Oedipus Rex
As human beings, we have always had a natural instinct of curiosity, an urge to find something new, to strive for the truth. This can be seen almost everywhere, in movies, TV shows, or even in yourself. While all of us always want to know the reality of things there is a question that arises, is the truth the same as happiness? Some may immediately answer this question with a simple “yes, of course” but I don’t believe it is that simple. I believe that there is a fine line between truth and happiness.
To prove this I will bring up one of the oldest and famous Greek tragedies, Oedipus the King. As the play starts Oedipus is seen as a hero, one who will do whatever he can to save the people of Thebes of their plague. The Oracle says that if the person who killed Laius leaves Thebes then the curse will be removed so Oedipus sets out to find who killed Laius. We know that the story ends with the hero Oedipus learning that he was the one who killed his father(Laius), married his mother, hurting so many people along his journey for the truth resulting in him blinding himself and living the rest of his life in exile. While Oedipus believed that his search would reveal the true killer and allow everyone to live happily ever after, this certainly was not the case. His self-delusion made him not even think for a second that his quest for authenticity may lead to his downfall. While his actions may not have been through “vice or depravity” (Sophocles 1502) or “virtue and justice” (Sophocles 1502), it was “because of some mistake” being his hubris, that lead to his undoing in search for answers.
Another great example that depicts this would be Brave New World. This book takes place in the World State, a futuristic society that revolves around the idea of being as efficient as possible. Everyone who is born is conditioned with certain emotions and individuality for a certain role. The World State tries to make its citizens as happy as possible and a great example of this is the drug, Soma. This drug makes an individual’s perception of reality disappear and is instead filled with happy hallucinations and is one of the many workings for creating social stability. Mustapha Mond, the antagonist of the novel, believes that “Universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning; truth and beauty can’t” (Brave New World 228). While many villains in novels have an inner hatred for everyone around them, Mond truly believes that happiness serves a purpose in people’s lives. When Mond states that happiness “keeps the wheels steadily turning” (Brave New World 228) means that he knows people’s lust for truth will not give them what they truly desire. When Mond was young he loved to search for new hidden truths but the communal society that he lives in now based on its robotic structure cannot allow for this. He even states “I was too much interested in truth; I paid too.” (Brave New World 205) which shows there is a price for truth and it cannot coexist with happiness.
Lastly, we can see the contrast between truth and happiness through pop culture. For instance, in the movie The Matrix, the main character Neo is decided to choose between two pills that are given to him by a man named Morpheus, the red one which will reveal that he is inside of a simulation with the outside world being controlled by robots, or the blue pill which will allow him to remain ignorant to what is going on in the real world. There are three movies in the trilogy and it ends with Neo sacrificing himself to defeat the robots and allowing humanity to rebuild itself. This may seem like a happy ending, though was this resolution truly the best one? While humanity is freed they still have to rebuild everything that they have lost. If he chose the blue pill he and everyone else could have lived a long and happy life inside of the matrix, while it isn’t real, they all would have been blessed with ignorance.
No matter the difficulty, no matter the sacrifice, no matter the journey many of us find ourselves locked in this never-ending quest for validity. Some people do it to find happiness and I believe that truth and happiness are distinctly separated from each other. While sometimes it pays off to know the reality of things, it can be just as rewarding to be blissfully ignorant about them as well.
To prove this I will bring up one of the oldest and famous Greek tragedies, Oedipus the King. As the play starts Oedipus is seen as a hero, one who will do whatever he can to save the people of Thebes of their plague. The Oracle says that if the person who killed Laius leaves Thebes then the curse will be removed so Oedipus sets out to find who killed Laius. We know that the story ends with the hero Oedipus learning that he was the one who killed his father(Laius), married his mother, hurting so many people along his journey for the truth resulting in him blinding himself and living the rest of his life in exile. While Oedipus believed that his search would reveal the true killer and allow everyone to live happily ever after, this certainly was not the case. His self-delusion made him not even think for a second that his quest for authenticity may lead to his downfall. While his actions may not have been through “vice or depravity” (Sophocles 1502) or “virtue and justice” (Sophocles 1502), it was “because of some mistake” being his hubris, that lead to his undoing in search for answers.
Another great example that depicts this would be Brave New World. This book takes place in the World State, a futuristic society that revolves around the idea of being as efficient as possible. Everyone who is born is conditioned with certain emotions and individuality for a certain role. The World State tries to make its citizens as happy as possible and a great example of this is the drug, Soma. This drug makes an individual’s perception of reality disappear and is instead filled with happy hallucinations and is one of the many workings for creating social stability. Mustapha Mond, the antagonist of the novel, believes that “Universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning; truth and beauty can’t” (Brave New World 228). While many villains in novels have an inner hatred for everyone around them, Mond truly believes that happiness serves a purpose in people’s lives. When Mond states that happiness “keeps the wheels steadily turning” (Brave New World 228) means that he knows people’s lust for truth will not give them what they truly desire. When Mond was young he loved to search for new hidden truths but the communal society that he lives in now based on its robotic structure cannot allow for this. He even states “I was too much interested in truth; I paid too.” (Brave New World 205) which shows there is a price for truth and it cannot coexist with happiness.
Lastly, we can see the contrast between truth and happiness through pop culture. For instance, in the movie The Matrix, the main character Neo is decided to choose between two pills that are given to him by a man named Morpheus, the red one which will reveal that he is inside of a simulation with the outside world being controlled by robots, or the blue pill which will allow him to remain ignorant to what is going on in the real world. There are three movies in the trilogy and it ends with Neo sacrificing himself to defeat the robots and allowing humanity to rebuild itself. This may seem like a happy ending, though was this resolution truly the best one? While humanity is freed they still have to rebuild everything that they have lost. If he chose the blue pill he and everyone else could have lived a long and happy life inside of the matrix, while it isn’t real, they all would have been blessed with ignorance.
No matter the difficulty, no matter the sacrifice, no matter the journey many of us find ourselves locked in this never-ending quest for validity. Some people do it to find happiness and I believe that truth and happiness are distinctly separated from each other. While sometimes it pays off to know the reality of things, it can be just as rewarding to be blissfully ignorant about them as well.
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