Examples Of Alcoholism In Oedipus The King

n Greek mythology, humans are actors to the gods and only represent a role in the play of life. Oedipus Rex, written by the Greek poet Sophocles, who portrays the human condition not only through plot, but also the characters’ behaviour. The human condition is stated as the way humans act, react and respond to changes in life. The play is shaped through the effects of destiny and how knowing one’s future can control a person’s way of life. Oedipus Rex relates to the human condition through humanity’s fear of destiny, how humans are irrational to one another and peoplekind’s mental blindness.

Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his

The Greek drama “Oedipus The King” evidently leads to the unveiling of a tragedy. Oedipus, the protagonist of the play uncovers his tragic birth story and the curse he had been baring his whole life. Oedipus is notorious for his personal insight that helped him defeat Sphinx, which lead him to becoming the king of Thebes. He is admired by the people of Thebes and is considered to be a mature, inelegant and a rational leader. From his birth, his story began with a prophecy that Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Through out the play numerous people, who tell him of his unknown past, visit Oedipus. Blind to the truth he casts them away until a blind man named Therisis gives a sight of truth to Oedipus. As Oedipus learns the truth he realizes the great evil his life carries. After finding his wife and also mother hung in her bedroom, Oedipus blinds himself with the gold pins that held Jocasta’s robe. Oedipus blind to the truth is finally able to see when the old blind man visits him and tells him the truth about his life. Both metaphorically and physically sight plays a significant role in understanding the irony of a blind man seeing the truth while Oedipus who isn’t blind doesn’t seem to the truth that’s right in front of him.

Charles could see Erik giving up as sharply as he felt it, the small spark that he’d come to label in his own mind as ‘life force’ dwindling to an ember and extinguishing. He was stepping forward before he could stop himself, blooding rushing in his ears against time as he spoke. “Dēsístite!“

As he searched out his past, Oedipus met his downfall, unable to accept how the prophecy came true in the end. This prophecy stated that Laius, the king of Thebes, would have a son who would kill his own father and marry his own mother. When Oedipus realized that he had killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta, he created the consequences of his actions. The fatal flaw that orchestrated his downfall was hubris, which then resulted in being brash and stubborn. Oedipus was prideful of being Thebes’s savior and the fact that he was portrayed as a good king that could provide the people’s needs. However, when he found out that he had fulfilled the prophecy, he felt that he was unworthy of his position and did not deserve to

We are all born little happy babies. Then we start to learn words and understand what surrounds us. We are taught to react to certain things negatively, and have a bias towards some things that other family members do not agree with. You get taught things that make life miserable, like doubt, fear and worry. If you were to be living life in doubt, worry, or fear, you would be unhappy. I agree with the choruses statement saying that the human condition is essentially an unhappy one because we get taught things that are supposed to sadden us during our upbringing. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s fate shows his sorrowful life when he went through hardships like the curse on Thebes, denial of himself, and the worry about the fulfillment of his prophecy.

The fact that alcoholism was a major problem in the 18th century than that of today spawned the temperance movement. Farmers in the west produced an excess amount of grain which was then distilled into spirits and consumed at a high pace by the populace. The rise of several industrial distilleries in the eastern urban areas also produced a highly rate of consumption by the populace. The American society for the Promotion of Temperance preached abstinence, while others sought state legislation to curb the tide of alcoholism. Alcoholism was viewed as the cause behind many a criminals actions.

It seems to have told one of the rather more in-depth stories as well. The main character of this novel is a father named Jack Torrance. He is another one of King’s famous characters who suffers from addiction. Jack is an alcoholic who has formerly committed domestic violence against his wife and son (Harris 1). In this novel, we are shown the positives and negatives of physiological gifts and issues through Jack and his son, Danny. Jack had became possessed by the “The Overlook” spirits. Due to these evil spirits entering his body and soul, Jack went on a mission to kill his wife and son. Danny, the son, had a physic gift which allowed him to save his life along with his mother’s. He discovers his gift during a tour around the kitchen of the hotel. His gift allows him to fight against his father and the evil of the hotel (Harris 1). In the end, Danny defeated his father physcologically, which caused his father to kill himself rather than his family. The horrific events of this novel and its physiological aspects are key in creating this best-seller by

Prompt: In a well-developed essay, consider whether hubris, fate or both are the use of Oedipus’ downfall. Use evidence from the text to support your support.

Through history, everyone is trying to rise to the top. However, the ones at the top are not always the most suitable. This becomes evident in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, where Oedipus becomes the ruler of Thebes after defeating the Sphinx. Throughout the story, Oedipus fails to meet the characteristics of a good leader, including: humbleness, selflessness and patience.

The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.

is a trait viewed as being favorable to a character at first, but it leads to their later downfall. It was often used in ancient Greek tragedies to show that mankind was susceptible to flaw. This was present in Sophocles 's tragedy, Oedipus the King. The protagonist of the tragedy,Oedipus, was not exempt from his own flaws. Oedipus’s traits of excessive pride and desire for knowing the truth were advantageous to him in the beginning, yet were the very things that contributed to his tragic downfall.

Life is full of ups and downs, some of which are bigger than others. Besides natural factors influencing life events, the actions of the people surrounding us make our experiences different. This was seen in the Socrates' Oedipus the King which is about a man, Oedipus, and his journey of realizing his true self. After King Laius of Thebes was murdered, a curse was placed on Thebes. Creon is sent to seek the advice of Apollo, who then states that the only way for the curse to be removed is if the killer of Laius is executed. Tiresias, a blind prophet, tells Oedipus that he is guilty for the murder of Laius. Jocasta tells Oedipus not to believe in the word of the prophets, as they have been wrong before, giving the prophecy of her son stating that he would sleep with her, and murder her husband. Jocasta believed that her son was killed, but she recalls that Oedipus is her son after he states the same prophecy. After she remembers this, she kills herself and Oedipus gouges out his eyes. Oedipus experiences an extreme downfall during his time due to his lack of self-knowledge. Queen Jocasta and King Laius are guilty for the degeneration of Oedipus as they each did not successfully terminate the prophecy, causing Oedipus to experience things he shouldn’t have.

Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy play written by Sophocles, and it made its first debut

Oedipus the King would not have been successful throughout centuries as a tragic play, if Oedipus were clearly responsible for his own tragedy. The play's ongoing success was do to Oedipus' innocence which immediately makes one think he can not be fully responsible and to blame. I do not believe Sophocles would have wrote the story, or I do not think people would have ever read it or studied it had it simply been a story of a criminal's retribution. Sophocles himself believed Oedipus to be the innocent victim of an ironic tragedy, and built the play around this belief. This story was destined to happen and I believe the author would agree. The story revolves around destiny, the resistance of people to it and the ultimate ending of destiny