Blogus Rex

For once, I've got nothing to really say about what we've read in class. I don't know why, but Oedipus Rex just didn't really get my mind thinking. It’s interesting, but it seems pretty self-explanatory. I finished reading it and thought, “Huh. Okay. Cool.” The idea that intrigued me the most with Oedipus Rex is the idea of Fate and not messin' with it. You can't screw around with Fate.

Oedipus tried to be a good guy and not screw up his life. He tried so hard to escape Fate, but that's just what Fate anticipated. Oedipus should've known. I mean, it's Fate. The very meaning of Fate is "an inescapable occurrence." So, silly Oedipus decided to exile himself from his homeland and never speak to his family ever again. That's pretty harsh. The poor guy ends up playing into Fate's hand. Ooops!

There were also some other, lesser, morals in the play that I found interesting:

One: Don't rob the cradle. You never know if that spry young man you're marrying is actually your son. If you're going to do it, check for any identifying birthmarks/scars that may have been from one of your kids just in case. You can never be too careful.

Two: Road rage is bad. If some rich guy is a complete jerk and cuts you off, don't go berserk and kill him. People are not always nice. You aren’t either. Take a deep breath, count to ten or a thousand (if you’re on the freeway), and let it go. Reason with yourself. The jerk may not have seen you. He may be having a terrible day and just wants to get home. He may need to use the bathroom. Or he may just be a jerk. Think of yourself as being the bigger guy if you need to appeal to your ego to let the rage go. If you succeed in cooling yourself down, you may have just thwarted Fate for another hour or so. Yay!

Three: Don’t leap to conclusions and blame your best bro. One, he’s your best bro. The man (or woman!) has been there through thick and thin. You don’t want to be pulling out that huge dagger you stuck in his back a couple of minutes later because (1) you’ll look like an idiot and (2) you may pull a back muscle—and everyone knows back muscles are the most important muscles.

Those were the highlights.

Okay. So, how would I have improved this play? The answer, as always, involves dinosaurs. Picture this: Oedipus, a poor T-Rex (Oh ho!), has had a pretty rough life so far. He spoke to a pterodactyl years ago who said that he has spoken with the Sun and the Sun said that a huge meteor is thundering through the universe and heading straight for Earth—particularly Oedipus! To save his family, Oedipus self-exiled to another land that was very dry and very hot. A couple of days later, this jerk of a stegosaurus eats what Oedipus was clearly gunning for, so Oedipus eats him because he has developed a quick temper over the years. Plus, he’s a T-Rex. T-rexes eat other dinos when they’re hungry. Next thing he knows, Oedipus has got a large following because he ate the bully of the area. He gets to decide who migrates where and who gets eaten when. It’s awesome. But, oh no! the land is infertile for some reason! What’s up, man? That darned pterodactyl shows up again and says, “Oedipus, you screwed up, man. This is where your family is! Your parents adopted you, dude! Sucks.” Oedipus freaks, leaves the area, but not soon enough! Before he can get far enough away from the area, Oedipus and the dinosaur colony is destroyed by a huge asteroid.

Way to go Oedipus. (636)