The Wild Duck: Journal # 2

"Defiance becomes our duty in the face of injustice." Referring to at least two works you have studied, explore the ways in which writers have attempted to persuade us to accept or challenge this view.


In the Wild Duck the idea of rebelling against ones family is described in the following quote, "Defiance becomes our duty in the face of injustice" (writing prompt). Ibsen wishes us to accept this view that it is our duty to stand up for what is wrong. This idea in Act One and Two is shown through the relationship between Gregers and his father Mr. Werle. The relationship between father and son is one of external conflict because of the actions his father has done. Gregers has found out his father has taken advantage of Hjalmar's family for protecting his own reputation about having a child out of wedlock. Mr. Werle has his former house keeper Gina marry Hjalmar to protect himself from suspicion. With this in mind and the fact his father only protects himself (ie he gets acquitted when Ekdal gets convicted) Gregers rebels against his father's wishes of him moving back into his father's house. Instead he "left [...]the family home" to show his father he would not tolerate the crimes he has gotten away with in the past and is defying him. This conflict is prevalent throughout these two acts from when Gregers confronts his father and when he is at Hjalmar's house. There is a connotation in this act which Hedvig (Hjalmar and Gina's daughter) seems to pick up on however she doesn't understand. This connotation is used to convey the message from Gregers to Gina, he knows that Hedvig really is not Hjalmar's daughter.

Similarly Sophocles has a similar view on the idea "Defiance becomes our duty in the face of injustice". He portrays this view through Creon who is accused of treachery against Oedipus in telling lies. The confrontation between Creon and Oedipus, in rage and furious tone that Oedipus displays and Creon's defiance refusal to say that he indeed did plot to kill Oedipus shows he is fighting against injustice. In this case the injustice is Oedipus' judgment and Creon is defying Oedipus. Sophocles therefore is persuading us to accept this view that one must stand up for what is right through the conflict between Creon and Oedipus. He also does this through the conflict of Oedipus versus the truth. When Oedipus is told the prophecy he refuses to believe that he killed Laius because of the injustice against him. He believed he had never met Laius in his life.