A Writer's Inspiration

One question that many people ask themselves after they have read a book is: What could have possibly inspired this writer to write a story such as this? Inspiration for writing a drama, an autobiography, a mystery, a poem, etc., can possibly be construed from actual events that have transpired in a writer’s life. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and American History by Judith Ortiz Cofer are two writings that present some of life’s events. Although Oedipus Rex is considered fantasy writing while American History is a reflective essay of an actual event that took place in Cofer’s life, readers can still relate to both stories.

According to the Theatre History Website (2008), Sophocles was born in 495 B.C. in Colonus, a village near Athens. Sophocles’ father, Sophilus, was a man of great wealth and reputation. Sophilus was able to benefit Sophocles with all the literary accomplishment of that age. Sophocles received careful instructions in the arts of music and poetry. He was a graceful person and was very comely and agile at the age of sixteen. He was very talented with dance and the lyre. In his younger days, he admits to have been somewhat over fond of women and wine.

According to the Theatre History Website (2008), the commencement of Sophocles’ dramatic career was marked by a victory in a competition with Aeschylus. Sophocles’ choice of subject with his style of tragic art was sufficient enough to outbalance the reputation of the great antagonist, Aeschylus. Sophocles brought the air of freshness and youth to his poetry that others were ready for.

The Theatre History Website (2008) informs us that in a time frame of sixty years, Sophocles wrote one hundred and eighty plays that were exhibited as tragedies and satiric dramas. Sophocles did not spend his whole life catering to the muses. At the age of fifty-six, he was appointed one of the ten generals for the conduct of the war against Samos. Later he became a priest and in extreme old age, he was elected one of a committee ordered to investigate the conditions during the revolution brought about by Pisander.

According to the Theatre History Website (2008), only seven of Sophocles’ dramas have survived these hundreds of years to be examined by many people. All seven dramas are with their own peculiar twists that help each story to excel; they are Antigone, Ajax, Trachinioe, Hercules, Electra, and Oedipus at Colonus.

According to Acosta-Belén (2006), Judith Ortiz Cofer was born in 1952 in the small town of Homigueros, Puerto Rico. She came to the United States with her parents in 1956. The family settled in Paterson, New Jersey. Cofer spent portions of her childhood commuting between Homigueros and Paterson. This commuting was due to the fact that her father was stationed at Brooklyn’s Navy Yard and her mother was homesick for her beloved homeland and would have extended visits in Homigueros. Judith Cofer’s father was mostly absent in her life while he was in the military. Most of her schooling was in Paterson but she did live extended periods with her grandmother in Puerto Rico and attended the local schools.

Acosta-Belén (2006) reports that when Cofer was fifteen years old, she moved to Augusta, Georgia. In Georgia, she attended college and got an Undergraduate degree in English. She then moved to Florida and received a Masters of Arts degree from Florida Atlantic University. In 1984, Cofer joined the faculty of the University of Georgia where she is now Regent and Franklin’s Professor of English and Creative Writing.

Cofer’s inspirations for her writings come from commuting done between the two cultures, Puerto Rican and American. Her experiences are what give her poetry and fiction writing that authenticity found in her descriptions of the two cultural lives used in her writings.

According to Acosta-Belén (2006), Cofer’s first literary expressions were in poetry. One of her early chapbooks, Pergrina, won the Riverstone International Chapbook Competition. In 1987, her poetry collection, Terms of Survival, was published. In 1989, The Line in the Sun, a novel nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, was the piece that brought the attention needed to be recognized.

In order to properly interpret a story, one must analyze each story’s plot, setting, and use of literary devices and conventions. According to the Theatre History Website (2008), Oedipus Rex takes place in the ancient city of Thebes, Greece. There has been a plague in Thebes and the citizens come their king, Oedipus, asking for his help. Oedipus had sent Creon, his wife’s brother, to the Oracle at Delphi to see what needed to be done to rid them of the plague. Creon returns to tell him that all will be well once again as soon as the murderer of King Laius is found. The murderer is said to be within the city, and so once the city rids itself of him, the plague will leave them. Oedipus gets information from Creon of how Laius was murdered and promises to solve the murder of who killed him.

Oedipus sends for Tiresias, a blind prophet, to see if he knows anything about the murder. Tiresias eventually tells Oedipus that Oedipus, himself, is the murderer. Oedipus gets angry and refuses to believe Tiresias and accuses Creon and Tiresias of conspiring against him. As Oedipus throws Tiresias out, Tiresias leaves Oedipus with a riddle in order to solve the murder.

Oedipus’ wife comes into the picture and Oedipus informs his wife of the goings-on. She tells him that what the prophet has told him is impossible because she was told by the Oracle things that contradicted what was told to Oedipus. She was told that Laius’ firstborn son was going to murder Laius. She further relates how Laius was actually murdered. As she tells Oedipus of the murder, he recalls a similar scene long ago before he had arrived in Thebes. As he relates to his wife what events took place that day long ago, it becomes evident that he is the individual who murdered King Laius, not knowing who Laius was. It is then revealed that Oedipus is actually Laius’ son, whom Laius had thought was dead for many years due to a prophesy told to him when he was younger. Oedipus decides to send for one man that had survived the attack on Laius to clarify the story.

