Sophocles’ Oedipus, Plato’s ship owner, and Plato’s prisoner in the cave share a common theme of reluctance to learn from the truth, and show the role that others play in facing self-identity. All three, Oedipus, the ship owner, and the prisoner in the cave illustrate the theme of deliberation manifested by a society. Enlightened by others, Oedipus finally learns that he has committed murder and incest. Similarly, the ship owner is shown his limitations and thus understands that he is not qualified to navigate his vessel when the sailors quarrel over who would be next in command. Furthermore, the prisoner in the cave is dragged out by others (community of enlightened individuals) and given the opportunity to view the real world for the first time. Therefore, with the assistance of others (community), Oedipus, the ship owner, and the prisoner in the cave are able to acknowledge their identities and face the truth about their erroneous behavior. Through Sophocles and Plato, civic deliberation comes into these three approaches: (1) with the evidence given to him by the public, Oedipus learns the truth of his identity, and accepts the judgment and punishment he had imposed on the culprit before he knew; (2) through the violent actions of the sailors, the ship owner acknowledges his limitations; and (3) the prisoner is dragged from the cave into the world of sunlight, exposed to the truth and returns to the cave to deliberate with others to come out. Hence, all three cases show the process of civic deliberation is achieved through community.
Oedipus at first finds the implications of killing his father and sleeping with his mother difficult to tolerate as a factual manifestation of his past. He disputes the fact that he had caused suc...
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...liance with the truth. Socrates states, “The truth of the matter is that it makes no difference whether you’re rich or poor: if you fell ill, you’re bound to dance attendance on a doctor, and if you need to accept authority, you must dance attendance on someone in authority who is capable of providing it” (Plato 209-210), in order to convey that a individual requires a society or a third party to become enlightened. Oedipus ultimately becomes aware of his errors when the community shows them to him. The ship owner becomes aware of his incapability when the sailors threaten to overthrow him. The prisoner in the cave acknowledges the truth when others force him out of the cave. Thus Socrates serves as a model of civic deliberation when he illustrates their behavior and, questions through dialogue with his interlocutors, the ability to find truth and be enlightened.
For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, most local, citizenly, and patriotic of philosophers; and yet the most self-regarding of Athenians. Exploring that contradiction, between Socrates the loyal Athenian citizen and Socrates the philosophical critic of Athenian society, will help to position Plato's Socrates in an Athenian legal and historical context; it allows us to reunite Socrates the literary character and Athens the democratic city that tried and executed him. Moreover, those help us to understand Plato¡¦s presentation of the strange legal and ethical drama.
By studying a variety of events and people involved in the Peloponnesian War and the Theban play Antigone, it becomes noticeable that many of these events and people can be explained through Platonic terms. Throughout the Republic, Plato conveys his philosophical thoughts about democracy, justice, and education in a society through his main character Socrates. As Socrates encounters many enlightened people of his time, he questions them on rhetorical issues dealing with society and human nature. As these issues begin to unfold, events and people in the past seem to illustrate many of the main concepts in the Republic. After looking at Socrates' discussions throughout books I, IV, VI, and VII we will notice that they relate to many events that happened prior to the writing of the Republic such as the Sicilian Expedition, the debate at Sparta in 432, and Creon's implementation of justice in the Theban play Antigone by Sophacles.
In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus, the King, there are various instances where Oedipus tries to escape his destiny—enlightenment—only to discover the truth that he cannot. Similarly, in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” the prisoner travails to understand and adjust to his newly visited environment. In both works, the men first had to realize their ignorance before they could begin to acquire knowledge and true understanding of the complexities of the human condition. Specifically, in Oedipus, the King, it was Oedipus’ illusion of himself as a man unequaled in leadership whereas in “Allegory of the Cave” it was the prisoner’s initial refutations of enlightenment being shown him until he realizes its intellectual, spiritual, and social significance.
The selfishness that Oedipus possesses causes him to have abundance of ignorance. This combination is what leads to his father’s death. After fleeing Corinth and his foster family, Oedipus gets into a skirmish with an older man. The reason for the fight was because, “The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord’s command” (1336). Oedipus is filled with a rage after being insulted by the lord and feels the need to act. The two men fight, but Oedipus ends up being too much for the older man, and he kills him. What Oedipus is unaware of is that the man was actually his birth father and by killing him, Oedipus has started on the path of his own destruction. Not only does Oedipus kill his father, but also everyone else, “I killed them all” (1336). The other men had no part in the scuffle, but in his rage, he did not care who he was killing.
The first part of the passage shows how Oedipus, ashamed of his crime, is losing all his power, yet still clinging on to it. Perhaps more important, the passage prompts the readers to pity Oedipus. Oedipus started of by describing his “guilt” as “horrendous”.
Thesis: The completion and substance of Oedipus Rex allows Oedipus to live grief-stricken throughout his successful search for justice.
