Tuesday 13 May 2014

Comparison between Oedipus Rex and Star Wars

Throughout ancient literature, Pride has always been associated with evil – the Bible branded it as a cardinal sin with its victims subject to eternal damnation, and in the world of Dante Alighieri, the proud were punished in the deep abyss of Hell. As the main characters of the Greek Tragedy Oedipus the King and Star Wars, Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker share a similar hamartia of extreme pride. Regarded as messiahs of their respective worlds, they promptly turn proud and arrogant. Inevitably, the hubris of Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker causes their ultimate downfall through the betrayal of allies, the ignorant pursuit of knowledge, and the denial of fate.     

Blinded by arrogance and pride, Anakin Skywalker and Oedipus develop prejudices and false assumptions which prompt them to turn against their allies. As a hero in the Clone War, Anakin’s pride outgrows the councils of Yoda and the admonitions of Obi-wan, which are meant to aid him in a time of uncertainty.  Any contradiction to his will is seen by the narcissist Anakin as a hindrance to his pursuit of power and a deliberate act of betrayal. Particularly, as Padmé, his beloved wife, pleads him in desperation to return from the “dark side”, the enraged Anakin shouts, “Liar! You are with them! The Jedi turned against me. Don’t turn against me!” (Star Wars Episode III) This clearly shows that a combination of pride and fear has turned Anakin paranoid, as even an expression of love is seen to be an act of defiance. His lack of trust eventually leads him to betray the Jedi alliance, and facilitated his transition into Darth Vader. Similar to Anakin, Oedipus is intoxicated by the euphoria of power and influence. His hubris creates an illusion of infallibility, and leaves no room for self-reflection. He thinks that any crime must have originated from other people. Analogous to Anakin, who fancied that the Jedi were his enemies, Oedipus brands Creon the title of traitor without concrete proof, “Do you have the face to come to my palace – you who are convicted as a murderer, exposed as a robber attempting to steal my throne?” (Sophocles, 30) This illustrates that as the King of Thebes, vanity and fear of losing his power makes Oedipus implicitly believe in the willingness of others to betray him. In doing so, he loses a valuable friend and counselor in a time of great peril. In summary, the pretentious and conceited Anakin and Oedipus abandon their allies and friends in delusion, which hastened their downfall.

Bolstered by the false sense of security that spurred from hubris, Anakin Skywalker and Oedipus’s adamant pursuit of knowledge triggered the chain of events that lead to their tragic end. Anakin is well aware that he is the “Chosen One” prophesized to save the galaxy, yet his impatience makes him resent the Jedi for holding him back from the council. Being the narcissist that he is, the praises and flatters of Palpatine easily seduces him to explore the insidious “dark side” of the force. Feeding on the lies of Dark Sidious, Anakin’s reckless pursuit of power soon gets him entangled in a world of suspicion and hate. Especially, when Obi-wan confronts Anakin in hopes of redeeming him, Anakin says, “Don’t lecture me, Obi-wan!  I see through the lies of the Jedi, I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security” (Star Wars Episode III). This clearly demonstrates how Anakin’s initial motive of acquiring knowledge becomes corrupted under the weight of ambition and pride. Likewise, Oedipus also welcomes information, however damaging it might be, thinking that he can handle them with impunity. In particular, completely ignoring Tiresias’s potential reasons for reluctance, Oedipus forces him to utter the truth, which could have been avoided: “You are the murderer; you are the defilement of this land” (21). It’s apparent how Oedipus’s obstinacy sets in motion the investigation that leads to his ultimate downfall. Furthermore, when Jocasta rushes away in grief after realizing the truth, Oedipus still remains confident, “Burst out what will! I shall know my origin, mean though it may be. I count myself the son of Good Chance, the giver of success – I shall not be dishonored” (62). This clearly portrays Oedipus’s blindness to the signs of impending disaster such as the distress of others. Eager to discover the truth, he is oblivious to everything else. To conclude, hubris leads Anakin and Oedipus to a reckless pursuit of knowledge, which becomes a driving factor for their tragic end. 