While Oedipus waits for the man to appear, a messenger approaches Oedipus’ wife with good news from Corinth. Oedipus is asked to rule in place of Polybus, Oedipus’ father, the recently deceased ruler. Oedipus’ wife shares this news with Oedipus, both taking the news as a comfort that half the prophecy is false. It is through this messenger that Oedipus learns that he was adopted by King Polybus. Oedipus and his wife suddenly realize that there still may be truth to the prophesy.

The man who knows the whole truth of Oedipus’ life is summoned and relates all to Oedipus. Oedipus screams and flees knowing the horrible truth, being that he was Laius’ real son and Oedipus’ wife is indeed his true mother. Oedipus returns to the palace to find that his wife has hung herself after finding out the truth. Oedipus responds by gouging out his eyes and then pleads with Creon to exile him from Thebes and leaves Creon to care for his daughters. Though this story has a very dramatic and unfortunate ending, American History has an ending that is somewhat similar to it.

According to Abcarian and Klotz (2007), American History takes place during the 1960s in Paterson, New Jersey, where a tenement building houses mostly Puerto Ricans. El Building, as the house is called, is located next to the only house with a yard. Salsa music flows from El Building daily, creating carefree atmosphere for those living in its walls. There is a familiarity for those who seek its shelter. With the contrast of El Building and the house next door come the contrasts of occupants that dwell within, setting the main inspiration for this story.

In American History, the story takes place during Cofer’s adolescent years. This is a time when a person unfortunately leaves behind all their childhood fantasies and learns the true realities that life can offer, whether kind or cruel. As the author emerges from her innocence of childhood into that of the realities of being a “senorita,” the nation is also going through changes. Changes for the good of all people became the focus for the President. All ethnicities had hope for good things to come.

As the author sees beauty in a newfound love all other tribulations become less important. As the nation becomes one in spirit, the people find joyous reasons to celebrate within their communities. But as life sometimes does, serenity can come to an abrupt end with a cruel twist.

Cruelty comes in different degrees depending on the recipient. For the nation, it comes in a crushing blow as the President is assassinated and hope, for many, is taken away. The reaction was astounding as the nation came together to mourn for this one person who would become a part of American history. For the young author, life throws its fair share of cruelties towards her as she is denied time with her new love and the reality of ethnicity becomes the divider. As she mourns this loss, she mourns it alone, but, she too, becomes a part of American history.

In order to create an enticing writing, not only does a writer need inspiration to write, but they must incorporate the use of literary devices and conventions into their piece. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles incorporates a chorus which is used to separate each scene as well as express what feelings that the audience should be experiencing. Overall, the chorus’ main responsibility is to set the mood of the play. The writing style which Sophocles chose to use for Oedipus Rex is a dramatic style. The drama is definitely traceable with the fact that he incorporates mythological creatures and beliefs into his play. The way that Sophocles structures the play is around the intensity of certain parts. For example, the play becomes more dramatic as the story unfolds and Oedipus the king is reduced to a blind man banished from his home and forced to wander from place to place. One of the more obvious literary devices used in this well written play is dramatic irony. This uses dramatic irony in the fact that the audience knows that it was Oedipus who killed the previous king, his father, before Oedipus is able to figure it out.

Throughout American History, Judith writes about common teenage tribulations such as being labeled and sometimes a more major challenge, such as, being ostracized. The overall tribulation for young Judith in "American History" is when realization sets in. Cofer’s use of incorporating common human emotions in her story is what helps her readers to relate to the story. Cofer also uses one of the most common literary devices to form her story: irony. The irony in "American History" is how young Judith was unaffected by the president's assassination, yet when she was confronted by Eugene's mother and her harsh words, Judith's world falls apart and she is no longer naive to what is going on around her. Perhaps the only reason Judith remembers the assassination is because that part of American history took place at a historical moment in Judith's personal life, her first heartache.

Though it seems that these two stories, as well as their authors, are complete polar opposites, like everything in life, they share common ground. Both stories relate to life’s trials and tribulations. These two stories are evidence that although Sophocles and Cofer lived not lifetimes apart, but worlds apart as well, they prove that people will always have obstacles in their lives that they must overcome. Some of the more noticeable differences between the two stories are that the situation in Oedipus Rex is not as common or as real as the situation that Judith faces in American History. Oedipus Rex is also a fantasy story formatted as a play whereas American History is an actual autobiography that is written in essay form. The overall message from these two writings and authors is that no matter how different two individuals’ lives are from one another, they can still use their life experiences as inspiration for writing.










References
Abcarian, Richard, Klotz, Marvin, 2007. Literature: the human experience. Boston,
Massachusetts, Bedford St. Martin’s
Acosta-Belén, Edna, 2006. New Georgia encyclopedia: Judith Ortiz Cofer. Retrieved on
October 5, 2008, from http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-
488
2002. Sophocles and his tragedies. Retrieved on October 5, 2008, from http://www.
theatrehistory.com/ancient/sophocles001.html