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Effects of guilt on a person
The effects of guilt
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Who Is Guilty? In Oedipus the King, various disgraceful crimes are committed, and many people suffer and die. Normally it would be necessary to place blame upon those responsible for such crimes , but because Oedipus the King is a rather complicated affair, objective accusations would only be for the weak minded and ignorant. However if one extends beyond the realm of legitimate legality in both the United States legal system and ancient Greek legal system, one will have to understand one major moral infraction had been committed, that being too much pride. In relation to Oedipus the King, the primary character, Oedipus, carried a plethora of pride and confidence. This pride and confidence would lead to major conflict and despair within …show more content…
He had strong leadership skills, a passion for justice, was honest with his people, and was interested in doing whatever he could to make Thebes a better place. However, early in the play the Chorus called upon the gods to descend to earth and end the plague that has ravaged Thebes. Oedipus is not a god, but, as a leader he saw it as his duty to answer the Chorus’ prayers. He stated “Is this your prayer? It may be answered. Come, listen to me, act as the crisis demands, And you shall have relief from all these evils” . At first, this seems like Oedipus is doing his duty asking, taking it upon himself to end the plague. But, the chorus had asked the gods to end the plague, not Oedipus. So, by taking it upon himself he is taking on the role of a god, something that the people of Thebes do not approve of. The chorus supported this disapproval when they stated “The tyrant is a child of pride…any mortal who dares hold no immortal power in awe will be caught up in a net of pain”. While Oedipus believed he was doing the right thing, his prideful self skewed his ability to make coordinated and logical
Sophocles ' Oedipus Rex begs the question: If Oedipus was insensible of his heritage when he slaughtered Laius and then wedded Jocasta, does that make him a moral man? Another question would be: Is he inherently immoral because he somehow should have known his real relatives on some level? If one assumes that he is innocent because no one told him the situation, then that is a modern day take on the event. There are other ways to look at the case. Mainly, children can sense who their parents are on some psychological level and vice versa. Therefore, Oedipus really should have known, even if he claims he had no idea. In the examination of these questions lies the moral ambiguity of the play.
Justice is when you receive fair behavior or treatment. In Oedipus Rex, each character has in a way contributed outcome of the play. Oedipus, as we know did various actions that weren’t right. His heinous crimes lead him to be feel guilt at the end of the play where he finds out the truth from where he comes. At the end of the novel he finds out about he was incest with his mother whom he had four children with (that are now his half siblings). After realizing what he had done, Oedipus ends up begging to be killed. However, he changes his mind. Oedipus ends up wanting to flee the city which he consults with Creon. When Creon gives the okay, Oedipus leaves. I don’t believe that in death punishment, but I also don’t see how it’s okay for Oedipus to just flee. I don’t think it’s fair to the city, and morally. Jocasta was mother and wife. When married to Laius, she became pregnant with Oedipus and arranged to kill the infant. They ended up not killing the child but abandoning it. Jocasta later ends up marrying and bedding with her son, however she does not know it is him. When she finds out the truth, she couldn’t handle what was done. So, she hung herself. Jocasta killed herself. Death is an extreme to what she deserves. Yes she did some wrongs, but there was need for her to hang herself. Laius is killed by his own son, Oedipus. As I may have said, Oedipus wasn’t aware that it was his father. That said, I
The king was someone who the people of Thebes turned to when they needed help, "find us strength, rescue!" p. 161. Oedipus had set himself high social expectations after helping free Thebes "from the sphinx". Oedipus was admired as being "best of men" p. 161, and therefore socially the citizens would have expected him to help them when they needed it. Oedipus was kinder to the citizens and more open with them than was generally expected from a king, "my children" p. 162. He spoke to them directly and not through a messenger, showing the closeness between the people and their king, "Here I am myself..." p. 159.
