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Essay on Four Themes in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Essay on Four Themes in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Oedipus and Othello Comparison and Contrast
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The words are blunt, unapologetic in nature, resonating with so much truth that it pierces Amir’s false happiness (Hosseini 133). For Amir, the kite brought only a false sense of freedom from his remorse. In reality, he was still entrenched in the battle for his father’s love, still trying to find a way to get all of his father’s attention. The kite-flying competition was an illusion, a dream that Amir could ever be his father’s only son. The reality that Hassan was Amir’s half-brother, and the equitable love that Baba gives them, serves as the anchor that keeps Amir from his own childhood dreams, the truth that Amir could never escape.
Oedipus the King, also known by the title Oedipus Rex, is a tragedy written by Sophocles where the main character is a tragic hero. One of the salient ideas in the play was that of blindness to reality; Teiresias, the man who is literally blind, is able to see the horror right in front of him, but Oedipus, with both eyes at work, is not able to see the truth at all until the end of the play. This blindness is seen in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson, where the main characters Willy and Troy are not able to see the change that time has wreaked upon their worlds. Willy is a failed salesman with high hopes for his sons, and Troy is a garbage collector whose dream was to become a professional baseball player. In both of these books, the main characters possess a metaphorical blindness to reality that results in the permanent detriment of
A very noticeable difference that is found between the film The Odyssey and the poem written by Homer is the chronological scene order in which key events happen. In the film directed by Andrei Konchalovsky it begins with the birth of Telemachus, Odysseus and his wife Queen Penelope’s son where as in the poem it begins with Homer asking the bright eyed goddess of wisdom, Athena for her to tell him the tale of Odysseus. That is not the only appearance in which the chronological order varies, in the introduction of the poem, book I describes a meeting between the gods of Olympus as they discuss the fate of Odysseus as he is being held captive at Ogygia by the sea nymph Calypso, Athena being the main person in favour of his return home to Ithaca.
Tragedy has been a part of drama since the time of the ancient greeks, an example of such a tragedy is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Since then tragedy has been adapted to adhere to different societal views and conventions, such that of the american theatre. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, is an example of that. Both plays fall into the category of tragedy, but exemplify it through different aspects in their respective heroes. The roles of Oedipus and Willy Loman as tragic heroes convey the meanings of the works as wholes through the use of the literary devices dramatic irony and imagery.
With the realization of his demise, Oedipus tries to protect himself from punishment and shame by gouging out his own eyes and exiling himself out to die in the place destiny prevented him from dying originally. After many years of luxurious living, Oedipus’s predestined fate tears his life apart and returns him to the place he should have died as an infant, the mountain. Through the use of, departure, initiation, and return, Sophocles displays the journey of Oedipus. Not only is Oedipus the King evidence of the use of the hero’s journey throughout many famous plays, movies, and books across all cultures and time periods, but it also seen as a perfect tragedy, in which the audience experiences both pity and fear for the main
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, both protagonists possess tragic flaws which lead to their demise. Distanced by years in literature, Okonkwo and Oedipus are remarkably similar, however display aspects of their personalities that make their epic journeys of fate quite different. Both characters are arrogant and refuse to be told they are incorrect about anything. They are considered admirable at first, especially in the eyes of the other characters, however by the end of both stories, they are considered outcasts. Both men possess an egotistic attitude and have an overwhelming sense of pride in their achievements.
One of the most prevalent themes in both The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is the potent feeling of guilt that resonates throughout the stories. Although each story is told in their own way, be it a novel or a play, they communicate the guilt to the audience very well and one can easily pick up the feelings of the characters while reading. For The Kite Runner, the guilt is felt after Amir watches his lifelong friend and family servant Hassan get molested in an alleyway and does nothing to help. As for Oedipus Rex, the guilt is felt after he figures out that he ended up killing his father and having intercourse with his mother. Also, both stories have very different ways the main character deals with the guilt,
In Khaled Hosseini's novel, "The Kite Runner," the son and father relationship amongst Baba and Amir is not very optimistic. The novel unwinds the intensifying quality of the relationship among the important two main characters and Amir's consistent battle for Baba's concern creates positive results in the
Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, written roughly 3000 years ago, demonstrates what the common people’s mindsets were like during ancient Greek times. On the contrary, The Penelopiad, a loose adaptation of Homer’s story written in the 21st century, brings more modern viewpoints to its characters and central themes. By virtue of the vastly different time periods in which these two pieces were written, their portrayals of the main characters contrast greatly; notably with Homer’s legendary character Odysseus. Though Odysseus may share a few similar qualities in the two books, Homer portrays him as a heroic and admirable character while Atwood brings a more modern viewpoint to light.
The world of literature offers many different works; some may offer similarities while there are differences between others. There are more similarities than differences between Odysseus and Oedipus. Two great examples of literature is the tragic play “Oedipus the King”, written by Sophocles and “The Odyssey”, an epic poem written by Homer who were both Greek poets. Both poets’ work shows similar examples of life altering changes that were ultimately controlled by the Greek gods.
As more information is uncovered, Oedipus’ legacy is exponentially diminished as a childhood prophecy revolving around Oedipus, murdering his father and marrying his mother, is brought to light. Knowledge possesses the power to catalyse devastation in stages as demonstrated through Oedipus’ ignorance, his overwhelming curiosity, and his psychological anguish. From the beginning, Oedipus was raised in a legion of lies, believing Merope and Polybus to be his true parents. This cloak of ignorance not only shielded Oedipus from the knowledge of his biological parents, but allowed the prophecy to act as a catalyst for his fleeing of Corinth.
First, he was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta, he was so blind that he got mad at anyone that would even suggest an idea such as that. As the story went on though, Oedipus could no longer run from the truth; he was forced to open his eyes to the reality and truth of his life. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother; he is the brother to his own kids and the son of his own mother. Oedipus was the one that was causing all of the downfall and bad times in Thebes.
Oedipus was a tragic hero he was seen as a great man and was king,but he fell to misfortune because of his disability to see past his pride and anger which led to his demise. By not being able to see past his pride and anger Oedipus was not able to to avoid his prophetic destiny. He was blinded by his pride and anger so much that it became his tragic flaw ultimately leading him to his
So in the end, Oedipus no longer thinks of himself. Thinking of his children 's impending marriage, Oedipus begs for his children and no longer can think of himself as anything more than a creature that embodies what it means to be pathetic: “When you come to the age ripe for marriage, who will he be who will run the risk, children, to take for himself the reproaches that will be banes for my parents and offspring alike? What evil is absent? Your father slew his father; he ploughed his mother, where he himself was sown, and he sired you in the same fount where he himself was sired.
Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus Rex is a drama of self-discovery. Achieved by amazing compression and force by limiting the dramatic action to the day on which Oedipus learns the truth of his birth and his destiny is quite the thriller. The fact that the audience knows the dark secret that Oedipus unwittingly slew his true father and married his mother does nothing to destroy the suspense. Oedipus’s search for the truth has all the tautness of a detective tale, and yet because audiences already know the truth they are aware of all the ironies in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That knowledge enables them to fear the final revelation at the same time that they pity the man whose past is gradually and relentlessly uncovered to him.