Anakin Skywalker and Oedipus’s greatest act of hubris that leads to the final catastrophe is their denial of fate. Anakin, after his marriage with Padmé, keeps on seeing visions of “pain, suffering and death” (Star Wars Episode II). His premonition that Padmé would die makes him anxious to save her by any means, which becomes the chief factor in his decision to join Darth Sidious. For instance, despite Yoda’s counsels: “Death is a natural part of life. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side” (Star Wars Episode II), Anakin still tries to defy the “inevitable” by joining the “dark side” because he cannot restrain his love for Padmé: “You’re asking me to be rational. That’s something I can’t do” (Star Wars Episode II). Ironically, by joining the “dark side”, he becomes prone to anger and hatred, which eventually leads him to kill Padmé and Obi-wan, the very people whom he once swore to protect. Similarly, a crucial cause of Oedipus’s downfall is his unwillingness to accept his fate. In doing so, Oedipus must reject the very idea that the gods are in control of the lives of the mortals, which is the ultimate proclamation of hubris. In fact, it was the very decision to leave Corinth that leads him to kill his real father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. Even more ironic is the fact that in the same sense that Anakin unwitting becomes the very thing he swore to destroy, Oedipus himself is the culprit he curses and thrives to find. He pronounces a devious curse on the criminal who killed Laius – an act which only the gods are capable of: “I call down this curse in the god’s name: let them be destroyed by the present plague, or something even worse” (16). Once again, by defying the will of the gods, Oedipus becomes the victim of their wrath. In short, their most prominent act of hubris, the denial of their fate, becomes the greatest contributor to their downfall.

            Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker are great examples of the misfortunes that ensue when one loses contact with reality and overestimates one’s own competence. Their narcissism and departure from humility leads to the irrational distrust of others. Moreover, the illusion of their invincibility makes them pursue their goals recklessly without ever heeding the consequences. Furthermore, by opposing their “preordained” fate, they unwittingly accomplish the very things that they feared. Like Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker, achievement and greatness make us liable to pride; in these moments, recall the timeless quote by Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”.

                           

Bibliography
Star Wars, Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. By George Lucas. Dir. George Lucas. Prod. George Lucas and Rick McCallum. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Hayden Christensen. 20th Century Fox, 2005. DVD.
Star Wars, Episode II, Attack of the Clones. By George Lucas. Dir. George Lucas. Prod. George Lucas and Rick McCallum. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Hayden Christensen. 20th Century Fox, 2002. DVD.

Knox, Bernand. Oedipus the King. New York: Pocket Books, 2005. Print. 

V for Vendetta vs. 1984: Comparative Essay



"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
 Percy Bysshe Shelly

Many have pondered with a tinge of sadness on the ephemerality of existence. A man may die, civilizations prosper and decline, but ideas endure without death. They are trampled upon for a time, “yet seldom do they fail of their seed, and that will lie in the dust and rot to spring up again in times unlooked-for” (Tolkien, 294). The power of idea is seen throughout media and literature. Both 1984, a dystopian novel written by George Orwell, and the film V for Vendetta portray a world besieged by poverty, warfare, and totalitarianism. Amongst the turmoil and destruction, V emerges victorious while Winston Smith succumbs to the Oceanian hegemony. Both V and the Party of 1984 succeed - V in the ousting of the government while the latter in its attainment - because they realize that the power of a political or moral belief can transcend that of the individual. V and Big Brother transform into symbols, or embodiments of ideas, through which they propagate their influence. Moreover, they realize that a belief can cause an individual to be audacious to the point of irrationality. Finally, V and the Party are both aware that an idea is more powerful as a collective quality.  

Binding themselves to powerful messages, both V and Big Brother become more than tangible individuals. Although V may die and Big Brother may be fictitious, their values survive in the form of effigies. Whoever displays the symbol embodies their image while that which or who is indifferent to the effect. To demonstrate, V responds to Evey, “There is a face beneath this mask, but it isn’t me. I’m no more that face than I am the muscles beneath it, or the bones beneath that” (V for Vendetta). V’s anatomical form exists only as a vessel for his spiritual self that truly defines who he is. V builds on this concept by sending everyone in England a Guy Fawkes mask. He believes that anyone can become what he represents – the very act of wearing the mask is a political statement that symbolizes anarchy and rebellion. V realizes that the only way to unite England is by eliminating the idiosyncrasies of each individual, which he successfully achieves by transforming them into symbols which are effigies of himself. Furthermore, V says to Mr. Creedy, “Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bullet proof” (V for Vendetta). V’s endurance of the gunfire is a metaphor for the immortality of belief. Similarly, in 1984, the image of Big Brother pervades throughout Oceania. If V represents anarchy and freedom, Big Brother is an impenetrable fortress against Goldstein and his sinister accomplices. Though his existence is dubitable, the emotional hysteria that is evoked upon seeing his image is paramount to the perpetuation of the Party’s control. Winston’s reaction to the portrait of Big Brother clearly demonstrates the power of his image, “White always mates, he thought with a sort of cloudy mysticism. Did it not symbolize the eternal, unvarying triumph of Good over Evil? The huge face gazed back at him, full of calm power. White always mates” (Orwell, 289). After his transformation, Winston instinctively sees Big Brother as “good” and “perpetually triumphant”. Big Brother symbolizes the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Party – so long as he persists as a powerful symbol in society, the reign of the Party would never falter.  

