Self-Destruction In Oedipus Rex And The Kite Runner

The themes of The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex are free will and redemption. The author of each book shows how redemption is a major aspect in both stories by leading up to what each character did of their free will and showing the significance of how vile their mistakes were. Although the two authors thought the way to redemption was pain, the pain was very different in each book. In Oedipus rex, Oedipus took responsibility immediately and thought his redemption could only be fulfilled by exile and piercing his eyes so he could no longer see. Amir in The Kite Runner later took responsibility for his actions, he always felt guilt, never did he think he would find redemption but later he did. Amir met face to face with Assef the barbarian

It is amazing how two literary works from different time periods and different cultures can portray the same theme. A major theme in both The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex is the limits of free will. The way Khaled Hosseini portrays the theme in The Kite runner is the way that the majority of Pashtuns treat the Hazaras, they are either treated as objects that people can do whatever they want with, they are treated as second class citizens or they are servants to the Pashtuns. In Oedipus Rex, the way that the theme is portrayed is that Oedipus is bound to a prophecy that he heard when he was a child.

“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.

It is a common human flaw to only see things that are pleasing and choose to ignore distasteful situations. Falling into this trap, Oedipus, the King of Thebes in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, finds his doom by choosing to turn a blind eye to reality. The king falls from his throne by choosing to live in an illusion and failing to recognize the power of fate.

What similarities could current fiction novels possibly have with old Greek drama? Greek dramas and current day novels have more in common than anyone realizes. For example, there are many similarities between Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex and Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. These similarities show how writing and entertainment have not completely changed despite how long it has been. One of the most important similarities is the theme. This essay will explore these two works by looking into the similar themes, how the themes are treated, and the importance of similar themes.

Themes are one of the most recognizable aspects one can collect from pieces of literature. Themes can be similar through, even in the most opposite works of literature. With The Kite Runner being a historically fictional novel and Oedipus Rex being a Greek play, one main theme can be extracted from these two very different works. The overall theme of betrayal is very apparent in both pieces. The author’s treatment of the theme is displayed directly through the character’s dialogue, thoughts, their actions. The author’s treatment of this major theme is significant because it sets the overall tone and mood for both pieces.

Everything in life happen for a reason and there is nothing that can change the past. Events that have happened in the past tend to influence the future. In The Kite Runner hassan gets rapped as a young child when his best friend could have helped prevented it, but then his best friend Amir feels guilty and tries to make it up to him. In Oedipus Rex Oedipus is told he will murder his father and marry his mother and does this without knowing and he tries to prevent this but cannot. Both The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex display the theme of fate throughout both stories while using it in different ways and the significance of the theme in both stories is different too.

Through the play one can see that Oedipus’ flaw is hubris. His aggression and arrogance prevents him from making rational decisions and blinds him from seeing the truth. Oedipus refutes fate and consequently, when he is forced to see reality he destroys himself. The tragedy presents hubris as a fatal flaw of human nature and therefore warns against excessive pride. Sophocles also expresses the power the gods through Oedipus’ fight against fate. Through Oedipus’ demise the audience understands that man only has free will to an extent and in the end god’s plan with follow through. The play keeps an audience entertained through drama while simultaneously depicting a warning to humanity. Overall, Sophocles’ work is revered because of the effects his precise diction

Finally, each author was able to make the most out of the theme, self-destruction, until the final conclusion of it. Amir has lived a life of misery since he selfishly chose to abandon Hassan, yet after so long Amir has finally made the selfless choice, for he is determined to save Sohrab [Hassan’s son], even if it means confronting Assef [the person who sexualy abused Hassan], and by doing so finally “felt healed. Healed at last”, for his “body was broken”, but his soul is cleansed (Hosseini 289). Hosseini brilliantly ended the theme in such a daring way. Bring Assef back was something that readers did not anticipate would happen. He made the theme go in a full circle, from Assef harming Hassan to Assef harming Amir. Similarly, Sophocles ends

Ancient Greece is a very unique and foreign place to us today but surprisingly the ancient Greeks liked theatrics as much as we do now. This love for the stage led to many great plays being written one of which was “Oedipus the King”. “Oedipus the King” written by Sophocles in 430 BC is a Greek tragedy that shows the tragic downfall of Oedipus the king of Thebes. In this play Oedipus finds out that the prophecy that he had fled from so long ago had come true as he married his mother and murdered his father. “Oedipus the King” is a brilliant allegory for man's unwinnable struggle against fate and the puzzling actions of the indifferent gods.

Next, both Hosseini and Sophocles used the theme to fascinate the readers. Amir’s choice ultimately caused him nothing but tragedy, for his friendship with Hassan is fading and his lust for punishment has led him to “hit him [Hassan] with [a] pomegranate”, so that in turn Hassan would punish him, so that he may “finally sleep at night”, yet Amir’s selfishness still overpowers his life, which magnifies the reader’s interest (Hosseini 92). Amir’s need to destroy himself is not only heartrending but painful. His need at self-destruction absorbs the reader’s full attention and makes them crave more. Sophocles used the theme for the exact same purpose, yet he wanted to emphasize it for greater interest. Oedipus’s choice to discover his birth has

Through the use of suspense and various antitheses, Oedipus is given a providence ceasing in failure and an undesirable death, though he accepts it admirably and honorably. Sophocles takes into consideration his audience and successfully brings about a catharsis within them, purging the audience with various inflicting emotions towards Oedipus as he stumbles through his hardships and failures. In the end, the story of Oedipus and his ending is truly a tragedy and should contribute to one’s everyday thoughts as a mnemonic and moral lesson that not all stories end with a happily ever

As Aristotle has posed, tragedy is formulaic and imitative, composed of distinct parts that inspire pity or fear which ultimately culminate into a depressingly satisfying ending. Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King in particular, incorporates Aristotelian characteristics as detailed in the Poetics. Through its manner, the play presents a singular yet complex plot and, an imperfect main character dealing with the consequences of his actions. Given the various rules to tragic aspects, Oedipus the King embodies the elements of a perfect tragedy holistically.

Sophocles ' play “Oedipus Tyrannus” is an enigma. His play includes incest, murder and self-enlightenment all leading into the main theme of fate. Athenians believed that fate is not left up to man, but that is provided solely on the whims of the gods. Because of his dramatic approach to his plays Sophocles was considered one of the most brilliant and creative writers of his time.

Reading through three related stories, we discover different motifs denoting author’s thought in different time.Without any doubt, the tragic essence goes through the Three Theban Plays. As Sophocles meditates the philosophy of the tragedy all along his life, the tragic essence expands from individuals in a society. The conflict in each play becomes increasingly complicated. In Antigone, we can clearly distinguish the conflict between Antigone and Creon, family and politics. However, in Oedipus at Colonus, the play merges all the conflicts happened to former plays and enhances the theme of the story. The later part of this trilogy, especially the ending of Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus, reveals a darker and deeper phenomenon of Thebes and projects it to Oedipus. The prophet plays important role of forming the story line and tragic image of Oedipus, but the root causing the series of tragedy of the characters is not gods’ command. It is degeneration of people, which is pathetic to humanity. Finally, after suffering from family complex and exile, Oedipus is not only a victim of the society, but also the reflection of the twisted humanity of Thebes.