Could The Clouds be More than Crude Humor?: A Consideration of the Superior and Inferior Arguments Sarah Donahoe College

It’s hard to believe a book full of farting and penis jokes could have themes that are applicable to the modern world. The Clouds by Aristophanes though, has a mix of immature comedy, and rather serious commentary on generational differences. Change has always been something feared by the human race, and is especially prevalent when looking across the generations. Parents and grandparents often worry for the future of their children, that their generation is going down the wrong path, they aren’t doing things right. In Clouds, Strepsiades takes his son Pheidippides to the school and meets Socrates, hoping to learn how to talk his way out of paying his debtors. Here, there are two types of arguments to learn, the Superior and Inferior Arguments (or the Old and Young). The two arguments differ greatly, and have a debate over which is better. In this scene there is a debate that has gone on for thousands of years: whether old ways or new ways are better. This scene, the debate between the two arguments, shows merits in the themes of Clouds, and that there is substance to be taken away besides predictable dad jokes.

In the scene of the debate, the Superior Argument gives his perspective first. The Superior Argument is the Old...