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Literary Analysis of Everyday Use
Critique of Sophocles oedipus rex
Critique of Sophocles oedipus rex
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To see or not to see!!!! I wanted to talk about the symbols that are in the play. How being able to see Oedipus thought that he knew everything and then after he learned he was not where close to knowing anything that all but at the beginning was merely an errant child. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a story about Oedipus Rex came to Thebes and saved the people from the sphinx. He was then crowned the king of Thebes and was given the Hand of Jocaste the wife of the former king Laios and then the wife of Oedipus shortly after he becomes king Thebes is cursed with disease, famine, women dyeing during birth and children being stillborn. He sends his brother in law Creon to talk to the oracle and see what he is supposed to do to stop the curse. Creon comes back and tells him that to save his people he must find the person or people that killed King Laios and either kill them or banishment and advising him to talk to Teiresias the blind prophet. Oedipus after hearing all of this from Creon he summons Teiresias, who at first refuses to come and then refuses to tell the king anything at all begging him to not ask. Teiresias finally gives in and tells Oedipus that he was the one who killed Laios. Oedipus couldn’t believe it and thought that Creon and Teiresias are …show more content…
The city is in ruins and all the citizens believe that King Oedipus can save them because he saved them from the sphinx by answering her riddle. With Oedipus being able to see he thinks that he can figure out the truth about the murder of King Laios. He believes that he is the only one that can bring light from darkness he says it in line 134 that he will once more bring what is dark to light. Though Oedipus is blind to the reality that he is guilty of being the murder. With sight Oedipus is blind to all aspects of the story he also does not know that he is married to his own mother, and that prophecies about him and everyone else are coming
In the play when Oedipus asks Teiresias to reveal the murderer of King Laois, Teiresias blames Oedipus as the murderer and Oedipus denies the blame and gets angry on Teiresias. The chorus even denies the blame on Oedipus and takes Oedipus’ side. The chorus says the following lines to protect Oedipus “This is the king who solved the famous riddle, and towered up, most powerful of men. No mortal eyes but looked on him with envy, Yet in the end ruin swept over him”(Freud 988). Oedipus on the other hand who is really mad at Teiresias blames him and Creon for plotting against him. As Oedipus was blind from the start he was unaware of his origins which will cause him to trigger the unavoidable chain of events that would lead to the fulfilment of the prophecy. But he didn’t knew the fate itself was unavoidable. The irony of theme sight and blindness is produced here when Oedipus is compared to Teiresias. Oedipus who is not blind and has the capability to see with both of his eyes doesn’t finds anything wrong in killing a man, who he later discovers was King Laois and his group. He even took over the throne of Thebes and was found to be lying with his mother thinking her as his wife and having babies with her. On the other hand is Teiresias who is really blind and unable to see than...
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.
When he does visit the prophet, Tiresias, he learned that he adopted. It comes out that Oedipus was the unknown man who killed Laius from the revelation that the old king was killed at the same crossroads Oedipus remembers from his fight. In addition, it is revealed that Oedipus was the child Jocas...
...ck reaction of Oedipus proves that he is curious of what the Oracle says about the murderer of Laius. His constant pestering and relentless pursuit of the truth leads to the answer that he is the killer.
Oedipus and Creon put all their efforts in to finding the killer of Laius. They take it on as their moral obligation as it has gone so far without justice being made, "But you, loyal men of Thebes who approve my actions, may our champion, Justice, may all the gods be with us.
The play starts out with the destruction of Oedipus' town, Thebes. The citizens seek their king, Oedipus, to resolve the issue as he had done in the past with the Sphinx. At this point Oedipus' brother, Creon, returns with the oracle's news. In order for the plague to be lifted from the city the murderer of Laius must be discovered and punished. As king, Oedipus curses the undiscovered murder and promises to punish him. As a means for help Oedipus sends for Tiresias who is the towns blind prophet. This is where the foreshadowing begins. In an attempt to protect Oedipus, the prophet does not disclose what he has seen in his visions. Oedip...
