Be the Change You Want to See in the World

Othello vs. Oedipus? In a surprising turn of events I find myself having enjoyed two plays in under a month. I was taken aback. This is completely unlike me. I like fiction and fantasy, not drama. I found myself searching for an answer to this almighty question. I thought about the plot of each play and the setting, but nothing really jumped out at me. Then it hit me like a sword in the darkness: the protagonist. In both the plays, Othello and Oedipus (note how they both start with O, very important), the main character is the epitome of a dramatic hero. Oedipus is the glorious champion over the Sphinx, praised by all in Thebes. Othello, similarly, is the decorated war captain, revered by many. Each man finds himself in a terrible scenario at the fault of his own gullibility. Othello believes too much in the honesty of Iago and Oedipus has convinced himself that he is absent of evil and wrongdoing. What made me feel so connected to each of these men, and as a result the play as a whole, was their willingness to purge themselves of this figurative blindness and get down to brass tacks. Essentially, to man up. This sudden restoration of clear-headedness is what made me so ensconced in each work. I could identify with these men and learn a lesson. That even though they had been set back, misled, had failed, they took it upon themselves to make the difference (however extremely they did). Oedipus decided, as an act of strength, to blind himself. He could not handle what the world he lived in looks like and made the decision to shield himself from such abnormality. Othello sees all the things that he has done wrong and takes himself out of this world. By punishing himself he pays the ultimate price of death. While both men take their penance a little too far, I agree with the decisions they make. Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” In my heart I know that Oedipus and Othello both believed this and lived their lives in this way.