Oedipus the King represents the permanence of the past, and the haunting shadow it can hold over its victims till it finally catches up with them. Though Oedipus the King is a bizarre story, it raises an issue that is extremely relevant to human life: the past holds the ability to catch up with each of us and has the power to bring our downfall. Oedipus is extremely unaware of his past as he even has to ask Teiresias, "Wait: who were my parents?" Therefore what Oedipus does not understand is that his ambiguous past consists of the murder of his father and of incest, and these acts are far too impacting and horrendous to fade away.
When Oedipus learns of his past he realizes his doom, just as was prophesied. It is ironic that he is set up to face horrors when he is born, but does not learn of them till after they have occurred. Therefore there was nothing he could do to avoid his disgraceful actions and there is nothing he can do to justify them. After learning what has happened to him, Oedipus cries out:
"Apollo. Apollo. Dear
Children, the god was Apollo.
He brought this sick, sick fate upon me.
But the blinding hand was my own!
How could I bear to see
When all my sight was horror everywhere?"
Oedipus's reaction represents human nature as he is not only disgusted at himself, but he punishes himself by mutilating his eyes. His blindness now shields him from the horrors he created, as he now views himself as a monster. Though Oedipus is a good man, he can no longer tolerate himself. He represents the past's ability to prevail in the future, and the fact that there are situations that human's cannot prepare for or avoid.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI think your idea about the power of the past is a really strong theme throughout the piece. When you mentioned that this remains "extremely relevant to human life," I think it emphasized why Oedipus has themes that remain so touching in modern times: the play ultimately discusses human nature, and in this case, how time plays a role in it. These timeless questions of humanity and fate still fascinate us and you did a great job of discussing that.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI like how you highlighted just how unfortunate this situation really is for Oedipus and Iocasta. Oedipus had no idea what was really going on until all of the events fortold had already come to pass. You're right, "It is ironic that he is set up to face horrors when he is born, but does not learn of them till after they have occurred," but the true irony is that Oedipus left his home thinking that he was shielding his father from the prophesy, but in doing so he was essentially killing his real father. Nice job tho.
SARUHH
ReplyDeleteThough some of your supporting evidence is somewhat watery, I think I may understand how "Oedipus's reaction represents human nature." Perhaps you are trying to say that man all too-quickly blinds himself to his difficulties and horrors. Or perhaps I am assuming too much. I like how you identified Oedipus as a sympathetic character.
dat bloog was a RAGER
BRAN
HEEYYY SARUUUHHHHH
ReplyDeletePerhaps, your blogz wuz suhhweeeet. Or perhaps.....it wuz da best BLOGS i ever read! I luved the comment on "THE PAST" and how it "HAUNTS" people.
MUD
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that, as you point out, the "action" of the story is primarily a gain of knowledge. Funny how something so simple as learning anew fact can have such dire ramifications.