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Sight And Blindness In Oedipus The King Essay

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In the novel Oedipus the king,what Sophocles strives to reveal to us about his society is that although the truth can often hurt, knowledge to the greeks was very important to them because they were a people who needed to be informed about everything. In Sophocles time gods were revered more than anything, and because of how powerful these divine beings were it was not in any human's control to question them since they could not confront these all divine beings who controlled their fate and actions. Throughout the novel Sophocles intentions are to show the readers the concept of sight and blindness as well as the idea of fate and freewill, greek plays in these ancient times were designed to incorporate throughout the story dramatic irony which a theme that revolves around the story.. …show more content…

In the argument between tiresias and oedipus,.Oedipus, who has the physical ability to see believes he can uncover the truth of his life, however his hubris leads him to trust his own superior knowledge and in doing so he mocks Tiresias for his obscenities regarded towards him and refers to him as “ a blind man lost in the night”(425-426). However with the dramatic irony that Sophocles presents throughout the novel the assumption can be made that although Oedipus is very brilliant he is truly the blind man, when his hubris is present it causes him to place the burden of guilt onto others. It takes the blind prophet Tiresias to point out just how ignorant Oedipus is by mocking him for his “precious eyes which are blind to the corruption of [his] life”, as well as his intelligence that allowed him to solve the riddle of the Sphinx, regarding him as “the best man alive for solving riddles” (470-472,501). All these insights lead Oedipus into doubting his true

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He finds out that his mother is his wife and that he killed his father, The former king. Finding all of this out, Oedipus becomes his own prosecutor, and then his own judge and punisher. This story suggests that knowledge is vain and constrained in its capacity to convey happiness to the individuals who look for it. Sophocles certainly wasn’t timid about the symbol sight vs. blindness; words like

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The motif of light and darkness play one of the most substantial rolls in the play. Sophocles introduces Oedipus as a seemingly powerful and virtuous man bursting with great strength. Ever since Oedipus had defeated the Sphinx, it became apparent that this was the King that the Thebans have been pleading for. Only a great King can effortlessly assert themselves in dominant manner over others, on the contrary, Oedipus had pushed it to the point where he overlooks the thoughts of others. As a tragic result, he was constantly becoming ever more blind throughout the passage.

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To release himself of his prideful ways, Oedipus took it upon himself to discard the eyes that failed to see the truth. To amend the situation he, “raised [the ornament] down straight into his eyeballs.” University of Pennsylvania Professor, Peter T. Struck, established a literary commentary in which he wrote, “by blinding himself, as opposed to committing suicide, Oedipus achieves a kind of surrogate death that intensifies his suffering.” Struck agrees that by committing this self-inflicted retribution, Oedipus is redeeming himself for his sins in a way that death would not allow him to do. Now that Oedipus is finally able to see the truth, he recognizes his mistakes and exclaims, “I don’t deserve to live among you…send me from Thebes”(p.80).

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But now in a reversed position, Oedipus is a man that is physically blind but in truth is not. All things considered, Oedipus was in denial and was blinded from truth. As he came closer to the truth he finds himself praying that the prophecy will not come true. His earnestness causes a panic within him that leads him to abuse his power into changing his destiny. But as a result, all thing must come to an end especially Oedipus’s physical sight.

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Blindness Vs. Sight In the stories Oedipus the King and Antigone, the kings who ruled Thebes are very troublesome men. Oedipus is the main character in Oedipus the King, whom is blinded by killing his father. In the end, he marries his mother and punishes himself for his sins.

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P.13 Oedipus questions Teiresias, curious to know what he knows. “Oh gruesomely clear it has all unraveled… I was bonded with the people I should have never killed.” P.40 Oedipus sees what he has done wrong and feels vulnerable and horror. The audience clearly sees that heroes are very human and how real their limitations. Most people would have felt that same vulnerability if the gods had made us their plaything and tormented us, writing a prophecy of our doom.

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It can be seen as a trend throughout history that stories reflect a society’s culture and values. One of the most memorable and inspirational civilization that made a substantial contribution to literature was Greece. Sophocles, a renowned Greek playwright, is beloved for his dramatic and action-filled plays that effectively satisfied the ancient audience. In Sophocles’ tragic play, Oedipus the King, the main character, Oedipus finds difficulty proclaiming his purpose against the fate bestowed upon him by the gods. Alongside his struggling, the values and cultural aspects of the Greeks emerge, reflecting their views on society during that time period at which the play was produced.

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In ancient Greek literature, diseases and afflictions often play key roles within the story. In Sophocles 's tragedy Oedipus Rex, the presence and recurrence of afflictions are central elements to the plot. Oedipus and his city both possess conditions that determine the outcome of the play. The motif of ailments, like the plague and blindness, highlight the hubris and failures of Oedipus to demonstrate his reliance on the gods.

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In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the concept of sight and blindness is shown countless times throughout the play. In Oedipus Rex there is both literal blindness and figurative blindness. This play has a character who is blind, which is an example of literal blindness and a character who can see visually but unable to perceive the truth. The concepts of sight and blindness has a major role in Oedipus Rex. It lets the reader know that sight is not only based on what you see, but also based on one’s perspective, that the blind may see more than someone who is not blind, and that sometimes being able to see may not be a blessing but a curse. These are some of the roles of sight within Oedipus Rex.

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Throughout the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, there is continual use of vision and blindness foreshadowing the events to come near the end of the play due to Oedipus’ ignorance. Ironically, most of the main characters with their sight still intact are blind to the truth and revelations that come to pass while the few that are blind see what is to come and what becomes of those spoken of in the prophecy. In a paradoxical trend, sight in the play can equal deception or ignorance while blindness represents truth or revelation. Oedipus is a brash man.

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Having been given many hints in his life, Oedipus cannot detect and know the truth. He is blind, to the extent that he could not even understand his life and does not even want to accept his origin. In this way, we get to know the contrast between eyesight and insight (Calame, 1996). After Oedipus realizing and coming to know the truth, he gets out his eyes so as to have the vision (Calame, 1996). He removes his eyes so as not to see his children and siblings who would remind him of his actions.

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Sometimes in life people can be “blind” to the truth. The answer to their question or solution to their worry or problem may have been obvious yet, they could not “see” the answer. Therefore, they were blind to the truth. This blindness is not one in a physical sense but another kind of sight or vision. In Sophocles’ writing, Tiresias is a blind prophet that presents the truth to King Oedipus.

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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

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Oedipus, King of Thebes, has sight but is blind to truth. Since he is born Oedipus was living in the lie. He never knew who were his real parents and what was the real story hidden behind his entire life until it was reavealed to him. Oedipus was born to be a king. Being a king in a certain way helped him discover the truth about his life.

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But, he was also a good man, father, husband, and king, and for this reason he is mourned over for his loss of fortune. One of the themes in Oedipus Rex is physical and metaphorical blindness. In Greek culture, those who were physically blind were said to have metaphorical "vision" and were messengers of the gods. For example, In the beginning, Oedipus is blind, not physically, but metaphorically because he does not know the

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