Read about Classics
Religion in “Silas Marner” by George Eliot
In Silas Marner George Eliot doesn’t specifically state that religion is bad or dangerous nor does she say that one shouldn’t be religious. Instead, she presents certain aspects of religion that she believes are prone to creating uncertainty and confusion. She then allows readers to make up their own mind. One of her major concerns is the way people believe in God; she doesn’t deny the existence of God, but she says that even if he does exist, he does not interfere, so focusing on signs and symbols from God is dangerous because it detracts from the human aspects of life. Silas Marner states that how one treats others is more important than the religion one follows or if one believes in God.
Eliot directly questions the purpose of organized religion, but is less emphatic in questioning God, and tends to not refer directly to God (both literally and figuratively as the word “God” appears twenty-four times throughout the entire book, and most of these are general expressions.) Thus, the book is an impartial observer of the way religion is practiced and the way God is evidenced in the popular beliefs rather than a direct attack on the validity of religion and the concept of God.
Darkness and Light in “Oedipus Rex”
The only ones who can truly see are blind. This is a popular theme through out Greek literature, especially in “Oedipus Rex” where Sophocles nurtures the idea that real sight does not require eyes but the ability to see beyond the surface of things. According to Sophocles, one must not only be able to see something, but one must also be able to understand it. Teiresias, the only physically blind character, is the only person that throughout the play can actually see what has, is and will happen. Oedipus himself only truly achieves this state of knowledge after he blinds himself with his mother’s/wife’s broach. Light and darkness (sight and blindness) takes on three different forms throughout the play, the first form refers to knowledge, the second to physical light and the third to truth; the three forms are used interchangeably and they occasionally refer to multiple interpretations at the same time.
