Preview

Oedipus the King Reaction Paper

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1251 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oedipus the King Reaction Paper
WORLD LITERATURE Reaction Paper

Oedipus the King

Greek tragedy is still relevant today because humanity never changes much over the centuries. While we may advance our machinery and technology, we have evolved very little. We are human beings and mankind is known to get himself into trouble when he becomes obsessed with something. Oedipus is no different from Tiger Woods in that he allows himself to be governed by desires. He has the power to get what he wants and never stops to think about what happens when the truth becomes known. It does not take much power for man to feel invincible and, generally, when these types of people fall, they fall to the ground hard. Oedipus could have lived a satisfying, rewarding life had he not allowed himself to becomes obsessed and believing himself to be untouchable by laws of the universe

Franz Kafka's Judgment

this short story of Franz Kafka is really a challenging one to interpret but apparently there are some contextual clues that enable us to draw some logical conclusions out of the story. Firstly, we should handle this story in terms of human relationships; there are 3 kind of relationships represented in the story. The first is the relationship between George (the main character of the story) and his friend in Russia; the second is George's relationship with his fiancée and the third is his relationship with his father. Each exposition of these relationships contradicts with the persons involved in. That is, while George is devoted to writing to a friend whom he hasn't seen for 3 years, he doesn't write about important events. George tracks himself as a lonely character throughout the story so he may be trying to share his loneliness with a friend, but he has his fiancée near him as well. However, we aren't informed enough about how close their relationship is in that they are engaged only for a month. Then, we witness an extraordinary relationship of a father and a son. George and his father are like

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Oedipus in Modern Times

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The dramatic story of Oedipus is one that was acted for years before Sophocles even wrote The Tree Theban Plays, and play of fate and pride still endures today. Critics and historians attribute Oedipus the King's long life to its timeless examination of fatal human flaws as well as to its poignant portrayal of the human condition. Even though our society is drastically different from that of classical Greece, Oedipus's tale of woe is still taught and performed in modern times. But how applicable can this ancient tale be to us? What if the events of Oedipus the King happened in contemporary America? It would be an entirely different story altogether.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first half of the play, “Oedipus the King” is mainly about the King of Thebes and his quest to save his land from a plague that has caused serious damage. Oedipus became king due to his earlier triumph of saving Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx. His people now rely on him to once again save the land from its misery.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book,Oedipus Rex, part of the Sophocles series, Oedipus, the powerful king of Thebes, is a very ego full ruler. He believes that one must prove himself in order to be a leader. “I am aware that no king can expect his subject’s complete loyalty without proving himself first.” Oedipus demonstrated to his peoples that he was qualified to govern them after saving the province of Thebes. “You saved us from the Sphinx, that flinty singer, and the tribute we paid her so long; yet you were never better informed than we, nor could we teach you: It was some god breathed in you to set us free.(pg.5)” The people are declaring how he saved them once, and now can save them again from a sickness. What Oedipus does not realize is the sickness is his…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A tragic hero is defined as “a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake” (“Aristotle”, n.d.). Therefore, a tragic hero has some sort of tragedy that surrounds their life. A tragic hero also makes dramas more interesting and makes readers think. Dramas sometimes either exemplify or refute Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. Oedipus by Sophocles exemplifies Aristotle’s definition in four different aspects. The first aspect involves both Oedipus’ ignorance and knowledge of his life situations, the second involves his hamartia, the third involves the actual plot itself, and the fourth involves the characterization of…

    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus The King Analysis

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Any great story has its critics ready to critique every great detail of a story. Sophocles’s Oedipus the King is no exemption. Oedipus the King was written around 430 B.C. so this play has had plenty of time to be critiqued. Not only has this Greek tragedy been around for so long, but it is considered a masterpiece; it only makes sense for something very famous to be criticized even more.…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This instantly places him right on top and boosts him up to fulfill the Kings position. His intuitive instincts and drive to put together his life signified him as a man always on a hunt. These qualities where huge attributes to his life however, he also had many negative traits which would end him. He was a man with a huge temper which leads right to his downfall. Since his temper is what ultimately killed his father, it was obvious that it would not stop there. His lack of emotion and sensitivity to these killing sprees was a sign of a broken man unwilling to wear his heart of his sleeve. A man of pride. This follows even more problems for Oedipus as time continues. He refuses to listen to Teiresias, the blind seer of Thebes. He is informed about his future and is taking back by all that makes sense to him now. He is left alone to figure out what to do next. Instead of handling the situation calmly and effectively, he goes out on an rampage and seeks to kill his wife/mother for not telling him to the truth. Once he arrives, he instantly finds her hung by her own hair. This forces him to completely lose his right state of mind and punishes himself by gauging his…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Essay

