Examples Of Suffering In Oedipus The King

The author of Oedipus, Sophocles, introduces a worthy rival to the main character Oedipus.Tiresias, who considers himself to be an equal to the Great King. Tiresias admits, “You are a king. But where the argument’s concerned // I am your man, as much as a king as you.// I am not your servant, but Apollo’s.”(Sophocles) While simultaneously trying to defend his honour and bring justice to Thebes, Oedipus argues about the integrity of Creon’s source. Tiresias retorts Oedipus’ impulsive accusations, in a studious, and King like manner.Tiresias’ diligent retaliation is dramatically significant because it develops Oedipus’ character; Oedipus is humanized and revered less as a God because of his flaws. The power dynamic shift causes the audience to become more judgemental of Oedipus since someone is holding him accountable for his behaviour. Additionally, the passage adds to the mystery of the plot and creates suspense, through Sophocles’ use of paradox, and imagery which cause the mood to change and creates a compelling story. Both of these elements cause the audience to pay attention to the drastic changes in character, and mood, to highlight the major theme of pride, power, and fate. Ultimately, the passage is intended to show the ignorance of Oedipus, and the awareness of Tiresias, who are symbols for the pervasiveness of fate.

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.

Oedipus also displays this uncompromising attitude in his devotion to Thebes. Oedipus' loyalty to Thebes is another factor that led to the tragic figure's ruin. Aristotle explains that a tragic character is just and good, but fatal error, pride(possibly hubris), or frailty brings about his misfortune. Oedipus fits this description perfectly. Oedipus could easily have left the city of Thebes and let the plague take its course he “would be blind to misery/ not to pity [his] people kneeling at his feet”. When Apollo's word comes back in the hand of Creon, Oedipus could leave the murder of Laius uninvestigated as it had been for so long, but “rising in his pride, he protests: he pits himself in some way against whatever…seems to him to be wrong…”(Levin 178). Oedipus can not let this investigation be overlooked; he must solve the riddle of who killed King Laius because his pride overpowers him. Oedipus' pride also reveals itself again in his loyalty to the truth.

In Aristotle's work, the tragic hero can get caught up by hamartia which ends up leading him to his downfall. In Oedipus the King, which is a tragic play that is written by Sophocles it shows King Oedipus having many different flaws that are under the protection of hamartia that include madness, stubbornness, and pride that soon that end up leading to his final death. Oedipus shows an attitude of stubbornness during the progression of the play. Oedipus' stubbornness is uncovered early in the play when Tiresias who is a prophet of Apollo, mentions to Oedipus to terminate the investigation of Laius' killer. Oedipus quickly disagrees with him, he wants to find the man who murdered Lauis and brought the plague upon Thebes. Oedipus states, "By all the gods, do not deny us what you know. We ask you, all of us, on bended knees." Tiresias' persistence to withhold the truth is demolished by Oedipus' stubbornness and madness. Tiresias surrenders to Oedipus' stubbornness and states the truth which outrages Oedipus; "...The murder of the man whose murder you pursue is you." Oedipus stubbornness is so overpowering that he disregards Tiresias' bluntness without even a slight thought. Oedipus' statement, "To your heart's content. Mouth away!" which obviously shows his stubbornness when he disregards Tiresias' prophecy and regards it as gibberish. Oedipus' stubborn persistence will ultimately lead to his mother's death. At the end of the play Oedipus becomes aware that he was adopted and instantaneously investigates his origin. Jocasta, Oedipus' wife hesitantly encourages Oedipus to end his identity search, fearing that Oedipus would learn of his shameful sins of killing

Tragedy can either be the darkest part of life for one person or it can be a learning opportunity for the other person. Of all the tragedies written in the literate, “Oedipus the King” written by ‘Sophocles’ is one of the oldest and the most prominent tragedy written till date. It is the story of the king, who is brutally left to die by his own parents, luckily survived, unknowingly killed his own father and married his mother. Although this story was written 2000 years ago, but it still has a great significance in the modern world. Of the most powerful tragedies of the time, “Oedipus the king” discloses such values and situations as parental aggression, child abandonment, self-confidence, ability to handle trauma, and parent-child intimate relationship that people are struggling with in today’s world. Sophocles reveals these behaviours and incidents through the actions of Oedipus.

