The call of the wild

Bakkhai has quickly become one of the more impressive pieces of theater that I've read. The Greek play is a clear identifier of the human psyche. It's a clear clash of contrasts between the divine powers of order and chaos. On the one hand, you have the organized structure of Thebes and the Greek empire, as represented by the city, the people and Pentheus. It's foil is the untamed wild portrayed solely by the God Dionysus.

What was apparent to me was how insane the chaos is represented, and yet nearly every character is affected by the irrationality of Dionysus. The women become feral and fanatical and the pair of old men return to worship as they had a taste of it from their past. These citizens, once respectable people in their land, flee into the forests maddened by the Wine-God's power. Even Pentheus, our logical character is shown to be all too easily tempted by the curiosities of these unthinkable and criminal acts done in the worship of Dionysus.

Euripides points out a solid piece of rationality by showing the irrational.  Every one of us human beings seems to share pieces of both the sane and insane. Humans typically live in organized civilizations that are constructed by men. They maintain order and government within it and rule it with reason, as beings capable of logic will do. However, we are also carriers of human impulse, which leads to unusual and illogical choices. These can be made by large groups as well as from individuals.

I discussed last time about how we try to point blame on circumstances or nothing at all, and that it's all controlled by us. It's not entirely true though. We all have that same innate sense to choose things because it appeals to our impulsive side. I'm a victim of that. Why do I choose to play video games and look up useless info on the internet when I could be doing homework first so that I wouldn't have to stress when the time came near to turn in the assignment? Why do I choose to eat greasy pizza when I know that it's unhealthy? Why do I spend money on things I don't need in life? It's because they appeal to the side of me that feeds on the wild. At least I'm not alone in this...