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages

    rule of thebes: "What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Oedipus the King Paper

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1) What were your initial thoughts about the character of Oedipus? My own initial thought about Oedipus is that he is very nice towards his “parents” because he thinks he will be saving his family and not killing his father. Then when he kills the king I was wondering why he would start a fight to the death when they could have just solved it peacefully. Then I thought he was very stuck up and spoiled because he became king for getting rid of the Sphinx and was very stubborn to his brother-in-law (uncle). Then I thought that he needs to stop talking and listen to his own thoughts and think everything threw.…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many questions were raised against Oedipus in class argument about his character flaws, running from the fate, killing his father, marrying his mother, and insulting prophet etc. Here I would try to answer as much I can.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sophocles’s use of both plot and character within his classic tragedy “Oedipus the King” portray the religious and ethical views of the Classical period of Ancient Greece to such an extent that Knox goes so far as to say that “the audience which watched Oedipus in the theatre of Dionysus was watching itself.” Marlowe uses similar tools of character construction and plot in “Dr Faustus” to reflect the beliefs and moral attitudes held in Elizabethan England. The playwrights both use the conceptions of their protagonists to present contemporary beliefs; for example, the initial portrayal of the characters of Oedipus and Dr Faustus demonstrate ideological characteristics of a man within their respective contexts. On the other hand, with the…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Symbolism

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Many stories from ancient times as well as present times use symbolism to prove a point or to help with the understanding of the story. Symbolisms are used in stories and plays of all kinds to help get a point across or to help clarify the meaning of the story, and the play, Oedipus the King, is no different. There are many things throughout the play that are symbolic and very important to the understanding of the play. Two of the major symbolic things in the play are blindness and binding. Both of these things have a deeper meaning than simply the literal meaning of the words used to describe them. Blindness is used as a symbol to understanding, and is seen as a physical blindness and well as a spiritual blindness with both having equal importance in showing that just because a person can see something does not mean that they understand what they are seeing or what they are supposed to see. The binding is used to help show that the prophecies of the gods will be fulfilled regardless of what man does to try and stop them. The physical binding is used to symbolize that regardless of what types of interventions are implemented, some things are just destined to be. These symbolic meanings are what make this play such an intriguing and memorable one.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Garner had the basic human right to live and not be shot to death for the commission of a nonviolent crime. However, man-made law was in effect and was interpreted literally without any regard for severity of crime and ultimate outcome of actions. Garner had the right to due process; a right that was asserted to have been violated when he was shot to death. However, Garner chose to violate the law and commit burglary and not surrender himself when ordered to do so, thus subjecting himself the myriad of possible actions and events that fell upon him. I am not condoning the killing, but at that time and place in society, those were the risks he took and faced regardless of the practicality of the law.…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the study of Greek plays, one tries to recreate for an experience, to recapture something of what is meant to those for whom it was written. We know more about the life of Sophocles than we know do about the lives of any other Greek playwright, but this still is not a lot. Sophocles’ work has been said to be the pinnacle of Greek tragedy. Oedipus the King is something like the literary Mona Lisa of ancient Greece. It presents a nightmare vision of a world turned upside down; a decent man, Oedipus, becomes the king of Thebes, whilst in the process unknowingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. As scholars, we are bound to relate this story through history, to ask what the writer really meant, how…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Please be reminded that I would not only base on the drama presented by the English 145 but also to the things I read.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Journal Questions

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I. Aristotle’s definition of Hamartia is an uncertain term. Hamartia is an archery term meaning “missing the mark.” It may mean error in judgment, transgression or character flaw. Does Oedipus have a hamartia and if so, in which sense of the word? Discuss. Use incidents from the text for clarification and support.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays