off, let’s start with the meaning of the proverb.  On Urban Dictionary, the proverb means “The lack of knowledge in reference to a situation, particularly a messy one. Once the whole truth is revealed one realizes they were much happier being clueless.”  All the definitions and interpretations I’ve come across are related to this connotation, “…if you don’t know something, then it can’t affect the your view of the world.  You will continue being happy.”

Artwork by start-static at http://www.deviantart.com/art/Ignorance-is-Bliss-57677691.

Quotes on Quote.

This is an experimental blog based on the book Oedipus.  The main goal is to understand the text better by analyzing the quotes and then apply different quotes that pertain to the same topic.  (I plan to either expand on this blog in the future or make subsequent ones.  And please leave your feedback or whatever you have in mind in the comments section below.)

The green light (I may blog about this in a future post) on the far end of the dock in The Great Gatsby applies to Oedipus’ situation.  Although unlike Gatsby, Oedipus accepts his situation and the circumstances are very different, Antigone and the light (Daisy) are the reason the main characters keep moving forward in life.  Gatsby sees the green light as a symbol of achieving his dreams of marrying Daisy, while Oedipus sees Antigone as his protector, a guidance, his light/eyes, and a way to find forgiveness and comfort in his life.

An Internet Handshake

Writing a blog post is easy. You can do it in three simple steps.

1. Pick an object of seemingly minimal importance.

2. Proceed to make the object look like one of maximum importance by comparing it to God or the difficulties of life.

3. Think of a clever but obscure sounding title.

Sounding intelligent is easy.

1.  Use lists, graphs, and analyses as writing devices.

2.  Leave out all contractions.

3. Keep an online thesaurus open in another window and use whenever you’re about to use utilize a verb that is under five letters.

Writing an honest blog post while still sounding intelligent, however, is on my list of top ten most difficult things to do, right up there with “giving someone a handshake.”  You think I say this just to make a smooth transition to my next topic, but no; I spend more time thinking about this more than is entirely healthy.

Innovative Silliness

Often times in society, it feels like there are people left and right telling you “it must be done this way and that.”  That’s one of the things that makes certain classes (especially English) stand out.  With a set, strict curriculum, a handful of everyday classes include teachers that direct certain assignments in a way that many will turn out to be similar.  However, it’s always those super witty kids in class who come up with something from a different perspective, that blows everyone away with their creativity (which often times can stem from enthusiastic silliness– so don’t be afraid to seem “silly”).

This picture from Gravity Falls (an interesting child-detective show on Disney) is a perfect example of how innovative one has to be to solve certain problems or achieve certain characteristics. (And keep in mind that “innovative” can also be synonymous or applicable for silly, funny, creative, different, and unique.)