Summer Reading Answers

1. I think that although Oedipus' may play a part in his fate he is not the main contributor. For example, his parents lied to him by not telling him that his father was Laius. As he tells Jocasta what happened he shows guilt for what happened. The old man almost killed him and he defended himself even though he threw the first blow to the driver. Even though the blame is not Oedipus' alone he is still the one that almost went crazy trying to exonerate himself. he accused Creon of trying to steal his throne in order to avoid accepting what he did.
2. It is pretty clear that Oedipus' excelled as a king and leader of the people of Thebes because the people look up to him and display great respect for him. His people are thankful to him for liberating them and he is concerned for their well being as well. I think that when the procession of priests comes to pray to him in the first scene is a testament to the admiration his people hold for him. I think he excels at knowing what his people need to survive and finding out how to give them that because he sent Creon to find a "cure" for this plague that is sweeping the city.
3. I think his tragic mistake is knowing what he did and even though he sees the signs he still does not accept that it was him that must leave and accept his fate of exile earlier. if he had done that much of this could have been avoided. However, it is not as easy as it sounds, after all he worked for to get to where he is; he would have to give all that up.
4. John Anderton supports Oedipus' notion of destiny because it is that destiny can be changed which John does in the scene where he stops that man from killing his wife who is having an affair with another man. When he receives his own name, much like Oedipus' he tries to exonerate himself instead of accepting his destiny.
5. the act of seeing for the Precogs is relatively obvious; the goal is to see the future and prevent that future. the Precogs are merely a device for seeing that future. John Anderton uses the act of seeing to relive a life where he had a family and he uses drugs and a 3D projector to relive those times to the best of his ability. Because he sees his family he avoids letting go and holds on to the idea that he still has a family. The act of seeing or not seeing is used and referenced throughout the film starting with the husband that forgets his glasses at home and goes back for them only to find that what he saw was not what he wanted to see. Then with the drug dealer who is blind but says that in a world of blind people the one-eyed man is king; however it is not necessarily great to be king.
6. I think one thing that reflects in American culture today is the need to control things. the Precog program represents the ultimate control, to see future events and stop them from happening. I think eventually the need to control things will ultimately consume us and lead to our downfall. if we look back to the Vietnam war the reason for fighting it was to prevent the country from becoming communist and we fought it to control the country and prevent them from becoming communist and the war was a great example of the downfall of trying to control things beyond our means. I think the contingencies that we prepare for ultimately become reality because we cannot prepare for them without ultimately causing them in the end.