Speaking of his cool logical ability in solving the riddle of the Sphinx, he says, "But I came, Oedipus who knew nothing, and I stopped her. I solved the riddle by my wit alone." Yet, in remembering the tragedy that he perpetrated on his way home from Corinth, this same man recounts his murderous reaction to provocation: But he [Laius] was paid in full and presently my stick had struck him backwards from the carriage and he rolled out of it and then I killed them all." The implication is that when Oedipus (unknowingly) encountered his father, he was in the midst of trying to escape from his own future as foretold by Apollo and that this, as much as any actual provocation of being struck on the head by a "two-pointed goad," accounted for his extreme overreaction. Both Oedipus' wife Jocasta and brother-in-law Creon refer to...
According to Jocasta, "...Oedipus excites himself too much at every sort of trouble...." Likewise, Creon (speaking directly to Oedipus) proclaims, "I see you sulk in yielding and you're dangerous when you are out of sorts." Thus, the character of Oedipus that emerges in his own words as well as in those of the individuals who know him best. Far from being the cold-hearted person whose ruthlessness evidences an unfeeling passionless killer, Oedipus is so moved by human passions that his emotional reactions temporarily paralyze his rational mind altogether. Ultimately, Oedipus is prone to overreaction and self-destruction by the extreme intensity of his emotions rather than by any coldness of heart or psychological insulation from them in the manner sometimes suggested by contemporary readers of Sophocles' tragedy.
In this view, Oedipus's only wrong action was attempting to thwart fate, which only caused him false hope. Thus, this interpretation of the story suggests that fate is supreme, cannot be changed, and is the guiding rule of humans' life. In fact, this view even goes as far as to imply that humans do not have free will -- all is at the mercy of fate. But James Gould points
Sophocles & Milton Sophocles wrote his great works two and a half millennia ago, and yet today they are still fresh and powerful. This is because Sophocles deals with deep and important human situations and emotions. Even though we can no longer imagine what it would be like to live in the world which Sophocles inhabits, we can completely understand his characters because they are fully human and human nature does
Oedipus as Tragic Hero In most dramatic plays, tragedy usually strikes the protagonist of the play and leads him, or her, to experience devastating losses. While tragic instances can be avoided, there are other instances where one's fate and future is out of the protagonist's control. In Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles and first performed around 249 BC, Oedipus cannot escape his destiny and even though he tries to overcome
However, the play goes even further than these hints in demonstrating the irrelevance of any supernatural force to the story's action when Tiresias mocks Oedipus for suggesting that the blind seer is the source of the plague (Sophocles 27). When Oedipus accuses Tiresias of a being "a conspirator" to Laius' murder due to his reluctance to tell what he knows, Tiresias responds by asking "Sooth sayest thou?" (Sophocles 26-27). While
Lewis, Cathleen. (2008). Rex: The musical savant. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Rex: The musical savant is narrated by the title character's mother. It is a true story of a young boy who became blind at an early age, and was later diagnosed with autism. Rex was born with an underdeveloped optic nerve and a brain cyst. The brain cyst was the cause of Rex's apraxia, a condition which makes it difficult for
son, Catherine Lewis chronicles the amazing journey of Rex's childhood. Rex is part biography and part autobiography, as Catherine Lewis's own feelings and perceptions are as integral to the story as the tale of Rex himself. The inclusion of the author's point-of-view does far from detract from the story, though. Catherine's input enhances the book and provides a holistic interpretation of the amazing childhood of Rex. Born with a large
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