Sometimes people feel the necessity to hide the truth. The shepherd was brought into the palace to reveal the truth to Oedipus. Oedipus questions the shepherd but the shepherd refuses to tell him the truth because he knew it would hurt. Oedipus, using his power, threatens to torture the truth out of the old shepherd. Eventually the shepherd reveals the truth to Oedipus that he received Oedipus from Jocasta and that the prophecy stated that Oedipus would kill both his parents. The shepherd's task was to kill Oedipus. Finding out this truth made Oedipus furious and he stormed out of the room. The epic tragedy by Sophocles translated and interpreted by Robert Fagles. By discovering the truth, the relationship will change between Oedipus and his people. The shepherd hints the severity of the news by how much he holds off telling Oedipus. The more powerful the news the bigger the effect it will have on the people of Thebes and Oedipus. Oedipus now believes his people cannot trust him. This is because Oedipus is the one who killed Laius. Oedipus now believes the people will not want anything to do with him because he is the cause of the plague. He will run from this to escape the fear of being chastised by his people.
The shepherds stalling and fear of the truth hints that the news will
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The rationale behind this is that Oedipus is the one who killed Laius. The shepherd comes to the conclusion of having the tell the truth or else he would be tortured. “Oh no, I’m right at the edge, the horrible truth--I’ve got to say it” (1285-1286). The shepherd, after deep contemplation has no choice but to leak the truth. Most likely afraid of what Oedipus will do after hearing the truth, he tries to hide it until he is pushed to the edge by Oedipus. The shepherd, was afraid of what Oedipus would do, because when one runs from the truth for so long, when you finally hear it, it hurts more than it would have hurt
This shows that once again the withholding of knowledge has led to Oedipus not being able to know the truth and avoid his fate rather if Oedipus had known this from the start he may never have left Corinth.
Oedipus is pondering whether or not he could have killed King Laius, they encourage Oedipus. “But wait until you’ve heard the witness speak. Have hope,';
As the truth is getting revealed: "… You, Oedipus, are the desecrator, the polluter of this land." Oedipus does not believe (his choice). He (Oedipus) start to accuse Creon of truing to take his powers away (king). And still want to reveal whole truth. After talking to Jocasta Oedipus faces that he in fact might killed the king Laius. " There was s herald leading a carriage drawn by horses and the man riding in the carriage … The driver pushed.
In the beginning of the text, an explanation is presented of how Thebes must “drive out a killer” in order to purge the city of the plague (99). Oedipus sets on a quest that includes Tiresias’s baffling words. Tiresias confronts Oedipus with [Oedipus’s] truth by revealing he is the murderer of Laius and “pollutes the land” (352). Oedipus is also bound by Apollo’s prophecy; his [Oedipus] fate is sealed (377). Oedipus displays his denial by refusing that he is the murderer and placing the blame on Creon.
A son who kills his own father, marries his own mother, and is both the father and brother of his mother’s children. Oedipus, meaning “swollen foot”, grows up with adopted parents and a brooding prophecy on his heels. The frightful tale of Oedipus and his indescribable fate play out in the Greek theatrical production of Oedipus Rex. The horrible destiny for Oedipus is inevitable due to the unfavorable traits given to him by the author, Sophocles. Throughout Oedipus Rex, Sophocles masterfully weaves Oedipus’ fatal traits of naiveté, arrogance, and curiosity into the intriguing plot.
Oedipus starts on a powerful trip to find the murderer, and this ends up throwing him into a passionate search within himself to find the truth. Because Oedipus will not compromise, and will only go after the
The main plot of Oedipus was well known to the Ancient Greeks before it was even written by Sophocles. When Oedipus was born, King Laius and Queen Jocasta received a prophecy about their son (Oedipus Rex 49). It was claimed that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. To try to prevent this prophecy they gave their son to shepherd to do away with him. However the shepherd did not have the heart to kill the young child and gave him away to a traveler from a distant land (Oedipus Rex 49).
Oedipus took great pride in saving people and being seen a hero. He wanted the death of Laius to be avenged and he had to be the one to find the murderer and punish him. "I'll fight for him, I'll leave no means untried, to cach the one who did it with his hand..." (Literature, Oedipus the King, Ln. 270-271, page 1081) He did not want to let the people of Thebes down, and he wanted to show that he would be a true hero once again.
What would you do if someone told you you would end up killing your father and marrying your mother when you grow up? You would do anything to keep that from happening, wouldn’t you? Oedipus did in Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Unfortunately, Oedipus fails in avoiding his fate. Faced with a choice between pursuing the truth which everyone tells him would lead to his destruction or accepting a life without knowing any better, Oedipus chooses self-knowledge over self-deception. This makes Oedipus a perfect example of a tragic hero. In Greek drama, a tragic hero is a protagonist of a noble birth who possesses a tragic flaw that leads to his down fall but shows the courage to accept responsibility for his own actions.
tells the priest and the suffering people of Thebes. If Oedipus did not care for
As the tragedy comes to a close, the truth is revealed to Oedipus concerning his lineage and unnatural actions. Although the truth had been spoken to him about these matters previously, Oedipus had chosen not to believe and understandably so. True revelation comes to Oedipus through the same slave that had been ordered to kill him as a baby.
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests that the impact of seeing the truth is harmful rather than enlightening. Whenever Oedipus strives to discover more to strengthen Thebes’ perspective of him, it leads him closer to his fate as determined by prophesy. Tiresias stands as a model in the play for the individual who is able to see the meaning beyond plot of events although his is blind, and Oedipus represents the oblivious arrogant individual who is never content because they need to be the unsurpassed individual. In the play, Sophocles illustrates the downside of a personality like Oedipus who desires to see the truth by ending the play with the brutality of gouging out his own eyes. Ultimately, the play reinforces that seeing the truth is harmful and being content with what you have, without greedily striving for more, can help avoid fate and a related deposition.
The priests of Thebes have come to Oedipus to stop the plague that is killing the people of Thebes. They revere him for his knowledge, since he solved the riddle of the Sphix many years before and became the king. As the reader is introduced to Oedipus, they are given many facts about his life so that they become familiar with this man who has done great things. But Oedipus learns from his brother-in-law, Creon who he had sent to Delphi, that Apollo has placed this plague upon Thebes until they "Drive the corruption from the land, don't harbor it any longer, past all cure, don't nurse it in your soil - root it out!" ¹ Oedipus swears an oath before the priests and the chorus (which represents all people of Thebes) that the murderer would be found and driven from the land.
The myth of Oedipus is one of a man brought down by forces aligning against him. Over the years, different playwrights have interpreted his character in various fashions. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a man who is blind to the path on which his questions take him and exemplifies the typical tyrannical leader in ancient times; in Senaca’s Oedipus, it is the fear of his questions that give Oedipus a greater depth of character, a depth he must overcome if he is to survive his ordeal.
Oedipus was willing to die to uncover the truth. Closure was needed for Oedipus the individual and Oedipus the king. Despite this need for closure, Oedipus remained blind to the clues in his path, plainly dismissing the ideas of other characters. Oedipus’ passion for knowledge was at least as strong as his blindness to the clues in his path. This blindness can be attributed to his pride. This pride gradually developed from h...