Blindness can normally be defined as the inability of the eye to see, but according to this play, blindness is not always a physical quality, but a mental flaw some people posses. The author uses physical blindness, as well as intellectual blindness to illustrate Oedipus' status as a tragic hero. Throughout the play, blindness is seen as a main theme, where Sophocles explored not only physical blindness, but also intellectual blindness. The theme of blindness is split into two main categories, where one is the ability to see, while the other is the willingness to see. Oedipus, who sets out to rescue the city of Thebes by bringing the killer of Laius to justice, becomes the victim of fate where whatever choice he makes seems to be the wrong one. From this, the question of whether or not Oedipus' blindness of the truth was what ultimately destroyed him is one that can be answered with many opinions, as it all depends on how the reader perceived the play.
The most obvious form of blindness that Oedipus initially undertook was that of being mentally blind. It is clear to the reader from the beginning of the play that Oedipus only sees what he wants to see. Oedipus is quick to blame Creon for the plague on the city of Thebes, as he assumes that Creon, along with Teiresias, is plotting against him, in order to strip him from his crown. Oedipus worries too much about his position as being the king of Thebes, as he does not realize his mental blindness of the truth. He refuses to look at his own past, where instead he goes and blames others for his own crimes. Oedipus knows that he had killed man/men in the past but due to his blindness, refuses to accept the possibility that just maybe, that man could have been his father. The fact t...
... middle of paper ...
...dn't know what destiny lied in front of him. Due to his stubbornness, Oedipus ignored the fact that he is human just like everyone else, and paid the price for thinking like this.
A similar example of a tragic hero is found in the Character of Okonkwo, main character of Things Fall Apart by China Achebe. Okonkwo never realized that the change in society is inevitable and the only true heroes are those willing to sacrifice all for the good of the community. In Okonkwo's self-driven quest to take charge and shape his village as he saw fit, often put the entire village in dire danger. His uncontrolled rage, which without a doubt he considers manly and therefore a positive, put the community at risk of offending their gods when he beat his second wife during a sacred time, then again by defying the power of the oracle to save his daughter shows his lack of heroism.
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...
Oedipus’ baneful traits of naiveté, arrogance, and curiosity blend with one another in Oedipus Rex to comprise his horrible, inevitable fate. With the traits given to him, Oedipus is destined to have the fate he receives, but what would become of him if he is not arrogant? What if he was not curious or naïve? Would Oedipus still finish with his eyes gouged out and his subjects scorning his name? Even the author himself, Sophocles, may not know if the tragic hero could ever free himself of his inescapable web of his fate.
When Oedipus blinded himself, he actually had more insight than before. His ignorance about the murder caused him to rely on his intellect to find out the truth. He persisted learning more not only from Creon and Teiresias but also from the messenger and the shepherd. He went against his wife Jocasta’s wishes of having “no more questioning(p872, 140)'; because he felt “the truth must be made known(146).
“…they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me!” These are the words Oedipus shouted as he blinds himself upon learning the truth of his past. It is ironic how a person blessed with perfect physical vision could in reality be blind to to matters of life and conscience. During his prime as King of Thebes, Oedipus is renowned for his lucidity and his ability to rule with a clear concept of justice and equality. The people loved him for his skill and wit, as he saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx. As a result, Oedipus became overly confident, and refuses to see that he may be the cause of the malady that is plaguing his kingdom. Although physically Oedipus has full use of his eyes, Sophocles uses sight to demonstrate how Oedipus is blind to the truth about his past what it might me for both him and his kingdom. Upon learning the truth, Oedipus gouges out his eyes, so he won’t have to look upon his children, or the misfortune that is his life. Once physically unable to see, Oedipus has clear vision as to his fate, and what must be done for his kingdom and his family
Many times people are blind to the truth that is right in front of them. The solution to their problems may have been blatantly obvious, however, they could not actually “see” their answer by their blindness to the truth. There have been instances where being blind is not actually a handicap, but more of a tool to see things to a deeper meaning. Although the blind may not have physical sight, they have another kind of vision. In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, Tiresias, the blind prophet, addresses the truth of the prophecy to Oedipus and Jocasta. Oedipus has been blind to the truth of the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother his whole life. Once Oedipus discovers the truth, he loses his physical vision by blinding himself. Within these cases, the central theme of blindness can be expressed by Oedipus’s ignorance to see the higher vision- the truth
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.
