The Importance Of Alienation In Oedipus Rex, And Ordinary People

Alienation is not an instant event, but a gradual process. This process prevails in a variety of literary works, including Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, “Oedipus Rex,” by Sophocles, and Ordinary People, by Judith Guest. Alienation assumes five stages: initial alienation, initiation, journey, suffering, and reconciliation. Although alienation fully occurs in this manner, the extent to which each of the characters experience the process is distinct. For example, Conrad Jarrett of Ordinary People undergoes the alienation cycle in its entirety, while Oedipus in “Oedipus Rex” lacks the essential component of returning to harmony. Despite the underlying sense of alienation that each of the characters may feel, they all take certain measures in attempting to cope and reconcile with their seemingly perpetual detachment.

In Ordinary People, Conrad Jarret's alienation is exacerbated by the loss of his brother, which is evident in his failed suicide attempt. This profound sentiment relevant to Conrad's alienation is continually seen as a reoccurring theme throughout the novel, and provides structure to fully understanding the extent of Conrad's isolation. The book begins one month past Conrad's release from the hospital, which introduces the reader to his already damaged and fragile state. In essence, the failed suicide attempt can be directly translated as the feeling of not belonging. In initiating his road to recovery, he meets with Dr. Berger, a psychiatrist. Conrad is reluctant to begin these appointments, and tells Berger directly that he does not think highly of psychiatry. However, he eventually submits to examining himself and tells Berger that he needs to gain more control. Continuing in this segment of initiation, Conrad reveal...

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...s not only because of his physical deformities, but out of his lack of relation to any human being, due to his artificial birth. Throughout the story, the monster continually faces experiences with humans that underscore his differences, which therefore isolate him. To cope with this, he begs that he be given a partner of his kind, which signifies his genuine and persistent desire to belong. He goes to lengths saying that if he was given a partner, he would escape to the amazon forever. It is evident that the monster is in dire need of physical connection, as he struggles through his personal extent of the alienation process.

Of the three characters, perhaps the creature faces the most alienation and the most profound suffering. In fact, the first sentiment that he feels upon being brought into existence is isolation. Victor Frankenstein, his creator and “father,”