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LITR 4370
TRAGEDY
Final Exam Samples 2015 (final exam assignment)
Model Answers to Part 3. |
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Part 3. Complete Research Report:
Write at least
8-10 substantial paragraphs with four sources
to complete
your Research Report on selected
special topic.
Taylor Farley
Families in Tragedy – The Oedipal/Electra conflict
Tragedy is usually not people’s go-to in terms of literature. Who would want to
watch/read plays dealing with incest, murder, family problems, and incest? While
it may not be the most popular genre, many stories in tragedy include serious
conflicts within families that we may actually be able to relate to. I believe
people can relate to tragedy in a sense because each family deals with some type
of tragedy in their personal lives. For example, in the play
Agamemnon, Agamemnon chose to murder
his daughter as a sacrifice for the sake of the people.
Not that many people experience such tragedy in their lifetime, but the
audience can attempt to imagine how they would feel if they were given such a
predicament. While reading Agamemnon, I was shocked and horrified once I learned
of the murder of Iphigenia. Imagining how such a loss may feel was horrifying
and tragic, yet it showed an incredible amount of courage and chivalry from the
king. I believe this is the perfect example of how tragedy grabs the attention
and emotions of the audience; portraying families in tragedy.
One familiar aspect in families that we often see in tragedy is the idea
of the Oedipus complex. Throughout my college profession, I have learned that
Sigmund Freud was the individual who named the idea of the Oedipus complex and
many different professors have reiterated the concept; professors of education,
professors of psychology, and now a professor of literature. However, I now have
a better understanding of where the theory originated and why it is an important
part of literature, particularly tragedy.
The
oedipal conflict refers to the idea that a young child may go through a phase of
love and show possessive behaviors towards a parent of the opposite sex to the
point of hatred and wishes to rid of the parent of the same sex. I, like most
people, initially viewed this idea as being taboo. Although I do not fully
believe in the Oedipal and Electra complex, I do understand why it may be a
common theme throughout tragedy. In the essay “Family Problems: We All Have
Them,” Nona Olivarez writes that, “Displaying struggle among family members
makes the members of the family seem substantially more real and in the same
sense more relatable.” Whoever says that they come from a ‘perfect’ family is
not speaking truth. There are many different family dynamics and each family has
their own set problems. Throughout tragedy, family is a common theme which is
relatable to the audience. While the plays we read for this course often talk
about incest, murder, and issues like that which the ordinary family will not
experience, they are focused around the family and usually contain a deeper
meaning.
Comparatively speaking, one popular
problem focused around the families that we see in this course is the
Oedipal/Electra Conflict. We first see it in
The Oresteia Trilogy when Electra
seems to have a strange attraction to her father. While daughters typically have
a sweet, innocent love for their fathers, Electra shows love for her father
plus resentment towards her mother,
which perfectly exemplifies the conflict.
As
taboo as the Oedipal/Electra conflict idea seems, I believe the parent-figure
perspective of this conflict is unimaginable and the ultimate disturbance.
Desire Under the Elms is similar to
the Oedipal conflict, from the mothers point of view. In this play, the stepmom,
Abbie, has a physical attraction to her stepson, Eben, who eventually fathers
their son. In lines 39-40 of Desire Under
the Elms, we realize just how passionate Abbie is towards her stepson.
39 “I'll kiss you pure, Eben, same as if I was a Maw to you, and you can kiss me
back as if you was my son, my boy”
40 kiss in restrained fashion > suddenly wild passion
Comparable to the mother/son relationship in
Desire Under the Elms, we see a
stepmother who strongly lusts over her stepson in the play
Hippolytus. In this play, Phaedra
falls madly in love with her stepson, Hippolytus, to the point of dying of
heartbreak because he appears to be unaffected by her love for him.
I am
still uneasy on the topic, but I have made a conscious effort to begin to
understand with an open mind. I agree with Dr. White in a sense that, “On
learning of the Oedipal conflict, most people spontaneously react with denial
and disgust, but such a reaction is consistent with Freud's idea that resolving
the conflict requires repression.” Although there are many ideas and themes
throughout the genre of tragedy which are hard to grasp, I do believe that this
is what makes this genre exciting. Similar to life, including families, tragedy
would be bland and unmoving without events that keep you wondering. I believe
family is the glue that holds tragedy together; without it, tragedy would be
meaningless.
Works
Cited
Olivarez, Nona. “Family Problems: We All Have Them.” Midterm 1 Samples. 2015.
Web. 3 February, 2015.
O’Neill Eugene.,
Three Plays: Desire Under the Elms,
Strange Interlude, Mourning
Becomes Electra
White, Dr. Craig. “Lecture Notes: Desire Under the Elms” Course home page.
University of Houston Clear Lake,Spring 2015. Web. 8 May 2015
White, Dr. Craig. “Oedipus Complex.” Course home page. University of Houston
Clear Lake,Spring 2015. Web. 8 May 2015
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