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.
In the beginning of the play, Oedipus has perfect physical vision. However, he is blind and ignorant to the truth about himself and his past. He desperately wants to know, to see, but he cannot. Oedipus' blindness which must be considered is that many times throughout the course of the action he is warned not to pursue the matter any further, for fear that the truth could be damaging to him as the prophesies would suggests. The events are made all the more tragic at the point where he thinks he can 'see' when he at last realizes that he is in fact the murderer of Laius, and yet he is still blind to the final horrible truth. To make the situation worst Jocasta his wife advises Oedipus not to pursue the matter further: "Stop-in the name of god, ….call off this search!" Jocasta has seen the truth but Oedipus is only worried in she finds out he was not of noble birth.
The Symbolism of Homer's Odyssey Throughout Homer's The Odyssey, many tangible symbols are used to represent abstract ideas. Each symbol that Homer uses has two meanings. The double meanings of these symbols are used to represent Odysseus and Telemachus as they strive to meet each other. While each symbol has a meaning that represents the growth of Telemachus, each one also represents, by another meaning, the growth and development of Odysseus. When they meet for the first time, the symbols, and the character traits that they represent confluence, and the resemblance between Odysseus and Telemachus becomes complete.
The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle. The story starts off by telling us that Oedipus has seen his moira, his fate, and finds out that in the future he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Thinking that his mother and father were Polybos and Merope, the only parents he knew, he ran away from home and went far away so he could change his fate and not end up harming his family. Oedipus will later find out that he cannot change fate because he has no control over it, only the God's can control what happens. Oedipus is a very healthy person with a strong willed mind who will never give up until he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, in this story these will not be good trait to have.
As the play draws to a close, it is shown how Oedipus learns the true nature of things. Oedipus remains blind to the truth until he can deny it no longer. After hearing the testimony of the herdsman it is perfectly clear to Oedipus that he has fulfilled the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother, in turn bringing the great misfortune about the city of Thebes. Upon discovering the truth, along with discovering Jocasta’s dead body, Oedipus blinds himself with the pins on her dress and shouts that his eyes “would no longer see the evils he had suffered or had done, see in the dark those he should not have seen.” (1280-1282).
Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles around 430 BC, is one of, if not the most, important and influential tragedy ever written. It became the base for most of the tragedies written since. In spite of the fact that some of the story line may seem a little out of place now, parallels can be very easily drawn with the present time. Even though it was written over 2000 years ago, Oedipus the King is still fitting and applicable in today's society.
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...
Oedipus is a man of noble blood; his parents, who raised him as a child, were King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus also becomes a king himself when he solves the Sphinx’s riddle, thus saving Thebes and taking over the throne of the late King Laius. Oedipus then marries Jocasta, Laius’s widow, and they have children together. Though he is a very fair and understanding husband, Oedipus’s main concern is always the city of Thebes. When a plague strikes the city, Oedipus refused sleep until he finds the cause, and he, “…sent Creon,…To Delphi, Apollo’s place of revelation, To learn there, if he can, What act or pledge of mine may save the city” (Sophocles 1257). Oedipus then vows to find who killed King Laius after Creon reveals that Laius’s death must be avenged so that the plague will be dispersed.
The guilt and shame that he took on after he had finally seen the truth was so immense that he was ready to suffer any consequences or even be killed. He shows this when he says the words, “O god-all come true, all burst to light! O light-now let me look my last on you! I stand revealed at last-cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!”(Sophocles) Though leaving behind his children with this awful legacy, there will now be a better place for all. The events of this story support the idea that the theme of sight versus blindness in Sophocles’ work Oedipus the King is portrayed through Oedipus’ hubris, blinding him from the reality of his life. Running from the truth does not make it go away; facing it and accepting it will only lead to better things. Though the truth may be hard to hear, it is what we are supposed to know and if Oedipus had put his pride aside and let the truth be seen he could have had a very different life for him and for many