Oedipus is a hero, but sometimes he can not see the reality of this. He goes into states where he lacks mental insight, making rash decisions without thinking about the future or consequences. One of his biggest downfalls because of this shortsightedness is that he does not realize that his destiny is solely in the hands of the gods. After Oedipus is told as a young boy about the prophecy of his life, he can not "see" how he is destined to marry his mother and kill his father. Furthermore, because of his lack of insight he truly believes that he can move without the Oracle’s prophecy following him. No matter what Oedipus does, he has no control over what the gods have predetermined. The gods also punish the people of Thebes with hard times since it is these people who brought Oedipus into the land as their king. The gods do this in order to make the people see through Oedipus’ extreme pride and quick temper. The gods apparently think that the only way to get them to see what Oedipus has done is by causing the city pain and suffering. The gods use their insight to affect Oedipus’ life, family and city.
In the play Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus the tragic downfall of Oedipus the King brings forth the question was this outcome determined by his predestined fate or his own actions, and if he can be held accountable for his crime. The argument of Oedipus guilt or innocence dates back for centuries, yet there still is not a clear explanation to which side is accurate. King Laius of Thebes Oedipus’ biological father learned from the oracle that if he wed with Jocasta, he would perish at the hands of his son. To avoid the tragic fate Jocasta and Laius abandoned their infant son to the elements as an attempt to kill him. Subsequently, Oedipus is found and raised by King Polybius of Corinth as his own. Only to later return to Thebes in a desperate
Oedipus’ exaggerated sense of pride made him believe he could defy the prophecy set out for him. He believed he could control his own fate. Despite knowing his prophecy, Oedipus did not even think twice about killing the people on the road to Thebes. When he became king Oedipus referred to himself as, “I, Oedipus, a name that all men know” (Sophocles Prologue. 9). Oedipus knew he had great power and a reputation. Oedipus’ hubris had a domino effect in his life. One critic stated, “Oedipus starts as a supremely confident, masterful king, a beloved, caring savior-figure, a man of energy and proven intelligence, and ends as a shunned, polluted, self-blinded outcast, deprived of the most basic freedoms” (Gillett and Hankey 273). When Tiresias told Oedipus that he was the cause of the plague, Oedipus’ pride kicked in as he reminded Tiresias that he solved the riddle of the Sphinx so, the plague could not have possibly been his fault. This hubris was the cause of Oedipus’ ignorance and denial, ultimately leading to the King of Thebes and Jocasta’s
In conclusion, I think that if Oedipus had not had this huge sense of pride things would have turn out a lot better for him.
When we are first introduced to Oedipus, he is a strong leader who is thoroughly respected by the people of Thebes. “O greatest of men.” Oedipus was the saviour of Thebes 15 years before he solved the riddle of the Sphinx which freed the city from the plague and death. Because of this act, he inherited the throne although when a new disaster threatened the prosperity of the city, the people of Thebes turned to Oedipus. “I grieve for you my children. Believe me; I know all that you desire of me, all that you suffer.” Oedipus learns that there is an “unclean thing” which is polluting their soil. He declares punishment to this thing that if he owns up now then his punishment will not be harsh but if he conceals the truth and it later outed then nothing will save him. “No matter who he may be, he is forbidden shelter or intercourse with any man.” After declaring this punishment, Oedipus is approached by Teiresias, a frail, blind prophet who says that Oedipus is the “cursed polluter of this land.” Oedipus is horrified by this accusation and mocks the blind prophet. Later on in the play, we see that Oedipus becomes the figure he once mocked.