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses Oedipus and various other characters to convey the theme of blindness. King Oedipus ruled over Thebes, after solving the Sphinx’s riddle. After Oedipus is victorious over the sphinx, Oedipus becomes swollen with hubris leading into his figurative and literal blindness throughout the book. The author, Sophocles uses a blind seer to convey the sense that a physically blind man can know more about the issues concerning Thebes over their respected rulers Oedipus, and Jocasta who were not physically blind like the blind seer. Oedipus was not only just blind to the issues concerning Thebes he was blind to almost everything else. Then when the truth comes out blindness is even emphasized more with Oedipus blinding his self physically. His hubris is caused by many things one may be him thinking he has evaded his cursed prophecy, and even having his own townspeople pray to him as if he were one of the God’s. Blindness in Oedipus Rex was both literal and figurative. People can be physically blind as well as be blinded by the truth figuratively.
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
This correlates to the main idea of the play, blindness towards the truth. This was how Oedipus’s destiny was to come. In order to find his destiny he had to become blind, which ended up happening in the end. Whereas the beginning he wanted to be proven innocent, which turned to him being blind to all the warnings. His solution to not being able to see the signs, he became blind as he refused be able to see anymore.
Blindness and vision are used as motifs in the play "Oedipus Rex," which are also the tragic flaws of the hero. Vision refers to both literal and metaphorical blindness. The frequent references to sight, light, eyes, and perception are used throughout the play. When Oedipus refuses to believe Tiersias, Tiersias responds by saying "have you eyes" and "do you not see your own damnation?" Tiersias also says "those now clear-seeing eyes shall then be darkened." The reference to sight has a double meaning. Oedipus is famed for his clear-sightedness and quick comprehension. He was able to "see" the answer to the Sphinx's riddle, yet ironically, he lacks the ability to see the truth about his own identity. Oedipus has become the very disease he wishes to remove from Thebes.
Oedipus was blind in more then one way. He was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta. He was so blind that he got mad at anyone who was foolish enough to suggest such an idea.
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.
Throughout Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, there are many references to sight, blindness, and seeing the truth. Characters, such as Tiresias, are able to accurately predict what Oedipus’ fate will be through their power to see the truth in a situation. Oedipus maintains a pompous and arrogant personality throughout the play as he tries to keep control of the city of Thebes and prove the speculations about his fate as falsities. Ironically, although Tiresias is physically blind, he is able to correctly predict how Oedipus’ backstory will unfold, while other characters, such as Jocasta and Oedipus are oblivious to the truth even though they can physically see. Thus, we can conclude that the power of “seeing the truth” deviates greatly from the power of sight in reality and can lead to an expedited fate or a detrimental occurrence.
In conclusion, the whole play has scenes and incidents that can be applied in life’s situations where such blindness is evident. It also shows other cases of blindness, such as those induced by fear; the prophets feared telling the truth to Oedipus and as a result brought trouble to the whole kingdom.
Blindness played a major role in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Blindness is presented as a physical disability that affects Teiresias and as not being able to see the truth which Oedipus was “blinded” as well. The irony that is at hand is the fact that Oedipus who was born with the gift of sight is basically blind, but on the other hand, Teiresias , who is blind physically but is able to see all evil acts committed. Unfortunately, as Oedipus gains the gift of sight internally, he discards his physical outward sight. Sight is something like good and evil, one can choose one or the other. Teiresias who was the prophet of Phoebus was troubled with blindness to the physical world but had the gift of sight in the spiritual world. This gift gave him ...