Oedipus The King Compare And Contrast Essay

A detective story is a genre of fiction in which a person attempts to solve a crime. The detective may be a professional or an amateur, and generally has nothing to gain from solving the crime. However in Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King”, the main character Oedipus is not only determined to solve a crime, but he is also in pursuit to find his own identity. This is similar to Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia” where Sherlock Holmes has been hired to work as a detective in return for monetary compensation. Both situations enable Oedipus and Sherlock to gain from unraveling the mysteries that sweep their towns hence making these stories different from most detective stories. Few people think of detective work in regard to “Oedipus the King”, but this play builds on riddles solved, and unsolved, making it to be a mystery. Oedipus starts out as an optimistic individual who is in charge of a cold case proclaiming that he is going to solve the mystery of the murder of King Laius, in order to life the plague from his city Thebes. The people

This shows his compassion and determination for the city, and that the people of Thebes believe in him to save the city. As the story moves on, his short temper is revealed. Tiresias won’t tell him the truth so Oedipus taunts in for being blind showing Oedipus true colors. Oedipus believes that Tiresias knows more than he is saying; Oedipus is using him as a witness to the murder and looking for clues to solve the crime. “For the love of god, don’t turn away, not if you know something. We beg you, all of us on our knees (Sophocles, 371-373). Continuing to taunt Tiresias for clues, Tireasis becomes angry and eventually tells Oedipus that he is the killer “I say you are the murderer you hunt” (Sophocles, 413). Oedipus then tears apart his story looking for further