Oedipus Blindness and Self Discovery Illustrated in...

From the very beginning of Oedipus, one can see that the main character of Oedipus is very sure about who he is and where he has come from. One of the most important motifs of the story is the idea of metaphorical blindness, and how Oedipus claims that everyone else around him is blind, and he is the only one that can see. However, what Oedipus soon finds out is that he has no idea who he is, and that all along he has been blind himself. Sophocles makes Oedipus suffer because of the fact that he actually has no idea who he is, and almost avoids figuring it out. It takes a defining moment for it to dawn on Oedipus that he is not who he thought he was. Oedipus’ blindness seems to have been his downfall, but the more prevalent question that†¦show more content†¦Although Oedipus is very confident in himself, the people around him do not do much to stop him from thinking such things. The priest says Now we pray you. You cannot equal the gods, your children know that, bending a your alter. But we do rate you first of men, (39) demonstrating that they also believe that Oedipus is great. Oedipus was able to make the people of Thebes believe this because he was the only one that was able to solve the riddle of the Sphinx and thus he is greater than any man, but no one can equal the gods, but if man could I’m sure that the people would have compared Oedipus to them. Because of Oedipus’ confidence within himself, he believes that his decisions will always be correct, and because of that he tends to make quick decisions that eventually come back to harm him. Once Oedipus finds out why Thebes is suffering, he quickly condemns whoever it is that killed the previous king, Now my curse on the murderer. Whoever he is†¦ †¦let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step— I curse myself as well†¦ if by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house†¦ may the curse I just called down on him strike me! (280) so by his rash de cision to condemn the murder he has unknowingly cursed himself in two ways. As the story continues on, it is as if Oedipus life is unraveling to him and to the audience. Throughout the remainder of the story, bits and pieces of Oedipus life are revealed to him, in some cases byShow MoreRelatedOedipus The King : A Classical Tragedy1272 Words   |  6 PagesSophocles’ Oedipus the King is a classical tragedy that derives its meaning through the experiences of its tragic hero, Oedipus. Throughout the play, the eminent characteristic of Oedipus is his ignorance of the truth that inevitably leads to his downfall. This ignorance of truth is a characteristic found within the Aristotelian definition of a tragedy. Tragedy, as defined by Aristotle in his Poetics, are imitations of actions and are not narrative. This means that tragedies are often demonstrated