The theme of injustice is also evident in Oedipus’ condescending treatment of Tiresias. Oedipus summons Tiresias to Oedipus’ palace to have him tell Oedipus the identity of Laius’ murderer. Tiresias answers by stating that Oedipus himself is the murderer. Enraged by the answer, Oedipus accuses Tiresias of making false accusations and starts to mock his blindness. Tiresias rebukes Oedipus by saying, “You are the king no doubt, but in one respect, at least, I am your equal: the right to reply. I claim that privilege too. I am not your slave” (183). By describing himself as Oedipus’ “equal,” which suggests sameness, Tiresias implies that he

In this play Oedipus king of Thebes by Sophocles, Oedipus was full of pride he faces several number of consequences throughout the play. He challenges people, and the Gods, and told them he did not need them anymore, he is better than everyone, it turns out he was not. He needed help from the Gods, and Laius to help make decisions in life that he would not have regret. Oedipus ended up needing Gods help, he wanted Laius to care of his daughters and be the new king when Oedipus died. If Oedipus was helpful to everyone and not full of pride, he would never faced the challenges he did in life, like losing him mom forever and losing his eyes at the end.

The reader can prophesize from Oedipus’s reply, “Your best is more than I can bear” that there was always a greater influence to Jocasta's petitions against Oedipus discovering his lineage. The larger context of this comment was the actuality of Jocasta abandoning Oedipus as a baby to die in the hands of the shepard. In that moment she had no doubt exterminating the baby would cease Apollo’s prophecy. Despite the confidence Jocasta had in handing over young Oedipus to the shepherd to do away with, fate had a different plan. Her neglectance as a mother and eagerness to avoid confrontation produced Oedipus’s hunger to uncover his authentic introduction to life.

Tiresias talks Oedipus out of speaking the truth, but Oedipus becomes persistent when finding out who has done this to Thebes (Sophocles lines 338-505). This shows two different sides of Oedipus. Oedipus has a heart to feel bad for Thebes, doing his best to prevent the plague from harming more people. However, his persistence in finding the truth becomes a truth that is none of his business. Tiresias did not want to leave Oedipus in pain, understanding that the truth would reveal that Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta (Sophocles lines

Indeed, Jocasta is "mortified" by Oedipus' birth. So much so that she hangs herself at the end of the play. It is quite ironic that Oedipus calls himself the son of Chance. He could not be farther from the truth. His life is anything but an accident, pure coincidence. The disaster of his life was entirely predestined by the gods, set in stone in the form of prophecies to two people, his father and himself. Things surely would have worked out better if his life had been determined by Chance. Oedipus is a little bit too quick to say, "I'll never see myself disgraced" (line 1190). Perhaps his pride is getting the better of him; later on he will eat those words. As he ends this part of his speech with, "She is my mother!" (line 1190), the audience cannot help but be slightly confused. Is he talking about Jocasta or Chance when he refers to her as "my mother"? Has he somehow realized the truth? No, the reader soon realizes,

Oedipus is predominantly influenced by his evolved mind, protecting him from the grief that would transpire should he come to the realization of the works at play. A bitter truth, or an alluring lie? Tis a question Oedipus must answer himself, a question in which it contorts him intrinsically at the most basic levels. This “ignorance” is a coping mechanism for Oedipus, rather then a general intellectual fault for

Ethan Nesel Period 5/AP Literature 11/6/17 Sophocles’ play depicts protagonist Oedipus’ as an apparatus most useful in causing the suffering of others. Oedipus is a child left for dead who inevitably ends up killing himself for fulfilling the murderous prophecy he was left on a mountain to die for in the first place. The irony is a constant throughout Sophocles work, and by the end of the story almost everyone Oedipus had a relationship with has either killed themselves, or is suffering from a loss in their life caused by Oedipus. Oedipus is the archetypal tragic hero who is prideful and careless, but the instant he gets too comfortable he loses everything which leads to the suffering of those around him.

Moreover, Sophocles’ insightful word choice is used to further explore the themes of free will and fate. While Jocasta is trying to convince Oedipus to go no further in his quest to learn his lineage, she tells him in her dialog, “You’re doomed --/may you never fathom who you are!”(4-5). Sophocles’ choice of the word “doomed” is again a word implying an inescapable fate. However, since Jocasta knows the prophecy has already been fulfilled the ill-fated future that she foreshadows is Oedipus’ tragic fall. Thus it is of significance that with her next line in the script in response to Oedipus calling to a servant to fetch the shepherd, Jocasta says to Oedipus, “Man of agony--/ that is the only name I have for you,/ that, no other-- ever, ever, ever!”(10-12). This is a turning point for Jocasta, not only has her speech become reduced to short clauses, she has also come to the conclusion that Oedipus has inflicted his physical and mental trauma on himself by his choices. As Jocasta exits the stage to commit suicide after

Suffering can be described as the state of undergoing pain, distress and hardship. When stricken with pain, religion and God is ultimately looked upon. In Oedipus Rex, underserved suffering which is part of the human condition was exhibited by the characters Oedipus, Iocasta and the people of Thebes. The feeling of pity is felt for the characters as they do not deserve their fate to much extent.

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.