Reflection of the 1st Semester

    Iago. Othello. Pangloss. These are just a few of the fascinating characters that have caught my interest. After all of the literature we read, I felt there were many characters that contributed to the differentiation from other narratives, opening my mind to new interpretations, such as themes that could be connected or complexities that could be narrowed down.  Over this semester, the themes of fate/free will, the philosophy of optimism vs. realism, and the complexities of human behavior were topics that I had the opportunity to explore more in depth and deepen my critical thinking.

    A theme that was central to the part of Oedipus was fate vs. free will. Exploring whether the tragedy was caused by fate or free will really interested me because I came to realize at some point that Oedipus’s fate could have been preventable, even if “fate was uncontrollable.” For example, if Oedipus had chosen to refuse to kill anyone during his lifetime, how could he have ever killed his father? But at the same time, there could be a parallel between Oedipus’s unintentional actions of killing his father and indirect harm. Perhaps the interaction with his father and the natural instinct of self-defense was out of Oedipus’s control. All of these interpretations and ideas that formed in my mind helped me develop my analysis with complexity in Oedipus. It was almost overwhelming how many different interpretations of what fate or free will was and I think it was a topic that I only brushed the surface of.

    The character interactions in Candide was also something that caught my attention. I felt like during the narrative, Voltaire was constantly critiquing the optimism that Pangloss possessed in a satirical manner. For example, Pangloss justifies eating pork by stating that “pigs were made to be eaten, we eat pork all year round.” It seemed like Pangloss was making illogical and impractical arguments and decisions at first, but I also felt like at times Pangloss’s optimism came in handy. For instance, I noticed that when Candide was trying to save Jacques the Anabaptist by jumping into the sea, he probably would have drowned if not for Pangloss convincing him that “the bay outside Lisbon had been formed for the anabaptist to drown in.” I had the chance to explore the intricacies of Pangloss’s optimism and contrasted it with realism in my midterm project. And I came to the conclusion that the balance of optimism and realism was ideal and a key example of this was the moment when Pangloss prevented Candide from jumping overboard. The close analysis of Pangloss’s philosophy really helped me in terms of finding strong evidence to support my claim as well as developing my own conclusions.

    I also felt captivated by the character of Iago’s deceitful nature in Othello. I have heard of reverse psychology before but I had never got the chance to apply or connect to it in literature - until I read Othello. It was really entertaining how Shakespeare touched on the topic of deception by using pure words. For example, I liked and found it interesting when Iago purposefully feigned his reluctance and hesitance to portray himself as innocent and vulnerable to suspicion in order to lure Othello into his mischievous plan. I also wondered what would happen if Othello ever got past Iago and recognized his deceit. This prompted me to write a blog about alternate scenarios and using my imagination to predict possible outcomes. I really liked this experience because it helped me analyze subtle character interactions in the actual story and what consequences it would lead to. For example, if Iago even gave one hint to Othello that he had something to do with the handkerchief, the rest of the plot probably would have unfolded very differently.

    In conclusion, these works deepened my overall capability to explore different perspectives and critical moments. Whether it was trying to understand the roles of fate and free will in Oedipus or using my imagination to illustrate different scenarios in Othello, these stories opened my mind to ideas I would have never considered.