Over and Over

I am truly glad that we read so many different Greek tragedies as a class because they are all stories of their own. It is nearly impossible to find any parallelisms among any of these readings. There is something new to be learned with each tragedy we encounter. For example, Antigone is the first time the reader sees an example of megalomania in the reading. In no other instance has a leader come to power because of his great deeds prior to the setting of the story and then caused his own downfall through his superiority complex. Creon’s state in the conclusion that is described as a “walking dead man” is the end result of his own hubris- I never saw it coming. The series of events that take place in the story were such a surprising, unique, and refreshing change that made the reading experience all the more enjoyable.


Seriously though, the comparisons between Antigone and Oedipus- used as examples because we’ve read them as a class- are unending. Yet we still analyze Antigone as an individual and unique story. Thus we must consider Creon’s actions and debate whether or not he is a good or evil character- as discussed in Robert’s blog. We must also question if he could have somehow prevented the Teiresias’ prophecy from coming to fruition had he proceeded to take a different course of action- as contemplated in Matthew’s blog. So we proceed to spend 4 periods of 50-minute time intervals each week discussing questions that nobody has the answer to. But my opinion remains the same, Norma Jean in the short story “Shiloh” did, in fact, jump off the cliff. (277)

And They Lived Happily Ever After...

Ronald Blythe’s statement that The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a novel that evokes the “sheer desolating aloneness of dying” is, in my opinion, incorrect. I consider the intended main idea of the novella to be the irony that death is an escape from a lonely, barren life. Tolstoy makes this view of the difference between life and death through examples such as the expression on Ivan’s face in his coffin, “as if what was necessary had been accomplished, and accomplished rightly.” Ivan’s life, as described in the later chapters, is one full of monotony and routine; it is best described in a word, paradoxically, as lifeless. He marries simply to be settled in, lets his work consume his life, and does not build worthwhile relationships with other human beings. The first chapter does show that Ivan Ilyich died truly alone, but this is not the cause of death itself, but instead it is a result of Ivan’s deeds in life. Ivan’s life is not special in any way in this particular society either; all of his “acquaintances” are guilty of the same faults. But it is exactly these faults that keep all members of the society in an inescapable cycle in which the roles of life and death are mistakenly reversed.


The thought that death is the ultimate reward and an escape does not come readily to most readers because it is not the generally accepted norm. As in Matthew Tibi’s recent senior speech, everyone seems to be looking for immortality, to live forever. I imagine that I was able to more easily see this theme because of how I had been taught in my religious faith, that death means an ascendance into Heaven and thus, is a good thing. Furthermore, death is one of the few things in life that all humans experience together, it is a universally shared experience. Although not the strongest argument, it still points to the fact that death is not the cause of an individual’s isolation.


The only character in the novella who seems to correctly understand this is Gerasim, who is the only character who does not fear death and, in turn, lives a good, cheerful life. He is also the only one who Ivan truly appreciates as he approaches death in his final days because Gerasim is the only one who does not have to lie about death and make it something it’s not- he speaks the truth. In essence, the story is filled with Tolstoy’s attempts to preach to the reader the importance of understanding life and death and their respective roles by repeatedly criticizing the lifestyles of the major characters involved. (443)