Oedupis Rex

Oedipus Rex
by Sophocles

We have just concluded reading Oedipus Rex in class, and I am struck by some disturbing connections to this question of original thoughts. In the play abundant in dramatic irony, the audience finds themselves thinking pages ahead of Oedipus in every scene, however when he rashly decides to gauge his own eyes out with the brooches worn by his wife moments after her suicide, we are shocked.

Here is the character who we had followed the whole story and predicted his every move, but in the face of unimaginable tragedy, we are taken off guard. This makes me wonder if the origination of the rare unique thought is in this type of situation: tragedy. Maybe in moments of emotional irrationality and uncontrollable pain those virgin thoughts emerge, because there is nothing shaping our rational. There are no social norms or active thinking to draw from previous experiences or references. We are alone in the pain, and it is here that shocking and free thoughts are given the space to emerge.

Oedipus laments, blindly, "For I am sick in my own being, sick in my origin," and while we are drawn to the connections to his incestuous relationship with his mother, we now must question whether his being 'sick in his own being' allows for these moments of craziness, and, essentially, his seemingly original thoughts.

Big Question.

Is there such a thing as an original thought?
How does perspective skew our opinions? Or peers? Or community?

Our experiences?

Every hour we are faced with potentially critical decisions or moments where we must use creativity and imagination to be successful. We are forces of thinking and intelligence, but we never take the time to truly analyze the roots of these thoughts. Are we really the masters of our minds? Or is there something else governing our choices?

For many, spirituality defines their existence prompts their every move, but where do those attachments to God originate? The classic character Odysseus from Homer's The Odyssey uses his faith in the ancient Greek gods to help him be quick-witted in near death situations. Seeing these actions as his own gives Odysseus an inflated sense of pride and confidence. This novel depicts the intangible concept of how little control we have over our own minds in a tangible way. The Gods not only instruct Odysseus about what actions to take in every stage of his journey, but they also plant ideas in the minds of him and his peers about their situations.

If we apply 'this Odyssey concept', of external interference in our minds to classic or modern works of literature or film, we suddenly find ourselves deeply immersed in the heaviness of our adulterous sub-conscience. Who really calls the shots in our lives? Do we ever make decisions simply because we want to? The eerie concept infiltrates our lives from all sides-- almost every work of literature, many movies (Inception, anyone?) and love songs are flecked with its traces.

So the question remains,

Who is truly the master of our minds?