During this essay, the trail of Socrates found in the Apology of Plato will be reviewed. What will be looked at during this review is how well Socrates rebuts the charges made against him. We will also talk about if Socrates made the right decision to not escape prison with Crito. Socrates was a very intelligent man; this is why this review is so critical. In Plato’s Apology, it seems that overall Socrates did an effective job using the 3 acts of the mind.
Similarly, the only way to beat a child on the verge of a temper tantrum at “Chutes and Ladders” is to forfeit. These similarities suggest that the world is an unwinnable game that can only be won by refusing to play. However, Sophocles’ message regarding life and the world requires a more in depth view of the forfeit. Each time a character refused to play, it is a voluntary action. Therefore, Sophocles suggests that in order to survive in the world, a person must be in charge of their own actions. Sophocles demonstrates the danger of succumbing to involuntary actions through Thebes’ subservience that correlates with its ignorance. As a result of the city’s societal conditions of ignorance and subservience, the reader views the the city as weak. Sophocles’ message about voluntary and deliberate actions aligns with his belief in democracy. Corresponding to the major motifs of the play, a democracy’s basis is deliberate actions by individuals who are neither subservient nor ignorant. Oedipus Rex is both a warning against tyrannies, like prophecies, that completely dictate lives and an advocate for democracies with which life is finally
...epherd that "disposed of" the infant Oedipus under instructions from his natural parents were one and the same. His revelations concerning Oedipus' undeniable identity as a babe and as a man at a crossroad was finally thrown upon the sorrowful Oedipus. He is his father's killer and is his mother's husband. Each time Oedipus attempts to gain freedom from his true self, he draws increasing complications onto himself. King Oedipus at last clearly understands the hard truth that the past he had been running away from is the future he now must accept... or dare he deny its existence?
“My parents are really well intended, and I think their way of dealing with things is denial and guilt. Nobody wanted to talk about it. But all I did was blame myself.” This quote, said by actress Teri Hatcher about her own childhood relates to Oedipus’s situation from Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Sophocles‘ Oedipus Rex tells the story of a monarch named Oedipus who becomes the unfortunate victim of circumstances beyond his control. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus‘ downfall is not a result of excessive hubris or his actions, but rather his parents’ disgraceful actions and uncontrollable aspects of fate.
In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the reader finds Oedipus as an overzealous king, but one that cares deeply for the people who are under his rule. After solving the mystery of the Sphinx and under the belief that he has escaped the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother, Oedipus’ self-confidence goes into over drive. His compassion, for the pain and suffering his people are under, causes him to pronounce a curse on the murderer of Laius. Unknown to the king, he is condemning himself for the crime he committed years ago.
lack of self-control is illustrated when Oedipus kills his father in an argument over the right of
In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles explores the conflict between a man’s intellectual reasoning and the universe beyond his grasp. This may seem like a generalization, but the play’s minor conflicts are arguably derivatives of the main struggle. As we would see, the fate or destiny that opposes Oedipus does not act directly on him, but creates a domino effect that through other conflicts drive him to face his destiny by unearthing his true identity. Similar to the Sphinx’s riddle that gave power to Oedipus, he must travel the different stages of life in order to “know thy-self” (Rudnytsky 264).
Oedipus is cursed by a terrible change in fortune when he goes from believing that his “father’s death has lightened up the scene” (52) to realizing that Polybus is not his father and, in reality, he has killed his father and then that he has had children with his mother. Oedipus goes from believing he is finally free from his cursed fate to suddenly realizing his treachery; this dramatic turn of fortune leads Oedipus in undergoing a severe transfiguration. In his transformation, Oedipus who was once supremely prideful and confident becomes a man “deluded, lost and damned” (60), “that deepest damned and god-detested man” (73). Oedipus sees himself as a “monster” (73) and blinds himself in shame. Oedipus is changed from a revered king to a sinful outcast. The audience fears this impending change of fortune and pities Oedipus after his grotesque transformation. Instead of blaming his actions on ignorance, which would likely have been a somewhat acceptable response to his people, he self-inflicts a punishment that is far too severe. In blinding and condemning himself an abominable exile, Oedipus impacts the audience and his country by evoking a sense of pity within them. “Oh, the pity and the horror!” (71) the Chorus cries, summarizing the emotions that Oedipus’ turmoil
In conclusion, accepting what we just read, we can determine that setting out to find the truth may not always be your best option, because although it may answer questions we have and satisfy our urge, it does not always yield the outcome in which we were searching. Nonetheless, once Oedipus discovered the truth, I find his decision to stand by the punishment set forth by his own orders to be a noble and heroic one, just as all the citizens of Thebes had always seen him as. Therefore, even though we may or may not understand Oedipus’ persistence to seek the truth, we have gained an understanding as to why persistency to find truth can be harmful to an individual or even to an entire group, some things are just better left unsaid or unknown.