Oedipus Rex is a play that depicts the life of a king, Oedipus, who has the task of revealing the late kings murderer. Once he deciphers this mystery, Oedipus is shown his fate and relinquishes in guilt. What Oedipus finds out is that he had no idea who he really is and this ends up being the same for Amir. The Kite Runner is a story about a boy named Amir who lives in Afghanistan and his journey throughout life. He goes through life with unknown betrayals and the chance for redemption. Both Oedipus Rex and the Kite Runner have many instances of irony as well as moments of anagnorsis.
The play Oedipus Rex has many instances of irony. The first example of irony is when Oedipus says that he will find the murderer of Laius, the late king of Thebes.
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Once king Laius and his queen heard the fate of the king, they immediately abandoned their son for death. Queen Jocasta did not know her son was still alive until the royal shepherd, who was ordered to dispose of the child on Mt. Cithaeron, said he gave the child to the Corinthian’s. This, then, is followed by the anagnorisis where Oedipus finally realizes what he has done. “Alas, alas. It’s all come out so clearly. Light, let me see the last of you now, surrounded by those I ought to avoid—born from them, living with them, killing them” (Sophocles 1210). Oedipus realizes that he is the son of his wife and that he is the one who killed his father. This realization brought forth the theme of guilt and fate. Guilt comes into play when Oedipus pokes his eyes out so that he does not have to see what he had done to his children and because he does not think he deserves to see after what he had done. He feels guilty to have cursed his children and to have married his mother, kill his father, and put the curse on Thebes unknowingly. Fate comes into play because Oedipus realizes this was his fate. The ancient Greeks relied on the Gods to give them their fate and it was Oedipus’s fate to kill his father and marry his mother, as told by the Gods. The fate of Oedipus in the end involved sacrifice as does Amir’s …show more content…
Amir’s realization in the novel is when Rahim Khan revealed the secret that has been kept for many years. “I began to see where this was going. But I didn’t want to hear the rest of it… “Ali was sterile,” Rahim Khan said. “No he wasn’t. He and Sanaubar had Hassan, didn’t they? They had Hassan—““No they didn’t,” Rahim Khan said” (Hosseini 222). Amir was very angry after Rahim Khan implied that he and Hassan are half-brothers which brought forth the theme of betrayal in the novel. Rahim Khan, Baba, and Ali have been keeping this huge secret from Amir and Hassan all their lives, but if this were different many things would have changed throughout the book. For example, Hassan might not have gotten raped and Amir would not have this heavy burden on his back, but there is a way for him to get redemption. Redemption is the second theme that comes into play after the anagornisis. To leave behind, once and for all, the guilt Amir feels for not having helped Hassan, he must adopt his son Sohrab. He not only must adopt him, but save him from being raped by the same person who raped Hassan; Assef. This is where the theme of redemption is relevant because he finally has the chance to rescue someone who he cares
“Who am I?” This has become the essential question asked in each literary work The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex. Striving to find who they are the characters, Oedipus and Amir, try to figure out what they have become through their separate journeys. Most of their conclusions rely on the fact that both characters continue to look back into their past. The constant theme in both the novel and the tragedy is continuously looking into the past. Both characters constantly look at the past in ways such as their relationship with their father, the wrong choices they have made, and the secrets that lie in the family.
While Amir defeats his final obstacle to win Baba’s approval, he reciprocally falls down and fails to show courage in Hassan’s rape. Amir assumes that Hassan “was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” as he watches Assef sodomize Hassan, and he “actually aspired to cowardice” (77). The atonement of Amir’s sins to Baba sparks the commencement of Amir’s betrayal to Hassan. Furthermore, Amir runs away and hides from his sins in Amerca knowing that he cannot gain the courage to redeem himself and completely fulfill his quest to adulthood. Nonetheless, Rahim Khan provides Amir an opportunity to accomplish his redemption. After decades of hiding, Rahim Khan calls Amir to tell him to “come” back to Kabul since “there is a way to be good again” (192). Amir must successfully accomplish his final obligation to complete his quest to maturity. In addition, Amir must stop hiding like a boy and begin to stand up like a man. As Amir returns to Kabul to save Sohrab, and ultimately redeem himself, he must fight Assef one last time, which results in Amir’s “body being broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed. Healed at last” (289). Amir now receives his deserved punishment and, most importantly, he learns to stand up and finally matures into a man. Although Amir completes his quest to adulthood, readers must realize that Amir must ultimately grant Sohrab a
Lizzy Minnerath Journal 1 Before I Go to Sleep 358 358/400 Certain songs may stick out and connect with characters in books. In Before I Go to Sleep the characters Christine, Mike, and Ben are perfectly represented by the songs “Who Am I” by Vance Joy, “Let Me Love You” by Ne-Yo, and “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye. The Song “Who Am I” reminded me of Christine because she is constantly confused as to where and who she is.
