BLINDNESS

One of the most difficult questions we can ask ourselves today is: Who are we? Sure, we may know the obvious answers to this question such as our names, how old we are, what our likes and dislikes may be, but, if we look at the more profound meaning of this question, would we be able to answer it?
In today's society, everyone seems to have some sort of label drawn upon them. In our case, we as students, are often labeled as the future of America. Society portrays us as the perfect, put together individuals, who are in a constant state of seriousness. They believe that our minds are consistently set on the future, and just that. However, this assumption is only half true. Though we do value our future and work hard to reach our goals, we often have other things on our mind as well. For instance, after a stressfull week of school, do we not usually just want to go out and party with out friends, maybe have a few drinks or so? You constantly hear stories of students and under age drinking, students taking illegal drugs, students performing numerous ridiculous acts. We are often so blinded by the labels that are given to us, that we never have the oppurtunity to discover our true identities.
Oedipus Rex too was blinded by the labels he was categorized under. Oedipus was seen as a great king. A powerful, smart, cultured, individual. Others saw him as tha alpha male, and as time progeressed, he began to adopt this vision of himself as well. However, because of this label, he was never able to learn the truth about himself. In reality, Oedipus was left for dead soon after birth. He was unwanted by his father, who feared that his son would murder him sometime in the future, and then go off and sleep with his wife. Oedipus saw himself as incapable of performing such a treacherous act as killing the previous king, however, little did he know, that he was the one that performed the cruel deed. Oedipus was so blinded by the portrayals that society was throwing at him, that he refused to believe the actual truth that the prophet was telling him. In the end, his blindness drove him crazy, and he tore out his own eyes, hoping to see the world in a contrasting way.
- Svitlana Hrabovsky