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Oedipus The King Analysis Essay Research Paper

Oedipus The King Analysis Essay, Research Paper


Sophocles ?Oedipus the King? is a tragic play which discusses the tragic


discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The


story of Oedipus was well known to the athenian?s. Oedipus is the embodiement


of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed.


Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery.


Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles


used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus? life


and to futher characterized him as a tragic man. The Sphinx posed the following


riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of thebes: ?What is it that walks on


4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet


it is the weakest?? Oedipus correctly answered ?Man? and became the king


of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man


crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers.


Also man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his


nourishment and well being. Oedipus was the child of Jocasta and King Laius who


was taken to the mountain by a shepard to be killed so the omen of the god


apollo that Laius? son would kill him and lay with Jocasta would not come


true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point. If it has not been for


the shepard spairing his life and giving him to Polybus to raise as his own


Oedipus would have died. Man walks on 2 feet when he has matured. This is a


metaphor for Oedipus when he reaches adulthood and leaves Corinth to escape the


oracle. Oedipus meets up with a band of travelers and in a rage kills them.


Inadvertently Oedipus has killed his own father. Oedipus then answers the riddle


of the sphinx and becomes king of Thebes. By becoming king of Thebes he marries


Jocasta the Queen of thebes and his own mother. Many years later after bearing


children with Jocasta a plague kills many of the inhabitants of Thebes. Oedipus


is told by the gods to find the killer of Laius. He is very dilligent in the


inquiriy and finally comes to the horrible truth that he himself is the


murderer. Jocasta kills herself at the horrible realization that she has layed


with her son and Oedipus puts out his eyes at finally seeing the truth. This


fulfills the final part of the Sphinx?s riddle for Oedipus will have to walk


with a cane for the rest of his life because of his blindness, this will give


him the 3 feet which man walks with at the end of his years. Oedipus used his


intellect and diligence to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. Many of the most


intelligent young men of thebes has been killed attempting to answer the riddle


but Oedipus proved his intelligence superior to theirs. Oedipus uses the same


intelligence and perseverence to find the killer of Laius. He does not give up


his search even when Jocast

a warns him to stop and let the matter rest. He calls


the shepard and interrogates him till he discovers the horrifying truth that he


is the killer. Oedipus? intelligence was ultimately his flaw. Also, if Oedipus


had not had been as coarageous he would have have never ventured to answer the


riddle of the Sphinx. Thus even though he had killed his father he would have


never become king of Thebes and laid with his mother. In addition, if Oedipus


had had the courage but not the intelligence the Spinx would have killed him for


answering the riddle incorrectly. Sophocles used this to characterized Oedipus


as a tragic man for he came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil


act or an evil trait but because of the person he was. Oedipus traits which gave


him riches and power ultimately led to his tragic ending. Also, the god apollo


did not predestine that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother by


the oracle, he only stated what he knew was inevitable because of who Oedipus


was. The sphinx?s riddle was used by Sophocles to characterize Oedipus as a


tragic man and as a parallel to his life. The riddle describes the 3 stages


which Oedipus went through in his life. Also in answering the riddle Oedipus


inevitable brought about his own tragic ending by a horrible discovery. .


Oedipus does not unselfishly seek out the truth even though he knows it will be


painful for him, rather, he has no idea what the outcome of his search will be,


denies the truth at every turn, and threatens those who speak it. Many people


may paint Oedipus as a great man, pointing out that he pursues the truth at


whatever personal cost and has the strength to accept and endure it when found.


They admire that Oedipus was willing to bring himself down in his lust to find


his true identity. However, the driving force of Oedipus? fact-finding mission


is an attempt to end the disease that plagues his city. He doesn?t realize the


personal consequences his hunt will have for him, and his loyalty to the truth


is based on his ignorance of it. In fact, if we examine his "quest for


identity", it becomes apparent that the sequence of events are quite


coincidental. First, he summons Tiresias to name the killer, who Oedipus does


not at the time believe to be himself. Secon! The tragic hero Oedipus emerges as


anything but a social person. He may begin that way, motivated by a genuine


desire to help the people, but what emerges throughout is different. It becomes


plain to see that Oedipus is actually, deep down where it really counts, far


more concerned with his own sense of self and demands for justice on his terms,


than in compromising his desires like any other true leader would. This tragedy


reminds us that even the bravest, those known throughout the world for their


knowledge, are doomed if they set themselves up against the mystery of life


itself, and if they try to force life to answer them, they are going to


self-destruct.

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