The first two themes lead Amir to a strong desire to make things right. This begins when Amir is tasked wigth going back to KAbul to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, who is also Amir’s nephew, “‘There is a way to be good again,’ he said. A way to end the cycle. With a little boy. An orphanage. Hassan’s son. Somewhere in Kabul” (Hosseini 226-227). Amir is offered the chance to redeem himself by saving Hassan’s son from growing up in a destroyed country all alone. This would be the best and only way to make it up to Hassan, seeing as Hassan is dead and Amir cannot directly talk to him anymore. Once Amir’ saves Sohrab, the cycle of betrayal, regret, and redemption will be ended. In Amir’s eyes, saving Sohrab is like saving Hassan. Amir did not have the courage to save Hassan during his childhood, so when faced with the chance to save a child that looks almost exactly like Hassan, it puts Amir back in his child self’s shoes; but this time, Amir decides to do the right
When Amir and his wife, Soraya, can’t seem to have a child, Amir believes that it is because of his wrongdoings in the past. Right up until Amir is in his 30’s does he confront his mistakes. It takes a call from Rahim Khan to persuade him that there is ‘a way to be good again’ (Pg. 2). Amir knows that he needs to make up to Hassan for the wrong that he did all those years ago, and so by confronting his mistake and trying to redeem himself by rescuing Sohrab, Hassan’s son. Amir’s confrontation with Assef when he is getting back Sohrab made him feel like he was confronting his mistakes and gaining redemption ‘For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace… In some nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been looking forward to this.’ (Pg. 265). This is the punishment and redemption that he has been waiting all these years for, because Hassan wouldn’t punish him all those years ago when they were under the pomegranate tree.
The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles are two famous pieces of literature that both depict author’s imagination and give the reader a chance to view a certain topic or culture from a different perspective. The reader is able to thoroughly compare the character progression of both main characters, Amir and Oedipus, by exploring concepts such as realization to blindness, fate, and free will. Both The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex have themes of realization to blindness that cause the main character to show signs of development.
Although Oedipus’s fate was already determined, he is not just a mere puppet of the gods, meaning he can control his own life. Before full knowledge of his unintentional incest, he tries to flee town in order to avoid marrying his mother. By doing this he is taking matters
The RIP is a system that is computer generated and helps the doctors make decisions for the patients they are caring for. There are many ways you can look at the RIP system. The RIP system consist of some good ways and some bad ways, everybody can look at it differently. In my eyes the RIP system is a good idea. Let me give you some of the different ways you can look at the RIP system.
The desire to feel loved and wanted by your parents can drive a person to go to extreme limits to get that love. One boy that goes to these extreme limits is Amir. All Amir wants is to have a good, strong relationship with his father. He feels the death of his mother was his fault, and he needed to make it up to his father. In doing so, Amir let’s horrible things happen to his friend Hassan. Many many years later, after fleeing to America, Amir returns to Afghanistan in search of redemption of his actions all those years ago. The theme of The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini is redemption. Through Amir’s life, that’s what he’s been doing to himself, trying to redeem himself from his acts that have brought pain
Early on in the story, Oedipus is the proud and confident king of Thebes; he is a man that is not to be underestimated or degraded. This once undisputed fact becomes more debatable the longer the play continues, however. The conflict begins with Oedipus attempting to lift a curse that has been unleashed on the kingdom of Thebes. This curse was caused by the murder of the previous king, Laius, and the only way for it to be lifted is for the murderer to be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus works fervently to unravel the mystery behind who Laius’ killer was. However, each new discovery ends up incriminating Oedipus as the killer instead. Along the way Oedipus discovers that his supposed parents, the king and queen of Corinth, are not his true parents. This revelation pushes him to begin a new search for his biological parents, a search that eventually leads him to one of Lainus’ shepherds. It is this shepherd that reveals to King Oedipus that his mother is Jocasta, his current wife. Consequently, Oedipus falls into a fit of despair in which he stabs his own eyes out and confronts the consequences of his shameful existence. By the end of the play, Oedipus has not only lost his status as the king of Thebes, but has also been exiled from the kingdom and has become an outcast for all of society to hate. The transition Oedipus undergoes
