РефератыИностранный языкUnUntitled Essay Research Paper Oedipus Rex

Untitled Essay Research Paper Oedipus Rex

Untitled Essay, Research Paper


Oedipus Rex


In many plays a character has a misconception of his her


self and/or his or


her world. When this misconception is destroyed it can be a major turning


point in


the story. “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles is one such story. In the story Oedipus


has


such a misconception where he thinks he has a good life, but really his life


is morally


wrong. This contributes to the theme or themes of the play


when they serve as the defining climax of the story. When the misconception


is


stopped Oedipus sees that you cannot escape or change your past, but you


can still


do great things even if you have been evil or immoral in your life.


When Oedipus was born it was prophesied that he would


kill his father and


marry his mother. His father naturally feared this and told a shepard to


take the


boy out and kill him when he was still a child. The kind old shepard could


not bring


himself to kill a innocent little boy so he gave him to a passing messenger


to take as


his own. When Oedipus was older he learned of this prophecy and left home


because he loved his foster father who he believed to be his real father.


A while


after he ran away he traveling down a road when he saw a coach coming. It


contained his true father, King Laios of Thebes and his bodyguards. When


they


almost ran him over Oedipus attacked them killing the bodyguards and his


father,


thinking that they were highway bandits, and by doing so he unwittingly fulfilled


the


prophecy. When he realizes this he is devastated. This really contributes


to the


theme, that you cannot escape your past. The fact that he killed a king and


his


father no less, is a major factor in his exile later in the story.


When he discovers that King Laios was his real father


he sees that by not


running away that he could have prevented this whole catastrophe. This just


goes to


show that hindsight is always 20/20, Oedipus saw this and realized his mistake.


Him


realizing that he cannot go back and change his past is also a big theme


of the story.


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This fact too. plays a big part in his mental breakdown later in the story.


After he kills his father he is walks further down the


road when he is accosted


by the Sphinx who tells him that if he cannot answer her riddle correctly


that she


will kill him. He however does succeed in solving her riddle and she kills


herself out


of fury. When word gets out the he was the one who caused the death of the


Sphinx


the people of Thebes ( whose king he just recently killed ) adopt him as


their new


king, thanking that their real king was killed by bandits, and give him the


queen,


Queen Jocasta ( his mother ) for his bride. They lived happily for many years


and


had four children. When Oedipus learns of the heinous crime he has committed


he


nearly dies. Jocasta upon learning that she had been married to her son


hangs


herself and when Oedipus sees her body dangling he cuts her down and stabs


out his


eyes with her brooch. Having disgraced his country he is banished and he


and his


daughter Antigone leave Thebes. He later dies in exile at a shrine of Apollo


in


Colonus. Before he leaves Thebes however he states that he will do great


things


before he dies the horrible death he believes is reserved for him. He speaks


with


great hubris in the end of the play when he tells Creon to care for his daughters


and


tells of the things he will do before he dies. This, being able to still


accomplish great


things even after doing such horrendous crimes such as incest and regicide.


Realization that you cannot change or escape your past


and that you can still


achieve great things even after committing awful crimes in your life are


all the


things that Oedipus sees after his misconception of his entire life is destroyed


and he


sees the things he could have prevented. When you look back on your life


and see


something that brought about bad consequences you most often see how you


could


have easily avoided the usually small detail that caused the whole ordeal.


that is


usually a great learning experience for you.


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