Last Blog Post of 2017

As time's winged chariot brings us to the end of 2017 and mid-term exams, I think it is a good time to look back on the literary works that we have learned.

1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

A very interesting novel, we discussed about motifs such as lightness vs weight, sexuality, surface vs. substance, politics, an animal's life, kitsch (individuality vs uniformity), independence vs uniformity, body/soul, seeing vs darkness, privacy, women, and fate vs chance. We learned about Nietzsche's concept of eternal recurrence and the German proverb einmal ist keinmal ("once doesn't count") in relation to the idea that we can't compare lives and decisions. I think we can connect this idea to Pangloss's teaching that "this is the best of all worlds." Since we don't live multiple times in different worlds, we can't possibly know what world is the best.

2. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

In this work of magical realism, cyclical time coexists with linear time. We talked about fatalism (the fates of Macondo and the Buendias are pretty much predetermined), the role of women, foreign influence/intervention, incest, and futility.

3. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

The impulsive Oedipus, who is blindfolded of his fate, fulfills the prophecy from Delphi. We see tension between free will and fate, and fate proves stronger. We learned about Aristotle's definition of a tragic protagonist: highly renowned and prosperous, not preeminent in virtue or justice, downfall stems not from vice or depravity but from a tragic mistake or lapse in judgment (hamartia).

4. Medea by Euripides

We discussed whether Medea fits Aristotle's definition of a tragic protagonist and also had an intense debate on whether Medea was right to do what she did.

5. Inferno by Dante

I think it's really creative how Dante designed Hell. It's also funny how he uses his work as a platform to criticize people that he didn't like.

6. Hamlet by Shakespeare

In a play that starts with a question and ends with more questions, Hamlet delays his revenge and is set in many traps. Major themes were rotting and death as a great equalizer. The scene where Hamlet and Laertes argue about whose grief is greater is similar to many parts of Candide, in which many characters argue that they themselves are the most unfortunate beings on earth.

7. Candide by Voltaire

The discussions about moral evil and physical evil are interesting.

Overall, it has been an absorbing first semester because we can find connections between each literary piece and the others. It also has been insightful to learn about the background history in which the works were published.