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Oedipus 4 - Online Term Papers

Oedipus 4

"An idea is an eye given by God for the seeing of God. Some of these eyes we can not bear to look out of, we blind them as quickly as possible." (Russell Hoban, American novelist) Sometimes the reality of a situation is so harsh that, instead of facing it, people blind themselves to it. In Oedipus Rex, the theme of sightlessness is prevalent throughout the play. Sophocles uses ambiguity to keep from creating biases toward the characters so that, in a sense the audience, as well as the characters, are blind. Fate and blindness go hand in hand in the play. The main character, Oedipus, is a severe victim of fate, ".... damned in his birth, in his marriage damned, damned in the blood he ...

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between a soothsayer and Oedipus to find out the justification for the punishing, "…murdering sea," that Thebes has been thrown upon. The city is being punished by the gods for an offense that has been committed by a criminal who does not know his crime. The question of justice arises and is dismissed just as fast because, "...justice is a concept. Muscle is the reality." The action of the gods may not have seemed fair, but, to coin a phrase, "life isn't fair." From his birth, Oedipus was prophesied to a fate worse than death, so his parents then sentenced him to death. He was bound at the ankles and carried off by a shepherd to be killed. The shepherd then felt pity for the baby in his arms and did not wish to kill it so he gave the baby to another shepherd whom he herded his sheep beside. The first shepherd was aware of the fate the baby had, but he was blinded by pity and sentenced Oedipus to live his tragic lie. He was adopted by the king and queen of Corinth ...

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Oedipus 4. (2007, December 2). Retrieved January 12, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus-4/75228

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/2/2007 02:04:11 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1155
Pages: 5

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