In literature class
this quarter, we read Oedipus Rex, by
Sophocles, a Greek playwright. The main character, Oedipus, learns from the
oracle that he must drive out something evil from Thebes in order to save it.
He deduces that he must find and exile the murderer of the former king, Laios.
Through another clairvoyant and the accounts of eye witnesses, Oedipus learns
that he killed Laios. Therefore, he blinds himself. The theme of blindness is
used a multitude of times throughout the play. For example, the blind prophet,
Tiresias tells Oedipus what has happened, but Oedipus refuses to believe him. Tiresias
accuses Oedipus of being the one who is blind. Then after Oedipus finds out the
truth, he stabs his eyes in order to blind himself. It is hard to tell if he
does as an act of bravery, to punish himself, or an act of cowardice, to not
have to see what he has done. I believe that it is more courage because Oedipus
follows through with his promise to punish Laios’s killer. This play is widely
agreed to be a masterpiece, but I do not fully agree. Everything in the plot
seems to be impossibly convenient. I think that if this story were written now
instead of in ancient times, no one would think it was anything special.
Furthermore, the odes, while they are supposed to connect the reader with the
story, are not really necessary to understand what is going on. However, one
good thing about the play is that Oedipus is the perfect example of a tragic
character. He is a great king at first, but then he becomes an incestuous murderer
and is forced to blind himself. I still do not think that Oedipus Rex is as wonderful as people say it is, but I am still
glad that I got the chance to read it.
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