Normal Is Boring Theme

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Summer Reading Essay The saying “Normal is boring” reveals more than just its prevalence on shoddy t-shirts and trite Tumblr posts. Despite the brevity of the quote, it is apparent that many look down on conforming to society’s standards. However, the majority act as judiciaries in deeming what is “normal” and what is not; likewise, Emily Dickinson, a pariah in her own right, denotes the former in her philosophical interpretation of madness. Hence, irrational behavior is a theme inherent in The Oedipus Cycle by Sophocles. Characters Oedipus and Antigone satisfy Dickson’s interpretation of madness due to the enormity of their actions.Their divergent thinking and behavior resulted in their sanity being questioned and loss of freedom. These characters…show more content…
Oedipus, the main character of Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, was an individual that inflicted the eradication of his own sight after finally coming to terms that he killed his father and slept with his own mother. Therefore, his peers questioned his acumen and sanity, “”Oedipus!/What madness came upon you, what daemon/Leaped on your life with heavier/Punishment than a mortal man can bear?/No: I can not even/Look at you, poor ruined one./And I would speak, question, ponder,/If I were able. No./You make me shudder.” (Sophocles 70) However, this debilitating act reveals more than just stark instability; it indicates the enormity of Oedipus’ transgression and assuming responsibility which only proliferates until his death in Oedipus at Colonus. On that account, Oedipus acquired much more than his peers; wisdom. Despite Oedipus’ irrational behavior resulting in inevitable ostracism, he proved to manifest the most profound sagacity; emphasized in Emily Dickinson’s…show more content…
After the death of her brothers, Creon declares that Eteocles, unlike Polyneices, will have a proper burial. Furthermore, he maliciously proclaims that the body of Polyneices will be left to rot. This causes Antigone to defy not only the edict, but the state, as she strives to give her brother the proper burial in spite of her sister’s pleas, “But I will bury him; and if I must die,/I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down/With him in death, and I shall be as dear/To him as he to me,” (Sophocles 192) Antigone is both intrepid and firm in her opposition against Creon’s edict despite all costs: if she agrees with the state, who acts as the majority, she would become riddled with guilt. Even worse, her disagreement with the majority would result in her untimely demise. She proudly chooses the latter undeterred by the consequences. Furthermore, Antigone, in a bitter reply to Creon, demurs against the majority aware that many, her sister included, are too scared to do the right thing “I should have praise and honor for what I have done./All these men here would praise me/ Were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you.” In reply to her rebellion, Creon ultimately sends Antigone to her death. Consequently, Antigone dies at the hands of her own, maintaining the fervid loyalty she manifested so boldly. There is, indeed, logical reasoning behind
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