First of all, I would like to talk about Sophocles's effective use of the theme of vision in Oedipus the King. When Oedipus and Teiresias argue, Oedipus is quick to mock Teiresias’s blindness. Teiresias in turn calls Oedipus the one that is really blind. As we discussed in class, the scene is ironic because the blind man (Teiresias) sees something that the sighted do not (that Oedipus killed Laios, married his mother, etc.). But one line in particular stood out. It occurs when Teiresias talks in riddles to Oedipus about his past. He remarks that the killer who Oedipus is seeking is a “blind man who has his eyes now; a penniless man, who is rich now.” This quote highlights an important theme in the story and an issue relevant to human life. Namely, that life can bring about shifting fates. Oedipus thinks that he has complete control of his destiny, but really he is woefully unaware of what is happening in his life. He thinks that he can outsmart the oracle and set his life on a straight, unwavering course. This turns out to be hubris. Despite his best efforts to avoid his fate, he ends up fulfilling it. With one (giant) revelation, his fate changes completely, and he goes from rich to poor, seeing to blind. Ironically, as Teiresias points out, he also goes from the city’s greatest riddle solver to being unable to solve Teiresias’s riddle. I think the takeaway that Sophocles wants the reader to get from the story is that one can never be sure where one stands with regards to fate.
I originally thought that Sophocles message was: because we cannot guess what fate has in store for us, we should try to live an honorable and decent life without worrying about it. After all, one thing Oedipus could have done to avoid his fate was not kill anybody. But obviously the Oracle took into account that it was not in Oedipus’s character to have shown mercy instead of killing. If Sophocles is arguing that fate is responsible for everything, then there really is no take away, because then the story would assert that we as humans can not learn lessons if we have not already been predetermined to do so. So I guess I can’t add “…so try to live a decent life.” to my assertion that the takeaway of the story is “that one can never be sure where one stands with regards to fate” because Sophocles doesn’t seem to say that living a decent life will help any. I guess the most important point Sophocles was highlighting was how ridiculous it was of Oedipus to think that he had escaped fate. No one can do that, no matter how much they think they see.
This lesson would be even more significant if the audience already knew the story. It was probably almost comical watching Oedipus vow revenge on a murder that he himself had committed. The audience familiar with the story must have found Oedipus struggles against a predetermined fate laughably futile. In a way, the people who were watching the play but already know the story were watching from the gods’ point of view.
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9 comments:
Richie,
I thought that your blog was very insightful (no pun intended). I also think that it's interesting- not to mention ironic- that Oedipus is the one who can see yet he seems to be blind to the situation at hand. There was one small error i found; you seem to switch to present tense in the last paragraph when referring to the audience's view of the story. Other than that though, you make some very good points and I really like your ideas overall. Bravo!!!
Hi Richie!!
I really like how you started off discussing the specific nature of blindness and then expanded as your blog continued to talk about fate and Sophocles's message. Your blog was very focused and clear, yet I like how you touched on so many aspects of the story- fate, irony, the reader, Sophocles's intent etc. Your final sentence stuck out and caught my attention: that we (as readers who already know the story) are viewing the play from the G-ds point of view. Again, great job!!
I really enjoyed your blog. I thought it was very interesting how you said the lesson to be learned is no one can escape their fate and "one can never be sure where one stands with regards to fate." It makes no difference whether you lived a decent life or not. It was also interesting how you said the play would have more meaning to people who know the story. Great Job!
Dear Richie,
I like how you mentioned multiple ironies of the story including Teiresias, the blind man, seeing what Oedipus cannot and Oedipus's vows to kill the previous king's murderer when he himself is in fact the culprit. Its also interesting how you point out that Sophocles is demonstrating "that once can never be sure where one stands with regards to fate." Nice work!
Wow Richie, I was very impressed with your blog. You attacked your blog with a unique angle of vision which I did not think too much of as I was reading the story. Your highlighting of the multiple ironies in the story was also very effective in creating an excellent blog post. I sincerely enjoyed reading your blog because of your unique insight on the story and your readable writing style. Great job.
I really like how you said that the people watching the play were almost watching from the gods's point of view--I thought that was very interesting. Also, it was very interesting how you pointed out the irony of Oedipus being capable of solving the Sphinx's riddle and not Teiresias. Really good job!
Oh by the way, I believe we had our pride staked on the Cardinals v. Eagles game, need I say more?
This is a great blog, Richie! I thought it was interesting that you mentioned that the Oracle must have taken Oedipus's charcter into account. You also did a great job examining all the ironies of this play! Great job!
Richie--good blog and comments. I'm only surprised by two things:
1. No one mentioned your reference to Amazing Grace, the most famous gospel song ever;
and
2. You got a surprisingly small amount of grief for the NFC championship.
Hey Richie:)
I like how you talk about the use of vision. I really like the point that although Oedipus tells Teirsesias that he is blind, Oedipus is the one who is actually blind (figuratively). I also like how you talk about the theme that life can bring about shifting fates. You have mentioned so many thought-provoking ideas that cover many aspects of the story. I also enjoy your last sentence that in "a way, the people who were watching the play but already know the story were watching from the gods’ point of view." i had never thought of that before. It is an interesting way to look at the story. Great job!
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