Preview

Oedipus And Fences

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
725 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oedipus And Fences
Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, and Fences, by August Wilson, are two great tragedies by two outstanding playwrights. The two stories seem intertwined by the great characters that they center around. Although the stories of Oedipus and Troy are separated by centuries, the characters are almost identical. Different backgrounds, different cultures, and different adversaries do not affect the manner and behavior of the main characters. If nothing else, the pride in each of the characters make the two so much more alike and inseparable, even into death. I will begin by examining pride many centuries ago in a land called Thebes.

Sophocles' Oedipus Rex revolves around the story of Oedipus, who now is King of Thebes, searching for the murderer of the past king. The tragedy is not so much that Oedipus is the murderer and committing incest with his mother. After all, he was fated to do so, and Oedipus commits these crimes unknowingly. The real tragedy of Oedipus is his trying to defy his destiny and compounding the troubles with his pride. Oedipus has the chance to stop the search for the murderer before the investigation starts. Even blind Teiresias, who tells Oedipus that he is the guilty party, wants Oedipus to stop although Teiresias can see the outcome and knows Oedipus' destiny. It is Oedipus' pride that, in telling the members of his court that he will search for the murderer, leads him down the ever narrowing path to the truth and his pride that will not allow him to stop the search.

Even though common sense would dictate that a sane man stop the search after a few of the facts that Oedipus is given, Oedipus drives forward like the man of action that we, the audience, expect of a king and leader. In that same sense, we also know that Oedipus is a man of intelligence based on his ability to answer the Sphinx's riddle. He cannot however, with the same pride that defeated the great monster, with the same pride that he pits against the gods, solve the mystery of his own

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Fences vs. Oedipus

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fatherhood is important and is often taken for granted and not treated with the respect it deserves. In the plays Fences and Oedipus the King, Troy and Oedipus are affected by the lack of fatherhood. In Troy’s case, he fails to be a supportive father to his son, Cory, ultimately distancing himself from his family. As for Oedipus, he is cursed by the gods before his birth, due to his father, Laius, raping and kidnapping a young boy (Weineck). Although the situations of each play are different the need for fathers is very similar. This topic may not seem of much importance but fatherhood can truly affect a child or the actual father. Both of these plays seem to be affected by the past which leads to the fathers putting their problems on the shoulders of their child.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    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
  • Powerful Essays

    The story of Oedipus Tyrannus, otherwise known as Oedipus the King or Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles; it tells the story of Oedipus, the king of Thebes who is plagued by a self-fulfilled prophecy in which he kills his father Laius and marries his own mother, Jocasta. Not only is it widely recognized as Sophocles’ greatest work, the story of Oedipus has lent its name to what is recognized in the psychological realm today as the Oedipus complex, in which a young child feels “complex emotions” relative to that of unconscious sexual desire toward the parent of the opposite sex. Oedipus as a leader, separate from his web of extremely strange familial encounters, is a point of contention. Oedipus’ role…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times. The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would slay him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, bore a son, he exposed the baby on Mt. Cithaeron, first pinning his ankles together (hence the name Oedipus, meaning Swell-Foot). A shepherd took pity on the infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth. Travelling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him.…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus and His Pride

