Description
The myth of Oedipus has been known for centuries, from Sophocles' great tragedy to Freud's psychological theses. Many interpret Freud's line of thinking as a literal interpretation of children's desires. However, people do not realize that Freud, as is often done in psychoanalysis, spoke in metaphors to get closer to the truth at hand. Kennedy is under the conviction that Freud intended for his theories to explain how the human psyche can be damaged if childlike narcissism isn't dealt with at an early age. People still fall victim to this complex: they want to hear the truth, but don't listen to it; they want to feed their imagination, but do not feed the truth. The cultural illness that pervades our day and age lies on the shoulders of those who think themselves mighty but behave like overgrown children. Through this 'collected epic,' Kennedy documents the story of Oedipus from childhood to adulthood through poetry and prose that details the reasons why he may have reached his tragic end. In observing his downfall, readers may see that there is a bit of Oedipus in us all.