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The ability to see is a much more complex ability than just the physical attribute. Most individuals have the ability to see physically but are blind to the reality of certain circumstances. In the play, “Oedipus the King” by Plato, Oedipus, the tragic hero, is not a blind man but cannot see the reality in the outcome of trying to escape his given fate.…
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One of the powerful relationships that continuously develops throughout the play is that of Oedipus and Creon. This relationship begins when Oedipus becomes king and shares his power equally between his wife/mother, Jocasta, and Jocasta’s brother Creon. The conflict emerges between Oedipus and Creon when Oedipus brings in Tiresias to assist him in finding the murderer of Laius, and Tiresias tells Oedipus that it was in fact he (Oedipus) who killed Laius. One of Oedipus’s reactions towards what Tiresias tells him is that he says, “Creon! Is this his conspiracy his or yours?” (Sophocles, Ln. 431) Oedipus’s jump to reach this conclusion of blaming Creon, is what causes their relationship to deteriorate and is the reason that later on in the play, Creon and Oedipus get into a fight about this accusation. Once Oedipus has blinded himself, he actually begs for Creon’s forgiveness, for Creon to exile him and for Creon to take care of his two young daughters, Antigone and Ismene. “Drive me out of the land at once, far from sight, where I can never hear a human voice.” (Sophocles, Ln. 1571-1572) This is probably the most emotional relationship in the play, and it is a perfect example of why all people enjoy this play. Relationships such as this one have helped Sophocles’s play tremendously with regards to it being one of the most…
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His pride started to build up after he left Corinth and is almost thrown off the road where the three crossroads meet. When the five men try to throw him off the road Oedipus fights back and kills all five of the men and in doing this he unknowingly kills his biologic father Laius. After this it continues to grow when he returns to his birthplace the City of Thebes. When he gets to Thebes there is death throughout the city and they are being terrorized by the Sphinx and the only way to stop this holocaust is to solve the Sphinx’s riddle. Oedipus solves this riddle and the Sphinx is forced to leave the city and take its destruction with it. The city of Thebes then makes Oedipus their king for his act that saves them from their common adversary. As king of Thebes, his pride builds up all the way. During his reign the land has a curse on it and when he learns that it is because the city’s last king’s murderer is bringing this curse on the land. When he investigates who murdered the king, his prideful spirit he forces Tiresias and others to tell him what the oracle has revealed. He finds out that he murdered the king who is his father and he is married and has two kids with his mother who is his wife and the…
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Oedipus hopes to divert the plague on Thebes by identifying the killer of Lauis, as the oracle instructed. He assumes that, although he has killed someone in the past, there is no way he could have been responsible, seeing as how he came to Thebes long after the king's death. Later on, Oedipus accuses Creon of plotting treason against him. In actuality, Creon has no desire to be king; he enjoys all the wealth and comfort without having to take on any of the responsibility. Oedipus, clouded with confusion and paranoia, starts to put the pieces together and glimpses at the horrible truth. He is stubborn in his firm belief that the people who raised him were in fact his blood. Even after Oedipus realizes that his wife, Jocasta, is in fact his mother, he is in just as much disbelief as he is in horror. How could this have happened? Throughout his life, Oedipus has gone to great lengths to prove the oracle wrong. Ironically, so did his parents, and this ultimately is the reason why the events took place. Unknowingly, the decisions that Oedipus makes through his own free will play right into the hands of fate. It is ironic that everything that befalls Oedipus is the result of his own doing, yet most everything he does is an attempt to disprove the…
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King Oedipus tried to find out what killed Laius the King before he came to power, because the oracle told them that his murder needed to leave to free the city from disease. So the King used Creon to find men he needed to speak with in order to find out who killed Laius. King Oedipus did whatever he could to find out who killed Laius which was why he was thought of as a good king. I thought that he tried hard to help the people of Thebes, but it would come to haunt him in the future. Oedipus' wife Jocasta tells him where Laius was killed; she said it was at crossroads were Oedipus remembers killing a few men that were bothering him on the way to Thebes. Jocasta dreads telling Oedipus about the crossroads because without this information I believe Oedipus would never have found out the truth and would have given up his search. Oedipus then realizes that he was most likely the one to kill Laius.…
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Another flaw of Oedipus that leads to his self-destruction is his excessive self-pride. He made it his mission to find the killer of Laius in order to end the misery that the plague in Thebes caused. He was sure of himself that he will save the land, ironically not realizing that he is the one at fault. He sees himself as being all mighty since he presumably escaped his fate. He was able to save Thebes from the Sphinx so he thinks history can repeat itself and he can be a hero ones again for his people.…
