Wild Duck Journal 5

A good author does not tie up all loose ends at the end of their novel. Instead, they purposely leave the reader wondering what is going to happen, they want to keep us interested and thinking. In both Oedipus the King and Wild Duck the authors leave many questions unanswered. In Oedipus, the reader is left wondering what becomes of the newly blind man Oedipus the former king, what is the fate for his sisters/children? "Drive me out of Thebes in exile" (250). Even thought the reader has an idea of what is to happen, the author cleverly leaves out enough information to keep us guessing. A good author creates more questions in the readers mind than answers. Like in Oedipus the King, This is also the case in Wild Duck. The reader is left wondering what will become of Gina and Hjalmar after Hedvig's death. "In less than a year little Hedvig will be nothing more to him than a pretty theme for recitations"(216). Loose ends and unanswered questions are how authors usually end their books, as we can see this is the case here. Both Sophocles and Ibsen stay to the similar style that they write their plays with. The ambiguous and question filled books end just like they had written them, full of question and not very many answers.

Wild Duck Journal 3

For this journal I am comparing the life of Ibsen and the similarities that he had with the character Gregers in the play, Wild Duck. Both Ibsen and his characters are from Norway. But the character most similar to Ibsen and his life story is Gregers Werle. One major thing the have in common is their family lives. Ibsen left home in 1843, and after this he did not speak to father for a long time. But he kept in touch with his mom and sister, writing them letters but never letters to his father. In Wild Duck, Gregers has just returned from 16 years of absence. "He hasn't been in town all the years I've served in this house". (119) The parallel structure between the two and their relationships also is the same for their relationships with their mothers. Ibsen continued his correspondence with his mother, through letters. In Wild Duck, we see that Gregers has a deeper connection with his mother. "She and you-you always stuck together" (132). These passages show the similarities between the author and the character, which hint that the author has incorporated some of him into the play, Wild Duck.

Wild Duck Journal 1

There is a gap between what we know as an audience in the play Oedipus and what we know in Wild Duck. In Oedipus the reader is more clued into what is going on then the characters on stage are through the dramatic irony. But in Wild Duck the reader feels distant and confused by the gap and ambiguity that the author creates in the lives of the characters past. In Oedipus the use of dramatic irony creates a want for the reader to read on, to see if the characters can discover what they already know. This technique draws the reader into the story. This is an interesting way to create interest, the reader does not finish the play to finally find out the ending, the answer, but rather to see the main characters figure out the answer. in contrast to the play Oedipus, Wild Duck is ambiguous and certain things are unclear to the reader. The author does not keep the reader as well informed, which keeps us at a distance. The gap between us and the characters creates a informal reading in which we can not get to know and understand them as well.

Oedipus Journal 3

The lifestyle of Ancient Greeks in very different to the lifestyle of people of today. The is especially noticeable when comparing the privacy factor of the two different worlds. In the greek culture the people were much more open, they shared their personal lives and did not distinguish so much between the private and public aspects of life. In Oedipus, the king is very open with his predicament and he shares his feelings, his findings and his life with the people of Thebes. "I'd never have come to this, my fathers murderer-never been branded: mother's husband, all men see me now" In this passage we can see the openness Oedipus has when he addresses the city he rules. His telling them breaks down the separation that people today have in their lives. Today there are clear lines between public and private affairs. This separates the two different lifestyles, giving the ancient Greek lifestyle a different kind of feel, a feel of open and a feel of a connected community that the people of today do not feel as strongly.