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Oedipus The King Mystery And Deception Essay

1032 Words5 Pages

Agatha Christie, Crime shows, and the Seven Wonders of the World all share two things: mystery and enraptured fans. People always love a good mystery because people love to solve mysteries. From finding the killer, to guessing the plot twist and solving the puzzle, humans strive to seek truth and explain occurrences in their lives. Often mystery is a driving factor in people. In Sophocles’ famous, tragic play, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus remains ignorant of his origins until the end, when he discovers the truth of his parentage. Ultimately, these mysterious origins shape Oedipus’ life and relationships as he unknowingly marries his true mother and kills his true father, leading to his demise, self-loathing, and banishment. Ignorance about his biological …show more content…

Bestowed with this knowledge by his brother-in-law Creon, Oedipus seeks to solve yet another mystery: Laius’ death, ignorant to the fact that he is the murderer. He demands the people of Thebes come forward with any knowledge they might possess on the topic with no avail. Oedipus then calls upon Tiresias, the blind soothsayer. After warning Oedipus of the brutality of the truth, Tiresias informs Oedipus of his truth; Oedipus is Laius’ murderer. Angered, Oedipus taunts Tiresias, who then hints to his true heritage claiming Laius’ killer is both father and brother to his children and husband to his mother. Denying his truth, Oedipus accuses Tiresias and Creon of treason and vows to uncover the truth. His mysterious origins once again shaping his decisions and path. As he does not know the truth of his heritage nor who Laius really is, he can not believe that he is the one that killed Laius. These events also serve to fuel his hunger for the truth. Being refused honesty his entire life, Oedipus has an innate need to seek answers and solve mysteries. He yearns for knowledge about his origins yet continually denies his truth for the same

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