Wild Duck Journal #3
Personal convictions and shared beliefs, the private and the public life, sometimes seem at odds in the modern world. How did you find your chosen works touched on this conflict, and with what effect?
In Oedipus the King, there is an instance in which shared beliefs and public life butt heads. In Oedipus this occurs when the plague hits the city and in order to stop this plague, the killer of Laius must be found. The mystery of the identity of the killer is what brings about the first conflict. The first conflict is revealed when Tiresius accuses Oedipus of being the murder that he hunts. This creates the conflict between the shared belief (Jocasta and Oedipus) that Oedipus is not the killer and the personal conviction of Tiresias that he indeed is the killer. You could also argue that the belief that Oedipus was not the killer is also shared by the public because of their loyalties to him.
In Wild Duck, there is a conflict between Gregers and his father/ Relling. Gregers hates his father for cheating on his mother and for ruining Hjalmars livelihood. The conflict in this situation is between two beliefs, the first is Gregers belief that his father is corrupt and that it is his role in life to relieve himself of guilt by helping open Hjalmars eyes. The second is that of his father and Relling, a man who worked in Hoidal and also resides in the same apartment complex. They frown upon Gregers belief and his attempts to resolve his own little morale quandary. This conflict between beliefs is one of the main conflicts so far in the first 3 acts of Wild Duck and contributes extensively to the development of the plot.
I generally agree with the connections that you make here. However, I do think that you tend to relate the personal convictions and shared beliefs to the truth. The prompt only speaks to the conflict between these and the modern world. You could, however, argue that in the modern world, the truth is the dominant idea, or is pushed by the culture as such, and draw the connections in that manner.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jordan how I don't think the promt compleatly connects but i like the overall idea that you are trying to portray. I compleatly agree how personal beliefes can sometimes derail relationships and be problematic. I also agree on the line where you explained the public's biased views because of their loyalty towards him.
ReplyDelete