Blindness In Sophocles Oedipus The King

The eyes are one of the most complex organs in the human body. Made up of over two million different parts, eighty percent of what humans learn is from their eyes. The ability to see is extremely important today, and also was in ancient times. Those who were blind in ancient Greece often struggled to find jobs, or make a life for themselves, so crippling was their problem. However, there are certainly different types of blindness. Although the physical kind comes to mind most readily, other forms of metaphorical blindness, such as ignorance or obliviousness towards facts, exist. The Greek writer and thinker Sophocles developed the many different forms of sight, as well as other common dualities, in his play Oedipus Rex. He used the main character,

There are many times in the play when Sophocles helps to emphasize this belief to the reader, but perhaps the most obvious is the curse, and the events that follow it, that happen to Oedipus. When Oedipus visited the oracle at Delphi, he found out that he was destined, or fated, to “lie with [his] own mother, breed children from whom all men would turn their eyes; and that [he] should be [his] father’s murderer” (line 749-751). Sophocles then introduces the concept of free will by describing Oedipus’ attempt to escape that terrible fate: fleeing the city of his youth, Corinth, never to return. This quick introduction of both fate and free will sets Sophocles up for establishing his opinion on this contrast based on which force turns out to dictate Oedipus’s end. As the story progresses, Oedipus gradually finds out that more and more of that dreadful fate is true, until he finally realizes “It was true! All the prophecies!” (line 1118-1119). This terrible realization brings to light Sophocles’ views on the duality of fate and free will. His choice to let Oedipus fall victim to fate illuminates his belief that free will is nothing more than an illusion, like the false sense of safety Oedipus had. Additionally, Oedipus’s tragic end helps to convince the reader of Sophocles belief: fate will always reign triumphant. Another example of this key duality is present in the story of Laios himself. Laios knew that his son was fated to kill him, so he took seemingly foolproof precautions to ensure that his son did not live long enough to achieve that fate. This second introduction of free will helps Sophocles to set up the duality, and his opinions, on the contrast between fate and free will. When Jocasta remembers the certainty with which she and her husband doomed their child, she recalls “my child