Martin Luther King Jr. once said that our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Americans complain relentlessly about the government and presidential candidates, but that is as far as it goes. When they are given the opportunity to enable a change, one that they cry out for, they meet the opportunity with reticence. They are supposedly so angry that it leads them to rebel in massive rebellions demonstrated by silence. The silence is not only restricted to noiselessness but rather it refers to “doing nothing.” However, what Americans fails to perceive, is that doing “nothing” is doing “something.” Consequently, silence is often the action that leads to destruction. In Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, this …show more content…
The “silence” in Oedipus is similar to the “blindness” Aristotle refers to. Aristotle claims that in the ideal tragedy, the protagonist will “mistakenly bring about his own downfall, not because he is sinful or morally weak, but because he does not know enough” (Mc Manus, 1999). That is to say, the protagonist does not know enough because he is “blind.” Both “blindness” and “silence” exhibit the “flaw” in the tragedy which is not intentionally at the protagonist’s fault, which produces the perfect foundation the audience needs to release emotions such as pity or rage and ultimately let a catharsis …show more content…
It portrays a golden silence before Jocasta commits suicide. Prior to the moment, Jocasta is seen what appears to be playing a game of catch and laughing, then all if a sudden, she stops and stare, taking the film into a pregnant silence before she self-destructs. It seems an absurd thing for her to be playing free-spirited and happy just moments before she hangs herself. Between the moments of play and that of a dreadful death was her silence accompanied with her piercing stare into the depths of despair. The silence is the warning signal of the destruction that is to
“I am obsessed with silence because of the silence of the world. I do not understand why the world was silent when we needed its outcry. I always come back to that problem. Where were the humanists, the leaders, the liberals, the spokesmen for mankind? The victims needed them. If they had spoken up, the slaughtered would not have succeeded in his task.” - Elie Wiesel
The name “Oedipus” means “swollen feet” in Latinized Greek. His parents, Laius and Jocasta, gave him this name while piercing a metal rod through the ankles of his feet, in order to prevent the fulfilment of the oracle’s prophecy. Despite this heinous act, their efforts were in vain as Oedipus’ free will conquered the theme of fate. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the tragic hero, Oedipus, demonstrates hamartia, a fatal error in judgement, which brings about his own downfall. It was Oedipus’ hubris that was responsible for the tragic ending of this play. Evidence of this statement occurs when Oedipus’ determination towards solving the mystery behind Laius’ death ironically lead to the truth behind the oracle’s prophecies. Additionally, Oedipus’ overweening pride and ego resulted in the murder of Laius, which was a major stepping-stone in the prophecy. He illustrates his error in judgment through his pride, blindness, and foolishness and therefore is at fault.
Oedipus is given ample opportunity to engage in dialogue. However, when Oedipus talks to others, he only listens to what he wants to hear. When Teiresias tries to tell him the truth, he becomes angry and says, "And who has taught you the truth? Not your profession surely." (25). Instead of trying to understand what Teiresias is saying, he immediately discards it because it does not fit into his plan to pull Thebes out of the plague. He is unwilling to engage in true dialogue, because he is afraid that it might cause him to question his own beliefs. Oedipus is not living his life authentically; he is not being true to himself. In his arrogance he believes himself greater than he really is, and this prevents him from truly seeking his own individuality.
As a majority, we do not act; we are complacent. We do not take a stand; we fear failure and humiliation. We do not lead; we follow. Society has increasingly grown passive, tired, and complacent. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s idea of the "appalling silence of the good people" is as poignant today as it was in the 1960s.
From written and public speech to direct action, reformers were constantly forced to find innovative ways to communicate with the public throughout early American History. Although the reformers in the more recent past have often looked to foreign lands for examples of how to communicate their ideas, they could have just as easily looked back on America’s own past. Reform movements and radical groups have defined America since its radical beginnings with Thomas Paine, through the anti-slavery, temperance, and women’s rights movements, and even through the civil rights movements to today. America has continued to evolve through peaceful methods. Those that need to resort to violence usually do so because their goals are not supported by a large portion of the country, and when they do resort to violence, they usually fail. It is the protection of speech and organization (association) that has allowed this country to continue to survive peacefully while others have crumbled violently. As long as reformers have peaceful modes of communication available to them, the country as a whole will thrive well into the third millennium.
