"If human nature does alter, it will be because we begin to look at ourselves in a new way." In what ways, and by what means, do the works of writers you have studied make us "look at ourselves in a new way"?

Authors Avatar

                

  “If human nature does alter, it will be because we begin to look at ourselves in a new way.”

In what ways, and by what means, do the works of writers you have studied make us “look at ourselves in a new way”?

What is human nature? According to an interesting article I have read, humanity can be interpreted in three ways: mechanistic, mysterian and materialist views of humanity. A mechanistic view sees human beings largely as objects through which nature acts. A mysterian view suggests that there are aspects of human existence not knowable to mere mortals. A materialist view sees humans as exceptional because humans, unlike any other beings, possess consciousness and agency. In Judaism, human nature is the ability to make our own choice and we will all be held responsible for our actions. From a scientific perspective, human nature is the behavior of human being physically, socially and mentally. There are many different interpretations of human nature and it will never have a specific definition. From my point of view, human nature is how human beings interpret themselves as. Therefore, human nature does alter when we begin to look at ourselves in a new way.

In this essay, I have chosen one play from “The Three Theban Plays” by Sophocles; “Oedipus the King” and “Death and the Maiden” by Ariel Dorfman. Looking at the two tragedies, I am going to illustrate how the writers make us “look at ourselves in a new way”.

Searching for the truth is a human nature; because everyone has curiosity. For example, babies feel curious when seeing new items and try to figure out what it is. However, searching for truth is not always beneficial. Sophocles certainly did prove his point through his play, “Oedipus the King”. Oedipus basically assassinated his father, Laius, acquire his crown and ironically his wife, Oedipus mother, Jocasta. However, Oedipus didn’t have any knowledge of this. To save the city from the plague, he was desperate to track down the murderer of Laius, not knowing that he was the murderer. Throughout the play, Sophocles employs the repetition of blindness to associate with the spiritual blindness of Oedipus to the truth. He was not only blinded to the truth, but also the consequences of discovering the truth. Moreover, the repetition of blindness foreshadows that Oedipus will blind himself at the end of the play when he recognize the truth and what he had done. He is sightless to the advice of people attempting to stop him going down the road of destruction.  At the beginning of the play, I have already noticed the wide use of blindness in the dialogue:

Join now!

“Oedipus: I would be blind to misery not to pity my people kneeling at my feet” (Pg. 159 L14-15)

“Oedipus: You’ve lost your power, stone-blind, stone-deaf – senses, eyes blind as stone!” (Pg. 181 L421-422)

From the quotes mentioned, I could see that the word “blind” often appears in the dialogues of Oedipus. He told his people of Thebes he wouldn’t be “blind to misery” and promised to save Thebes. However, he is blind to the truth and his identity instead. He insulted Tiresias’ blindness for revealing the prophecy and the truth about Oedipus’ identity which he doubted vigorously. Oedipus’ abuse ...

This is a preview of the whole essay