Ignorance Is Bliss

Ignorance is Bliss In Sophocles Oedipus Rex and Athol Fugards Master Harold and the Boys we probe the protagonists evolve from ignorance to knowledge in several different ways. As we watch this evolution we see some(prenominal) characters rootage at ignorance in very similar ways and while two take very different r bring outes they end their journeys with similar complex consequences resulted from the knowledge they gain along the way. In Oedipus Rex the protagonist, Oedipus, starts from his entrance in the invoice at a place of ignorance.He is naive to the truth intimately his life and the direction it is heading. Oedipus is unaware that he is female monarch Laios son and he will ultimately fulfill his destiny to buck his return and marry his mother, no head what steps he or his parents take it is a fate they pecknot legislate from. Oedipus knowledge sticks only later when he realizes the truth, that he is in fact King Laios son and when he murdered the king along th e road where the three highways meet he did in fact kill his get and go on to marry his mother (Anti 2. 192).The knowledge of the seers prognostication approach shot true leads to Oedipus ruin. In Master Harold and the Boys the protagonist is Hally the seventeen year old shop owners son. The reader is shown Hallys ignorance by how he acts with surface-to-air missile and Willie. Hally treats these men as friends, particularly with Sam, the two are more ilk companions then a white boy and black hired help. Instances of this ignorance are seen in the way they played out their time together. Hally naively believes that him and Sam burn down be friends despite the place and time they are in and how is father treats them.Hally believes that since progress is seen in the world that he can escape his fathers beliefs and that despite Sams observation that some people are bad and thats just the way it is Hally It doesnt redeem to be that way. There is something called progress, you kno w. We dont exactly burn people at the stake anymore (482). Like Oedipus, Hally is trying his best to fight his fate but he is only moving himself imminent to it. Hallys knowledge really comes when he and Sam begin fighting. When Hally is upset he takes that out on Sam because he can.He talks to Sam in a way only previously through with(p) by his father. This entire scene shows the realization that Hally truly is more comparable his father then he wanted to admit. Both Hally and Oedipus discover truths nigh themselves that they did not like and tried to run from, however they were unable to escape their fate and eventually succumbed to it. Oedipus truths are similar to Hallys in several ways. First Hally realizes he is more like his father then he wanted to admit and in the end he just started the cycle of his fathers negative beliefs and attitudes all over again.Oedipus like Hally is also destined to become like his father, he follows in his fathers footsteps first by running from a prophecy then eventually following him to his own ruin. While Oedipus knowledge is more literal then Hallys both men yield actions that have severe consequences leading them to the truths they uncover about themselves. Hallys actions of taking his anger and frustration out on Sam causes his true ideals to come out. When he begins to act out the audience is shown just how ofttimes he really thinks like his father.Despite his best efforts to show that he believes things can change in the dynamics between whites and blacks, it is really not a strongly held idea as the beliefs of his father, that he as a white man is superior to his black help. The words he says to Sam can never be taken back and forever shifts the relationship between him and Sam, no longer friends they are now gain and servant. Oedipus also deals with a similar problem. He also commits actions that completely change the shape of his life and can never be taken back. Like Hally Oedipus wants to change is fate .Where Hally does so by trying to be friends with Sam and Willie, Oedipus does this by leaving home putting as much distance as he can between himself and the man he believed to be his father. However like Hally, Oedipus in the end realizes that consequences for his actions. Killing King Laios and then marrying his queen are actions that have dire consequences for Oedipus and like Hallys they can never be undone. While both Hally and Oedipus try to fight their fate and both commit actions that forever alter their futures, they come about in very different ways.Oedipus deals with his fate in a more literal way. Oedipus learns the prophecy he had feared his whole life was actually true by the realization that he did murder is father and marry his mother. These physical actions lead to Oedipus downfall and are permanent. Hally, on the other hand, comes to learn the truth about himself, that he is like his father, by his actions toward Sam. While no less severe they are more emotionally damaging and speak to the relationship Sam and he tried to have but wound up losing because of the fight.This is damaging but not quite as physical as what Oedipus went through. Throughout each story we see the evolution of the characters from their naive beginnings to the painful realization of who they truly are. Both characters come to several truths about themselves during their respective stories, in both cases their truths have significant effects. Oedipus knowledge leads him to his own downfall in grade to save his kingdom from certain death. Hallys truths about himself has a more hidden effect that is very significant and the true meaning behind the play.Hallys actions during his fight with Sam causes a divide between them that is irreparable, it is the effect of this rift that is most significant. Throughout the play we see several instances of imagery used to portray the world the characters are living in and here is no different. The argument between Hally and Sam caus es the resembling dance to continue. This dance is a symbol for the beliefs held by Hallys father and the world they live in. By acting the way he did toward Sam, Hally is causing the imperfect dance to continue on.The effect of Hallys actions causes him to start becoming more like his father then he wanted but cannot avoid. In both Oedipus Rex and Master Harold and the Boys we see several instances of the main characters moving from ignorance to knowledge. While they gained insight into themselves it came at a price. For Harold it was the redness of his innocence and a bleak look at his future with Sam and Willie, with Oedipus it was the loss of everything he concept he had and his own painful exile.Each character tried to fight their fate, Oedipus literally by trying to vanish the seers prophecy and Hally by doing the exact opposite of his father and befriending Sam and Willie. No matter the path they took each eventually succumb to their destiny and was forced to learn more a bout themselves then they wanted. Despite the painful ending it was a journey they were meant to be on. Works Cited Fugard, Athol. Master Haroldand the Boys. capital of Massachusetts McGraw Hill, 2006. Print. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Trans. Fitts, Dudley & Fitzgerald, Robert. Boston McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.