Throughout the novel, Amir endeavors to be approved by his father, Baba, who is admired by people in Kabul. Unfortunately, Baba believes that Amir, unlike him, is very unmanly “and [that he] never fights back. He just... drops his head ” (Hosseini 24). Since Baba wishes for a son who would stand up for himself, he can’t help but observe that Amir’s friend Hassan, as the guy who “steps in and fends the [bullies] off” (Hosseini 24) is his idea of the ideal son. Though aware of his father’s expectations, Amir is unable to change himself and instead envies Hassan and the fact that Baba treats him like his own son by“[patting]Hassan on the back. [and even putting] his arm around his shoulder [like a fatherly figure]”(Hosseini 15). Despite the manifestation of this hatred in Amir, he continues to recognize the bond that he shares with Hassan, “ brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast” (Hosseini 11) which is because both their mothers died during birth. The confusing emotions he feels for Hassan has Amir face a situation in which he acts inappropriately and allows the guilt to manifest upon him. After winning a very important kite tournament for the first time and “seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last” (Hosseini 71) Amir begins to search for Hassan who had gone to run his kite earlier. Finally, Amir finds him in a dark alley and as he “peeks around the corner” (Hosseini 75) he witnesses a sight that eradicated not only his relationship with Hassan but also Baba’s brotherly relationship with Ali, Hassan’s father. Peeking through the corner of the alley, like a bystander, he watches his one and only friend getting raped. The guilt that came upon him was for two reason; one, his lack of courage to stand up to
Secrets impact people in different ways, especially if they get told. All of Amir’s childhood was spent with his best friend and servant, Hassan. But what was kept secret for a majority of Amir’s life, was that Hassan was his half brother. On page 222, Hosseini explains, “‘Ali was sterile,’ Rahim Khan said. ‘No he wasn’t. He and Sanaubar had Hassan, didn’t they? They has Hassan--’ ‘No the didn’t,’ Rahim Khan said… ‘I think you know who--’” Amir felt an anger he hadn’t felt before. They betrayal from his own father. After Rahim told Amir that Hassan was his half brother Amir felt this guilt inside him that he couldn’t handle. He pictured Hassan’s face, in the ally, helpless, as he watched from the shadows because while Hassan was his friend, his superego wouldn’t allow for him to stand up for Hassan. Amir as a child always knew Hassan as his servant and
In this case, Oedipus has a certain prophecy that he needs to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Doing so, he can break the curse on Thebes and he will not be shamed upon for being a king and letting his city fall. Oedipus was trying to avoid the absurd prophecy by leaving his adopted parents and living a life on his own. But, on his journey, Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus believed they were strangers until Creon explained everything. The love of his life Jocasta, was revealed to be his birth mother. He had fulfilled his prophecy without intention. Jocasta could not take the stressful humiliation and life she had just taken on, so she committed suicide. When Jocasta's death occurred, Oedipus was filled with sorrow and decided he couldn't dare show go out in the world knowing what he just did. So Oedipus unpinned the golden brooches from the robe Jocasta was hanging in, and stabbed his eyes repeatedly while pleading “they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me! Dark eyes, now in the days to come look on forbidden faces, do not recognize those who those you long for.” On page 516 lines 192-196, this shows his unhappy fate from the hardships in life.
With the number of countries that have switched to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for their financial reporting, as well as the continued efforts made between the IFRS and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP), it is evident that international convergence is an overall appealing idea for global reporting. With that said, for decades now US GAAP has worked with IFRS to create a universal standard; and while progress has been made to diminish variances between the standards, there are still large, if not unattainable efforts ahead of us. The hype over a proposed uniform set of global accounting standards appears to be stunted by the lost efforts in the convergence project between the US GAAP and IFRS. As the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) moves forward with its standards setting, there must be a reevaluation of the goal for reporting standards and efforts with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
Two thousand four hundred and thirty-one years later in 2003 Khaled Hosseini wrote the coming of age novel The Kite Runner. Unlike Sophocles, Hosseini's audience had no myth to be familiar with before reading, and as a result every page was a surprise. Looking past the obvious differences, Oedipus Rex being a play and The Kite Runner being a novel, the two stories are quite similar in the themes they convey. Both pieces of work convey themes that are universal and defy the test of time, such as the search for redemption.