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Oedipa Research Paper

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Humans are curious creatures who observe the world to find meaning in life, but the world is not clear cut, meaning there are no definite answers. Furthermore, since a single truth does not exist in the world, the way people view something may be different from another’s view. People try to find purpose in their life, but this can change over time as with many things. One example is how writing styles change from era to era: Post-modernist writing takes place after World II when the writing style changes from Romance, with nature and love encompassing all, to Post-Modernism, when everything is terrible and filled with corruption. People can interpret things in various ways which can be a result of their environment, focal point, and purpose …show more content…

Oedipa chooses to execute the will of her old boyfriend Pierce. Along this journey, she uncovers a secret society and tries discover everything about them. Her obsession encroaches upon other aspects of her life, which makes her see everything as if it is related to the society. In a play that can be interpreted in many ways she only notices the one word Trystero, which is a part of the secret society (Pynchon 58). Of all the various meanings that Oedipa could have taken from the play, she takes the one that is associated with the society. “Humans see what they want to see (Riordan 137).” In Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, gods exist, but mortals cannot view them. It is not a matter of actual vision, but more so what people can comprehend. Most people could not view gods in their god form and therefore try to picture them as something they are more familiar with. This means that when people are handed different options and views they will take the one that is the easiest for them to comprehend. There is a phenomenon known as the “Backfire Effect” which states that when people’s belief is undermined and proven wrong, then they will have an even stronger belief in it (David McRaney). McRaney viewed a study where false newspapers were given to people before truthful ones and most people believed the first, untruthful newspaper rather than the second, truthful one. People will stick with their beliefs through thick and thin and become near sighted in the end. They do not want things to change that they had a strong belief in and will neglect any information that says otherwise. People do not like change and that can cloud their judgment, but this should not stop them from their purpose of having a belief in life and instead should let them look for an even greater meaning

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