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Oedipus' pride is best shown with his belief, one shared by Liaos, that he can escape the will of the Gods. The prophecy of Oedipus from birth that he would kill his father and married his mother was set by the God's from Oedipus' birth. However there were several times throughout the play. Sophocles used a crossroads or forked path analogy at these times to show the many options Oedipus had. However Oedipus' pride at each of these instances forced himself to make decisions further enabling the prophecy to come true. The best instance of this takes place when Oedipus and King Liaos physically meet on a crossroad. Liaos forces Oedipus off the road and tries to hit Oedipus with a staff. This severe insult prods at Oedipus' pride and forces Oedipus to make a decision. Should he let the act go or should he defend his honor from the man that insulted it. As Oedipus repeatedly displays throughout the entire play, he is unwilling to ever display an even slightly lower opinion of himself than the near-god-like status he believes he possesses. Oedipus kills King Liaos firmly cementing the prophecy where now there is no escape.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first half of the ending of the Sophocles shows the rising action, climax and the falling action of the tragedy. It implies the definition of tragedy: One of high station due to a flaw (Hamatia) in Oedipus' character meets his demise. When Thebes is terrorized by the monster - Sphinx (a hybrid creature, with the lion's body, woman's head, eagle's wings and serpent's tail), who destroys all who cannot solve her riddle, Oedipus comes and rescues them from the miserable fate. Thebes welcomes her savior and offers him the vacant job of ruler, and the hand of Laius' widow, Jocasta, as an extra reward. Oedipus, with great insight is an excellent ruler who anticipates his subjects' needs. When the citizens of Thebes beg him to do something about the plague, for example, Oedipus is one step ahead of them--he has already sent Creon to the oracle at Delphi for advice. Oedipus is a hero with intelligence, confidence and strong wills. However, it is his temper, overweening pride, blindness and stubbornness in pursuing the truth that bring about his tragic discovery that he has killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus' traits which gave him riches and power ultimately led to his tragic ending.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I believe the main point Sophocles was trying to convey in the story “Oedipus Rex” was that you have to be accountable for your actions. He shows this by the use of dramatic, situational, and many more different kinds of irony. Sophocles also uses foreshadowing to show how Oedipus needs to be accountable for his actions. Sophocles is teaching his audience an important life lesson.…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the story Oedipus The king by Sophocles, the reader developed much sympathy for Oedipus, during Oedipus’s and Tiresias's conversation, Tiresias tries to explain to Oedipus he killed Laius and he is living in what he was told how he was going to be living while he was living in the city of Corinth that he was going to marry his mom and kill his dad. So Oedipus travels away from Corinth to the City of Thebes and on his way there kills Laius how is his biological dad and marries his mom. Oedipus does not know this at the time therefore the reader has sympathy for Oedipus because once he found out his future, he knew it was bad and tried to get away. However really got into it.…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the play, Oedipus’ perception of justice is seen throughout the entire Sophocles play. His perception is that justice is above all man, even himself. This is relevant in the play because throughout the play, Oedipus goes on a quest to find the killer of King Laius. However, as he discovers the truth bit by bit, he realizes that he may be the killer. For example, he recalls a time from when he ran away from Corinth, he ran into a bunch of people and killed all of them. However, a shepherd witnessed it, so Oedipus summons him and here, Oedipus learns a bit of the truth. It was also here that Oedipus realized, he may have been the one who killed King Laius. Despite that discovery, he kept pursuing for justice. Even…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus 4

    • 914 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Sophocles' “Oedipus the King” is considered by many scholars to be the most significant masterpiece of Greek drama. Through this play, Sophocles was able to develop and establish dramatic irony, a theatrical device that allows the audience to understand the hidden meanings of the words and actions of the characters, though the characters themselves remain oblivious. “Oedipus the King” is not a play about sex or murder; it is a play about the inadequacy of human knowledge and man's capacity to survive almost intolerable suffering. The worst of all things happens to Oedipus: unknowingly he kills his own father, Laius, and is given his own mother, Jocasta, in marriage for slaying the Sphinx. When a plague at Thebes compels him to consult the oracle, he finds that he himself is the cause of the affliction.…

    • 914 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    E.R. Dodds article on the misunderstanding the oedipus rex assets the situation in three points.His first point is, fate was the main reason the play ended the way it did, it was not decreed that he would know the truth,he was destined to marry his mother and kill his father. The gods never indicate that he would know what he had done. Dodds backs up his claim by saying that oedipus and his own arrogance and pride are responsible for the tragedy that he suffered. In the play oedipus feels so proud that oedipus was able to solve the riddle to save thebes. He also says that Oedipus was guilty in the previous play's beginning and if the gods were punishing him for his behavior toward, Creon they did so fully. Also, Sophocles wrote Oedipus to…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Oedipus the King is a tragic play written and directed by Sophocles. Sophocles was a famous playwright, poet and state man in ancient Greece. He won numerous awards for his plays and Oedipus has been a resounding play that is still present today. In Sophocles’ play Oedipus the main character has a cursed destiny that manifest, though initial plans were made to stop it. He was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. After he was abandoned in the forest to die, a kind hearted shepherd saved his life. Oedipus learns about his fate and runs away. Unknown to him that he was only just manifesting his fate. Eventually he kills his father without knowing it, conquers the Sphinx and was made king in Thebes. Finally, the truth finally surfaces,…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In “Oedipus Rex,” the King Oedipus kills his father without him being aware that the man he had killed was his real father. He was born with a tragic flaw that at some point of his life he was going to kill of his father. Once his brother-in-law and the prophet find out that Oedipus killed his father; they want justice justice for the city of Thebes. The consequences of killing his father; he was banished from his crown in the city of Thebes. The king accepts his error, which; accepts his consequences.…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Oedipus the King Analysis

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    deeper into what the gods had never intended for him to discover. Oedipus and the little he knows…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus finds out that it is actually his father who he murdered and that his now wife is actually his mother. At first, Oedipus reverts back to blaming everyone and everything for his problems except him(Sophocles 1232). Once he realizes how messed up his life really is, Oedipus begins to spiral downwards into self-pity. He becomes so upset and ashamed that he decides to punish himself by blinding himself(Sophocles 1238). Although he seems to think that this is noble action, it actually a very cowardly thing to do. This is due to the fact that Oedipus is still refusing to open his eyes and see not only his problems, but also the truth behind everything.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays