Oedipus Guilt

Sophocles wrote a tragic play, Oedipus the King, in which the protagonist, Oedipus, discovers his fate. Thebes, the area currently ruled by Oedipus, has fallen under a plague so Creon, Oedipus’ brother in law, is sent to ask Apollo, a messenger for the Gods, for advice on how to save Thebes. Oedipus discovers that to bring Thebes out of the plague he needs to find and persecute the murderer of Laius, the former king of Thebes. Oedipus searches high and low for anyone who might have information and finds a blind prophet, Tiresias, who claims Oedipus killed Laius. However, Oedipus believes this cannot be true because Jocasta, Laius’s former wife and now Oedipus’ wife, was prophesied to have a son who would kill Laius and have sex with Jocasta.

According to Walter Mosley, “Humans are fascinated with crime stories, real or imagined.” One literary work that proves this true is Oedipus the King by Sophocles. From this imagined crime story I learned that humans can be fascinated by imagined crime stories and that it helps us escape reality and go through a fantasy where there’s no problems or stress to worry about.

In the events of Oedipus the King, there are many pieces of evidence contributing to my conclusion of Oedipus’ guilt. In all of greco-roman historical literature there are multiple similarities; one of which is the representation of hamartia. In this play, the protagonist’s tragic flaw is his metaphorical blindness, which ultimately leads to his literal blindness. Yes, Oedipus is a victim of fate, but every action has an equal or opposite reaction, therefore his fate does not control him; his choices do. The prophecy revealed of by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was not inevitable, as the choices he made is what caused the prophecy to become a reality. The whole body of the play consists of him making hasty choices, that if avoided, would have prevented his prophesied fate from ever coming true.

There has been much scrutiny over college athletes receiving illegal benefits over the years. What should be looked at more closely is why these benefits are illegal in the first place. The NCAA has such a stranglehold on college athletics that college athletes are not allowed to do what many other college students do. Many recent scandals have sparked the debate of the payment of college athletes. There has been controversy as to whether college athletes should be paid, or whether they should be happy with their scholarships.

In court, many people are convicted or acquitted each day for crimes. Some severe, such as murder or robbery, and some not, such as misdemeanor. People commit crimes each day, and they may or not be guilty of those crimes, yet that is up for the judge and jury to decide. In the play Oedipus, the main character Oedipus kills his father and sleeps with his mother unknowingly as a part of his prophecy. Considering the fact that Oedipus was ignorant of his crimes to his mother and father, would he be considered guilty of the crimes?

Oedipus, throughout his journey, appears to be ignorant but the reality is that he was subconsciously repressing the truth for his own benefit. Throughout the play, Sophocles creates this relationship between the motifs of sight and blindness. These motifs are immensely important and very obviously portrayed. They give us the dramatic irony of Oedipus being blind to the truth but being able to see in real life. Oedipus is not aware of his doing so, but he constantly represses memories and changes his tone when something about his past is brought up. This symbolizes the blindness that overtakes Oedipus throughout the play. Zachrisson agrees with this and also supports this thesis in “Oedipus the king: Quest for self-knowledge – denial of reality. Sophocles’ vision of man and psychoanalytic concept formation”. In his work, Zachrisson uses his knowledge of psychology to explain Oedipus’ conscious and unconscious actions and his battle within.

‘Oedipus Rex’ is a tragic play written by Sophocles, that is known for its countless examples of irony found within it. The story of Oedipus is a classic Greek tragedy. Oedipus is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta in Thebes. The Oracle at Delphi reveals to them the tragic fate within their family. Their son Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. To try and prevent this horrendous fate, King Laius sends his son to be terminated at the mountain of Kithairon. Although King Laius and Queen Jocasta thought their fate was saved, they were mistaken. The servant did not obey them, and he gave Oedipus to King Polybus and Queen Merope in Corinth. Oedipus then proceeds throughout his life until he is told his unfortunate

Oedipus the King - Literature Essay Introduction: Pride: Sophocles is showing through the character Oedipus that having pride and being arrogant can often have negative consequences, and his pride is evident in being a main factor in his downfall. When Oedipus hears of the prophecy that he was going to kill his father and marry is mother, Oedipus is determined to change fate and defy the prophecy. Sophocles demonstrates the idea that this is a terrible trait, to think themselves in control of their fate, above the gods. Sophocles shows that if Oedipus were not have been so prideful as to attempt to prevent the prophecy he would not have fulfilled it.

In the Oedipus the King, Sophocles hides the true cause of tragedy, victim and murder behind the word, indicating a larger crime under the surface. Firstly, he conceals the degenerated entity of Thebes under the prophet. Fate, as the inseparable element, forms a smooth circle of Oedipus’ life. The tragic ending had been

In the book Oedipus the King by Sophocles, there are many controversies on whether Oedipus is guilty of his actions or innocent. Oedipus is a guilty man and his action proved so in the play. Oedipus should be held liable for his crimes of patricide (killing his father) and marrying and having a sexual relationship his mother. Oedipus knew nothing about the past of Thebes however, what was done cannot be taken back. His actions were wrong because incest is unethical, and murdering someone is a crime. He guilty because guilt lies in the act of doing, not in intention. In addition to the prophecy, Oedipus is also guilty of hubris because he displayed excessive pride. The choice was his, and this accounts for some of his guilt. Oedipus is

These were the most recurring and previliant themes throughout the play. Guilt corresponds as when Oedipus violets two of the most severe taboos of civilized scoiety, insest and killing ones parent. His overwhelming violates at his actions caused him to blind himself and beg to be banished from Thebes. Oedipus’ guilt is expressed more in Oedipus at Colonus than in Oedipus Rex. Old age, wisdom, and death are shown as Sophocles writes his last play (Oedipus at Colonus) when he was ninety years old.

The play, Oedipus Rex by Greek playwright Sophocles, indicates that Justice is a big part of many stories. It tells the story of a King, who was cursed at birth to murder his father, and marry his mother. Oblivious at first, he tried to find the murderer of his father. When realising that he was the murderer, Oedipus gouges his eyes out and exiles himself from Thebes. Throughout the play, Sophocles implements the motif of justice, using the idea that one’s actions determines their outcome, or karma. Sophocles also uses diction to embed hidden meanings in the words. Using the theme of justice, Sophocles reveals that people who have done wrong in the past will always meet justice in the future.

How would you feel if the very thing you were trying to avoid came to haunt you and was the cause of your downfall? In the case of the protagonist in Oedipus the King inscribed by Sophocles, Oedipus has been destined to commit a sin which he has desperately tried to avoid. When Oedipus is born, the Oracle of Delphi claims that he is destined to kill his father, King Laius, and marry and produce children with his mother, Jocasta. In an attempt to kill the doomed child, King Laius and Jocasta orders a servant to kill baby Oedipus; instead, the servant leaves the child on Mount Cithaeron where a shepherd finds and takes him to King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. As an adult, Oedipus visits the Oracle of Delphi where he is informed of his destiny; he flees from Corinth in horror and ends up unknowingly killing his real father in a scuffle at crossroads and marrying his mother after solving the Sphinx’s riddle and saving the city of Thebes. Oedipus’ sins impact the city of Thebes and leads them to a plaque caused by the murderer of the former king. Situational, verbal, and dramatic irony are immensely prevalent in this tragic play and contribute to the theme of truth versus falsehood.

The pursuit of justice is an endeavor that many find to be challenging and a quest itself, as one will come across various trials and complications that may stop them in their pursuit or may mislead them. As humans, we find moral correctness and righteousness a very appealing state to be in, as justice will act as a platform to satisfy the desire for this correctness. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, we meet our miserable anti-hero, Oedipus, in his pursuit for truth and righting the wrong of the plague that is affecting his people of Thebes. As he makes efforts to solve this problem, he comes to find out that he is the source of the issue, thus exposing the tragic flaw of Oedipus and effectively making this play a very effective Greek tragedy. This pursuit of righteousness ends up being the downfall of Oedipus. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, Oedipus pursues justice through his realization of his past, his interactions with various characters in the play, and comes to understand more of justice in his situation through his reactions to adversity in this play, in order to portray a questionably successful pursuit of justice.

All day I had been in the water park section of Magic Springs because it was a very hot day. So I had not ridden any roller coasters that day. It had been a great day until it started pouring rain. My three friends and I ran as fast as we could to our lockers to get towels. Then we called the adult in our group and they said they were inside a building eating. We ran even faster than before to get to the building. When we got there we raced inside and sat down. The rain started to ease up little by little and then it seemed like all of a sudden it just stopped. Teachers then dismissed us and said we were free to go. My three friends said to follow them, so I trusted them and did. They lead me to the biggest roller coaster in the park. Oh