One source of momentous stories of Western culture comes from Ancient Greece. Numerous generations of students study these imperative works of genius. Sophocles, who created many of these significant tragic plays, thrives in the four hundreds B.C.E. Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is one of the notable tragedies written by Sophocles. The overall message of the play is to be not full of pride and arrogance. The reason for choosing Oedipus Rex is that I read this play before, and I have study this tragedy in school previously. The purpose of Sophocles to create Oedipus Rex is to tell the audience not to be arrogant and prideful by showing that Oedipus and his father believe to be self-important, make sure that one has check all possibilities before coming a conclusion and bashing others who may know more than other people do, do not be overconfident in one actions because there may be other factors that affect the result, Sophocles use his own beliefs that are demonstrative through the characters that are conceited, and finally to teach that pride is destructive to noble people that only want to do the right action. Oedipus and his parents tries to defy prophecy given from the divine that Oedipus murders his father and marries his mother. People believe that people cannot defy the celestial beings. “Above all else, this tragedy is about the unbridgeable gulf between gods and humans” (Matthews). Oedipus’s and his parents’ prides lead them to believe that they can fill the space that separates men and gods. That they alone by human will alone can change what the divine will that told them what will happen. The consequences will lead to both Oedipus’s parents’...
Oedipus was guilty of killing his father and marrying his mother, but perhaps the true sin lay in his overzealous attempt to raise himself to the level of the gods by trying to escape his fate. The chorus chants about how in prosperity, he was envied by all men, he was honored highest above all honors, and how he won happiness by pride (by slaughtering the Sphinx, and by trying to deceive the god’s will.) But, how ultimately, Odipus was judged for it, causing a reversal of fortune in his prosperous
Oedipus Rex was first viewed as a bold and intelligent leader ti his people in the city of Thebes. Unfortunately, his search for the cause of the plague led him to target himself and bring misery to his family. Oedipus' initial understanding of justice in the beginning of the play is seeking the murderer of Laius and destroy the plague that was intoxicating the city. From the prophecy that he hears from Tiresias he becomes insulted at the way perceives the words that are spoken and comes
As the play opens, Oedipus displays qualities of a good ruler. He is intelligent and noteworthy for his compassion and his sense of justice. He is above average because of his social standing and also because he is intelligent and the only person who was able to unravel the mystery and solve the Sphinx's riddle. He appears confident in his ability to rule and also because he was able to save Thebes by getting rid of the Sphinx. This is best illustrated when Oedipus says, " I have come myself to hear you- I, Oedipus who bear the famous name." He demonstrates compassion when he tells the plague-stricken citizens of Thebes that he is concerned about their health and well being. However, later in the play we see that he also behaves in a rash, angry manner and is unable to control his temper. This is quite evident when he tells the story of killing a man in a chariot and his attendants who attempted to run him off the crossr...
In perhaps one of the most well known stories in the Western world, Oedipus the King, innocence and guilt are two of the most discussed aspects. The implications surrounding the guilt or innocence of Oedipus can not only be applied to this play, but to almost all stories told throughout the Western tradition. Within Oedipus the King, no one character carries the guilt of the events in the play, rather it is a culmination of humans trying to avoid their fate that create a paradox of individuals who are all at once guilty and innocent, with the different acts of individuals ultimately bringing about the fate that Oedipus suffers.
Oedipus, who is the main subject in the play, is an interesting character. The very first lines that are spoken are said by Oedipus himself. When he enters the scene, he seems as if he is very confident person, as he says “everybody everywhere knows who [he is]: Oedipus. King” (11). When being presented as a confident person, it would seem as if the character has everything going for them and have no flaw. But this does not prove accurate with Oedipus. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus asks lot of questions, as if he has no idea of what is actually going on. One of the very first questions that Oedipus asks is that “why are you kneeling? / What can I give you? / how can I help?” (14-16). Oedipus was sent to Thebes to help aid with the plague that the city has been struck with as the former King, Laios, and promises to find the murderer and curse him with the same plague that ...
Oedipus is a tragic man haunted by a cruel fate, of that there is simply no doubt. But does that fate excuse a man’s crimes. It is an important question that needs to be answered before we decide the Oedipus’s guilt. Are the murder of his father and incest with his mother somehow mitigated by the circumstances of the situation that led to them. I think not, a man is responsible for his actions a king more so than any man. In fact as a king Oedipus is responsible for all of Thebes. If he is not held responsible what kind of example is he setting with his authority.