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“Oedipus the King” is a drama that portrays misfortune that dwells among mankind. The tragic sequence of events first starts with the birth of Oedipus. His biological parents are stricken with grief when they discover a secret that causes them to banish their son from the city of Thebes. Little did they know that, despite their actions, fate would still play out which would, in turn, cause the society of Thebes to be stricken by the plague. Although many people suffered from the unfortunate destiny of Oedipus, perhaps the person that suffered the most was Oedipus himself. Oedipus endured an unforgiving reality check after being blindsided by the current state of his life.…
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Oedipus blinds himself in shame, accepting full responsibility for poising the city and willingly takes the punishment of exile. In the end, Oedipus’ arrogance led to his downfall. He lost his wife, his eyesight and his kingship. He uncovered the riddles of his life and found out that he was the boy who was the subject of the prophecy. His intelligence, egotism and arrogance led to this finding which caused him losing all that he had. The resolution of his life puts Oedipus above any other tragic hero. He unravels his life in a way that pushes the limits of agony a human can take and there he finds incomparable greatness of…
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Oedipus The King is most likely one of the greatest tragedies ever recorded. This play tells the story of the great downfall of a once honored king who by the end of the story, becomes a great curse. This is mainly due to his great sense of pride. It was believed by the Greeks that people with this immense pride thought that they were above the gods. Aristotle believed that the protagonist of every tragedy must have some type of tragic flaw that will eventually lead to his demise. To Oedipus ,of Oedipus The King, pride is his tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. Some examples of his pride taking over him were: when he correctly answered the Sphinx’s riddle, when he abandoned his adoptive parents in Corinth, and when he killed Laius in the crossroads.…
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The play Oedipus the King, translated by Robert Fagles, is a story of drama and tragedy. Oedipus’ pride and morals cause him to take fate into his own hands and it ends up blowing up in his face. He was abandoned as a baby and was raised by the king and queen of Corinth. When he reached manhood, he was informed by an oracle that he would one day kill his father and marry his mother. He left Corinth forever and along his way he came to cart carrying his real father. Out of rage, he killed everyone including his father. In Thebes, he defeated the Sphinx. His reward was kingship and the dead king’s wife, his mother. Oedipus tried to change his future but eventually fate caught up with him.…
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In the play Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the main character and tragic hero. He is a royal king who came to Thebes to save it from the plague. Oedipus runs into some other character conflicts in the play with a prophet named Tiresias and his brother in-law Creon. In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman stands out as the main character and has the tragic downfall. Willy’s mental disease causes trouble for him throughout the play with his family and friends. After examining the tragedies of Oedipus the King and Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman stands out as more of a tragic figure because the average person can relate to his everyday life.…
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As the play begins, Oedipus is crowned as king for his wit and intelligence after solving the Sphinx’s riddle. He appears to know it all and have the intelligence of a noble man. To Oedipus’ misfortune, he lives life blindly but the truth will soon be unveiled. His ignorance hinders his eyes from seeing and his mind from comprehending his environment.…
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"What walks on four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs at nightfall." This was the riddle posed by the Sphinx who at the time was destroying the city of Thebes. The riddle was solved by none other than Oedipus who was made king for ridding the city of the Sphinx. Ironically though, Oedipus in his life comes to embody the riddle of the Sphinx and its soulution. Firstly, the Sphinx is percieved as a curse on Thebes and Oedipus also becomes a curse by the end of the play. Secondly, Oedipus's physical health embodies the riddle. Thirdly, Oedipus's emotional state also resembles the riddle. Lastly, the events of Oedipus's life relate to the theme of identity in the play.…
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In the scene where Tiresias and Oedipus are discussing who the murderer is, they exchange a couple of lines that show Oedipus cannot change his fate. Oedipus questions the prophet and his skills, frustrated Tiresias tell Oedipus “Well, it will….thy pent-up rage”…
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Sight and Blindness has many different meanings throughout the world. The concept of blindness can be seen as the literal inability to look at the world and it is also perceived as being blind to a situation or event that is obvious. The Sophocles Tragedy, Oedipus the King, portrays both of the viewpoints of sight and blindness. The characters in Sophocles’ work live a hectic, ever-changing, life with twists of fate.…
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