Analysis Of Oedipus Rex And The Lottery

1149 Words3 Pages

In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, there is a deception where readers think one thing, but are presented with a different point of view. They are profoundly similar for various reasons regarding structure and theme. They are complementary in establishing the primary conflict of drama during the storyline; however, Oedipus Rex encompasses foreshadowing that divulges drama from past experiences. Additionally, the authors incorporate violence as a key component in the conflict presented. However, the drama differs in plot, as well as symbolism, in which the reader understands it before or amid the story through gradual discovery. The themes and presentation of these dramatic plots are initially compelling, distinctive, …show more content…

At first glance, the readers have preconceived ideas that the story’s theme is one of a positive nature. One anticipates that there will be a character with good fortune; however, once reading it only becomes evident in the middle of the story. Readers begin to understand that he person who has the misfortune, the colored paper, is stoned to death in front of the whole community. This is evident when it states, “It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before…there was a stir in the crowd” (Jackson 249). This quote emphasis’s the negative connotation related to the black dot, which makes readers aware of the detriments related. Its relevance leads readers to understanding the development of the drama. Within the Hutchinson’s family, the mother, Tessie Hutchinson, is the victim to the lottery that …show more content…

This creates a twist in the plot, making readers discover the true meaning and thinking back to all they had read. Oedipus is told that he has fulfilled his fate and discovering his true identity in the middle of the play, and Mrs. Hutchinson discovers her fate in the middle of the short story as well. This encompasses the full knowledge of the detriments to come. Overall, both dramatizing pieces encompass unknown suspicions that are already evident within communities but not apparent to the readers, yet they are gradually revealed. This creates a captivating plot and accomplishes the goals of the writers – to compel readers to uncover the brutal yet enthralling

Show More
Related

  • AP Open Response, Oedipus Rex

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Insuring the portrayal of his theme, Sophocles targets the tension of his tragic play, Oedipus Rex, through the growth of the main character, Oedipus, rather than the mystery. Utilizing literary devices such as dramatic irony, soliloquies, and foreshadowing, Sophocles reveals to the audience the conclusion to the mystery of Oedipus before the hero has solved it himself; forcing the audience’s attention towards character growth of the hero, over the actual development of the mystery.

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus and Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus can be argued that it is related loosely to Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth. This comparative and contrasting characteristics that can be seen within both plays make the reader/audience more aware of imagery, the major characters, plot, attitudes towards women, and themes that are presented from two very different standpoints. The authors Sophocles and Dove both have a specific goal in mind when writing the two plays. In this paper I will take a closer look of the two, comparing and contrasting the plays with the various elements mentioned previously.

    Read More

  • Allegories In The Lottery

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a provoking piece of literature about a town that continues a tradition of stoning, despite not know why the ritual started in the first place. As Jackson sets the scene, the villagers seem ordinary; but seeing that winning the lottery is fatal, the villagers are then viewed as murders by the reader. Disagreeing with the results of the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson is exposed to an external conflict between herself and the town. Annually on June 27th, the villagers gather to participate in the lottery. Every head of household, archetypally male, draws for the fate of their family, but Tessie protests as she receives her prize of a stoning after winning the lottery. Jackson uses different symbols – symbolic characters, symbolic acts, and allegories – to develop a central theme: the

    Read More

  • Vision and Blindness In Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sophocles’ use of symbolism and irony is shown in Oedipus Tyrannus through his use of the notion of seeing and blindness. This common motif is extended throughout the play and takes on a great significance in the development of the plot. In an effort to escape his god given prophecy, Oedipus tragically falls into the depths of unthinkable crimes as a result of the mental blindness of his character; thus never escaping his lot.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: The Tragic Flaws Of Oedipus

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.

    Read More

  • Shaping History By Molding Minds: Confucius and Laozi

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    Encompassing a wide variety of emotion, an Athenian tragedy can be described as a mixed bag of “compelling stories about human relationships, whose melodramatic plots invite us to think about profound issues…” according to the Norton Anthology of World Literature. (644) It is the ability to manipulate human circumstances in the most outlandish way that grabs an audience’s attention; while the articulation and careful consideration with plot structure and dialogue leaves an audience to ponder long after the story is over. Sophocles took this idea and ran with it when he wrote Oedipus the King, arguably one of the most popular Athenian tragedies ever written. The Norton Anthology of World Literature provides support to this claim by explaining that, “Aristotle descr...

    Read More

  • Self-Discovery and the Pursuit of Truth in Sophocles' Oedipus

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sophocles’ Oedipus is the tragedy of tragedies. An honorable king is deceived and manipulated by the gods to the point of his ruination. In the face of ugly consequences Oedipus pursues the truth for the good of his city, finally exiling himself to restore order. Sophocles establishes emotional attachment between the king and the audience, holding them in captivated sympathy as Oedipus draws near his catastrophic discovery. Oedipus draws the audience into a world between a rock and a hard place, where sacrifice must be made for the greater good.

    Read More

  • Oedipus And Macbeth Comparison Essay

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both works, “Macbeth” and “Oedipus,” are well-known tragic plays that illicit important world views on matters of life. They are similar in that their plots are centered on one main concept, their protagonist’s fate and reach a resolution as they are fulfilled to the letter. Both characters were foretold directly or indirectly what their destinies were to be and inevitably, they come true. Macbeth was told by three witches that he would become king, and even though it is unclear whether they possessed supernatural powers or invented the story, it became a reality in his mind and a goal to pursue. Likewise, Oedipus was punished by the gods for killing a sacred being, a sphinx, and his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother infallibly materializes in his future even though he tries to run away and e...

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex: The Search for Truth

    2217 Words  | 5 Pages

    Owen, E. T. "Drama in Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus." 20th Centruy Interpretations of Oedipus Rex. Ed. Micheal O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 33-35. Print.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: Characterization

    2442 Words  | 5 Pages

    This essay will illustrate the types of characters depicted in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, flat or round, and whether protrayed through the showing or telling technique.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex - Conflict, Climax, Resolution

    2876 Words  | 6 Pages

    Owen, E. T.  “Drama in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus.” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.

    Read More

  • Mythology in Oedipus Rex

    4088 Words  | 9 Pages

    E. T. Owen in “Drama in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus.” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.

    Read More

  • Dramatic Irony In Oedipus The King

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the drama, “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, is a Greek tragedy about a king investigating the murder of the former late king, only to find out it was himself. The author presents dramatic irony thought out the story. Dramatic irony is when audience or reader is aware of the situation and outcome before the charters in the book or play know. Sophocles’ uses this to advantage from the beginning of the drama to create suspense throughout the story of when the rest of the cast would realize the truth.

    Read More

  • Dramatic Irony In Sophocles Oedipus The King

    540 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history, drama has been a vehicle to entertain, instruct, and inform the general public. Dramatic irony, when the audience understands what will transpire but the characters do not, create suspense that enthrals the audience. Universal characters, those which mirror the average person, further enhance the reader’s understanding. The transmission of universal themes, age-old messages, entertains the audience through learning. A drama’s entertainment value is its capability to hold an audience’s attention and impart meaningful messages. In Sophocles’s Oedipus the King, dramatic irony, universal characters, and universal themes are integral in affirming the entertainment value of the drama.

    Read More

  • Tragedy and Comedy

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. By Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 73-94. Print.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Oedipus Rex And The Lottery

Open Document