Oedipus Rex is a Greek play written by Sophocles. The play is set in Thebes; Thebes is infected with a plague that is killing its crops and unborn children. This plague is caused by the prophecy. The prophecy states that Oedipus would kill his father and wed his mother. Laius threw out Oedipus when he was a baby to avoid this fate, but he failed because Oedipus was not killed. Oedipus was raised as a prince in Corinth. One day he was told the prophecy and feared that he would kill his father Polybus. While running away from Corinth to escape the prophecy, Oedipus killed Laius. When Oedipus arrived in Thebes, he freed the people from the sphinx. He was named king and married Jocasta. Towards the end of the play, Oedipus finds out that he had fulfilled the prophecy and is exiled from Thebes.
Oedipus thinks his human powers can match anything put in front of him. He forces other characters to tell him things, which again creates his tragic ending. (O790) Oedipus by not knowing his identity seems to create his own tragedy. Throughout the entire play, he is blind to everything people are telling him. (O320) He continues to badger Teiresias to answer things that Oedipus does not believe is true. If he only stopped, asking questions his fate might have been different. (O385) Because of these answers, he begins to suspect that people are plotting against him. He feels that he is above such lowly deeds. His own conceit and blind confidence in himself helps him continue towards a tragic ending. (O452-460) While Teiresias was predicting the future of Oedipus, he should have been smart enough to listen. He should have started to change his ways before he ended up destroying himself. Oedipus' guilt was beginning to play tricks on his mind. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus was on the top of the mortal world. Now he is finding out the truth about his past and his world starts to crumble around him.
The imagery of sight versus blindness lead to his ultimate downfall. He is transparent to the lie he has created. Also the contempt and torture he has just brought upon this city. Like the prophecy says his wife will kill herself first, then later his life will all go downhill from there. Later prophecy actually comes true. First with his wife killing herself, then Oedipus realizes that he has done wrong. He was blind when Teiresias told him the first time. He then actually saw the irony in what he has done wrong. He later then actually makes himself blind and stabs out his eyes so he cannot see anymore. This causes his downfall and later his
From the very beginning, Oedipus was “blind”. Oedipus has perfect physical vision. However, he is blind and ignorant to the truth about himself and his past. He desperately seeks to know about the death of his father. At this point, it is obvious what Oedipus's action must be, to overcome the blindness. All of his actions thereafter are to that end.
Initially, Oedipus is a confident leader who believes he is educated and knows the truth about himself and the land he presides over, Thebes. This is because he was proclaimed the most famous man alive as a result of his answering the Sphinx’s riddle to save Thebes from a tragic epidemic. However, at the beginning of the play there is another plague causing grief to the members of Thebes, and Oedipus goes so far as to say that he will stop at nothing to rid Thebes of this pollution. He states, "Each of you grieves for himself alone, while my heart must bear the strain of sorrow for all--myself and you and all our city’s people. No I am not blind to it," (p.4). Yet in essence he is blind to it because he is the indirect cause for the epidemic in Thebes. Oedipus finds out that the cause for the Epidemic is that nobody came forth as an avenger in the murder of King Laius. Oedipus then states, "I shall not cease until I bring the truth to light. Apollo has shown, and you have shown, the duty which we owe the dead," (p.5). This is ironic in that Oedipus vows to make the truth come to light so that everybody can see it, including himself. Moreover, th...
Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, presents to the reader a full range of conflicts and their resolution after a climax.
Oedipus Rex, written by the Poet Sophocles in the Golden Age of Greek Theatre, was described by Aristotle to be the greatest tragedy of all time. It encapsulates the very essence of the Greek cultural milieu, and it is these ideologies which are translated into the play. The very essence of Greek society; the political democracy, a moral belief in the power of the Gods and social recognition of hierarchy, are portrayed when the society is pictured in a state of chaos.
As a reader that is using the Reader-Response Criticism, the production of different responses of the text of Oedipus Rex is always different for each reader. The reader needs to examine the words thoroughly in their mind to come to an arguable conclusion. Oedipus has no fault in the actions that he did because he did not know at the moment, but how he tried to resolve things was not the way to go. The feeling I felt while reading the play is pure shock and hatred because of his actions, but he wouldn’t have done those things if he had known the truth. Although Oedipus was trying with all his power to find the culprit of his father, but while doing so, he showed weakness by his attributes, that led to his destiny.
.... They fear the real identity of Oedipus and they do not want him to discover it. Moreover, the pity is associated with his downfall at the end. These emotional of pity and fear lead to the emotional purgation of the audience, which is the main aim of tragedy according to Aristotle. He is very appropriate to arouse such feelings because he has all the qualities of the tragic hero.
In the play Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, two themes appear; one that humans have little control of their lives because fate always catches up with them and the theme that when someone makes a mistake, they will have to pay for it.