V and the Party recognize that an influential idea can cause an individual to act against human nature – the instinctive will to survive and to avoid pain and suffering. To demonstrate, in V for Vendetta, V ruthlessly tortures Evey while showing her the powerful message left behind by Veronica, “I shall die here. Every last inch of me shall perish. Except one. An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. We must never let them take it from us” (V for Vendetta). After Evey reads the message, she is immediately overwhelmed by the mystic power of Veronica’s “last inch” – her faith. Clutching on hopes of freedom and prosperity, she relinquishes any fear of pain, suffering and death, which allows her to calmly face her demise. The transformation of Evey proves be a great asset for V. Threatened by the inspector, she calmly refuses to release the lever that would bring destruction to the parliament. Similarly, for Winston Smith, the prospect of a utopian society is oddly propelling. Winston is aware that “thoughtcrime does not entail death, thoughtcrime is death” (28), yet out of boldness or stupidity, he commits them nonetheless, “I am afraid of death…So long as human beings stay human, death and life are the same thing" (166). Programmed by nature to be afraid of one’s own demise, Winston’s paradoxical behaviors can only be explained by his strong belief in human liberation and individualism. The Party succeeds because it is fully aware of the appeal of belief to which Winston is a victim. The phrase “Thou art” demands citizens to abandon all beliefs except the love for Big Brother, which is enforced systematically, “It was as though some huge force were pressing down upon you – something that penetrated inside your skull, battering your brain against, frightening you out of your beliefs, persuading you, almost, to deny the evidence of your senses.” (264). This clearly demonstrates the extent of the Party’s dominance over human belief – the seed of rebellion.

The power of an entire population that share an idea is much greater than that of an individual, which is why both V and the Party expand and maintain their sphere of influence. For example, when Evey asks V for the reason behind the destruction of the parliament, V explains, “A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. A symbol, in and of itself is powerless. But with enough people behind it, blowing up a building can change the world” (V for Vendetta). V knows that his just cause or formidable skills are futile without the support of the citizens of England, so he makes his recording watched by the entire nation on November the 5th. This proves to be vital to his success as a year later, the entire nation takes action against the totalitarian regime. The government in 1984 also realizes the deadly potential of a group of self-conscious citizens, so it strives to keep the proletarian unaware of their collective power. The forging of history, the vulgar entertainments and the deprivation of knowledge and wealth are all aimed towards maintaining the asymmetric relationship between the people and the government. Moreover, social bonds are restrained, as no one was to be trusted. All these measures combine to form a potent prevention system that discourages the formation of any alliance between citizens. Alone, Winston is powerless against the entire Oceanian population, which is an essential reason for his failure. Specifically, O’Brien says to Winston, “If you're a man, Winston, you're the last man. Your kind is extinct. We are the inheritors. Do you realize that you are alone? You are outside history” (270). The Party’s control over its population is so complete that anomalies like Winston Smith are hopeless against its loyal party members.

               Ideas are fundamentally men’s creations, yet their influence lies far beyond the scope of an individual. It is in realizing this that both V and the Party of 1984 are able to attain their goals. V and Big Brother become symbols which facilitates the spread of their influence. Moreover, they realize the fact that a belief can have the power to cause someone to counteract their physical will. Furthermore, V and the Party both propagates their beliefs knowing that an idea has power only when it’s shared as a collective. An idea is a powerful agent of change as is the act of forming one, because one’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
                                                                   

Works Cited
Orwell, George. 1984. 1949. Reprint. New York: New American Library, 1977. Print.
Tolkien, J. R. R.. The lord of the rings,. 2d ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 19671966. Print.
V for Vendetta. Dir. James McTeigue. Perf. Natalie Portman. Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2006. Film.