Heel

There is more to what we consider the basics of the past, present, and future — there is also the afterlife. Those who do not understand the concept of the afterlife may question if such is a reality or even a possibility. Longinus’s On the Sublime does not deal with the afterlife, per se, but what makes something “delightful” to the audience: how text relates to them. The theory of elevating one’s state of mind is both to captivate and open up a new way of thinking. In the given example of House M.D., the main character Gregory House is one who does not understand the concept of the afterlife. It is only until he experiences a change in events that allows him to question himself.
When faced with something new and unusual, one’s brain takes longer to process such an encounter. The same can be said for Gregory House in the episode No Reason — House finds interest in the patient’s actions of self electrocution and House wonders immediately what was presented to him. This shows the ability to form, by way of the patient, a new interest for the audience: House. At this point in time, the main character does not relate to his patient, or anyone else around him for that matter. House does not understand the concept of the patient’s aim at the afterlife, but begins to create other possibilities to achieve similar results. House now wants to explore how to form results without false positives.
Once House forms ideas of reaching the afterlife, he tries doing so through his own means. He does not attempt to fulfill this sense of a higher elevation of the sublime in any similar pattern the patient does. Rather, House approaches the text using nonsensical methods and does not achieve any enlightenment through his own methods. House fails to do what his patient has achieved twice before him — he has failed to reach any level of enlightenment. House does not comprehend the concept of understanding the afterlife and being enlightened by said understanding, cannot be achieved by false positives. It is only until he speaks to the patient does he understand how he can achieve similar results, thus bringing him to step one closer. House decides upon doing what he can for himself, rather than expecting instant results.
The process one takes in order to achieve any sort of enlightenment or understanding of a new concept is indeed a difficult one. We see House coping with such an idea that there may be more to what he sees on the surface. When House does comprehend the method with which he should approach understanding the afterlife, he is then relieved. This is a point where his understanding becomes one of the sublime — an elevated experience of the self. Proving others wrong caused House to fail with his initial attempts of understanding the afterlife. By removing any doubts and accepting the afterlife, House became — in that instant — an accomplished man with (enlightened) qualified ideas.


Works Cited
Murray. Classical Literary Criticism