Oedipus the King: The King Of Riddles

661 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis the character of oedipus

Oedipus - The King Of Riddles

In Greek mythology the oracles or gods are rarely wrong in their predictions of the future. Yet the characters still try to fight the predictions. Do their personalities and traits decide their future, or does fate take its course no matter what? Oedipus was a shrewd man furnished with wit and intellect, yet his lack of insight (the ability to see and understand clearly the inner nature of himself) and his arrogance led to his demise, not fate.

Oedipus's exceptional ability, or gift, was unraveling riddles, and solving any puzzles with ease. He had a surplus of the aptitude to look outward, but unfortunately he had a deficiency of the ability to look inward. This talent of looking outward made him renowned for deciphering riddles and mysteries. Yet when Tiresias appears and speaks in riddles, Oedipus cannot solve them because of his lack of insight. Tiresias's riddles are clear in what they state, but Oedipus cannot understand them because he doesn't know himself well enough. Tiresias conveys,

All ignorant! And I refuse to link my utterance with a downfall such as yours.(Pg.42) At this point in the play, Oedipus still cannot perceive who the murderer of King Laius is, even though the riddle is obvious. Oliver 2 Oedipus has the ability to comprehend the riddles, but he won't allow himself to accept the truth. When Oedipus saved Thebes from The Sphinx, he answered this difficult puzzle. The Sphinx demanded, What creature is it that walks on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening? With his eminent mastery of riddles and having an open mind, Oedipus replied, It is Man. As a child he crawls on four. When he grows up he walks upright on his two feet, and in old age he leans on a staff.1 This puzzle is far more complex than Tiresias's rudimentary riddles, so Oedipus has the ability to solve the riddles but cannot let himself do so, because of his pomposity. Oedipus is so arrogant that he can't believe that he could possibly have done anything wrong. He suffered from the sin of hubris. That is, he was very vain, and conceited. No matter how straightforward Tiresias's riddles were, Oedipus's pride wouldn't let him solve them. Finally, Tiresias came right out and said what he meant without a riddle, and Oedipus still couldn't accept that he did anything wrong.

Show More
Related

  • Oedipus the King

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    “…they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me!” These are the words Oedipus shouted as he blinds himself upon learning the truth of his past. It is ironic how a person blessed with perfect physical vision could in reality be blind to to matters of life and conscience. During his prime as King of Thebes, Oedipus is renowned for his lucidity and his ability to rule with a clear concept of justice and equality. The people loved him for his skill and wit, as he saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx. As a result, Oedipus became overly confident, and refuses to see that he may be the cause of the malady that is plaguing his kingdom. Although physically Oedipus has full use of his eyes, Sophocles uses sight to demonstrate how Oedipus is blind to the truth about his past what it might me for both him and his kingdom. Upon learning the truth, Oedipus gouges out his eyes, so he won’t have to look upon his children, or the misfortune that is his life. Once physically unable to see, Oedipus has clear vision as to his fate, and what must be done for his kingdom and his family

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Undoubtedly there has been a tremendous amount of speculation and dissection of this play by countless people throughout the ages. I can only draw my own conclusions as to what Sophocles intended the meaning of his play to be. The drama included a number of horrific and unthinkable moral and ethical dilemas, but I believe that was what made the play so interesting and that is exactly the way Sophocles intended it to be. The play was obviously meant to entertain and portray the author’s own insight. The underlying theme to the play is that no man should know his own destiny, it will become his undoing. This knowledge of things to come was presented to both Laius and Oedipus in the form of prophecies well in advance of it coming to be. The prophecies told of things that were so morally disturbing that they both aggressively did everything in their power to try and stop them from coming true. The story begins with Oedipus at the height of power as King of Thebes. His kingdom has encountered rough times and he has sent his nobleman Creon to seek help from the god Apollo to restore his land. Creon tells Oedipus that he must find the murderer of the previous King Laius and by finding this man and banishing him, his land will be restored. The murder occurred some time ago and King Oedipus sends for the seer Theiresias with his powers of prophecy to aid in the search for the murderer. Sophocles cleverly projects his feelings on wisdom and knowledge through Teirsias when he says “Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that’s wise!”(23) Teirsias knows that this terrible prophecy has already been set into motion and the damage has already been done. There is really no point in telling it to Oedipus because it will only cause more harm than good. Oedipus provokes Teirsias into telling him the prophecy, “ Í tell you, king, this man, this murderer-he is here. In name he is a stranger among citizens but soon he will be shown to be a citizen true native Theban, and he’ll have no joy of the discovery: blindness for sight and beggary for riches his exchange, he shall go journeying to a foreign country tapping his way befor him with a stick.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oedipus is very knowledgeable during the play and at some times still extremely ignorant. He doesn’t always put pieces together. When they are right in front of him. Many people in the play call him ignorant when he still believes that he is knowledgeable. Tiresias says “ All ignorant! And I refuse to link my utterance with a downfall such as yours” (19). In this quote Tiresias means that Oedipus is ignorant even though he acts like he knows everything. Oedipus does not know what Tiresias knows and that is that the curse, which stated the Oedipus would marry his mother, has come true. Tiresias can see what will happen when Oedipus finds out that Jocasta is really his mother and wants to prevent that from happening. When Tiresias does not tell Oedipus the information he seeks he gets angry. Tiresias also has another quote that goes along with knowledge verses ignorance. Tiresias states “I’m blind, you say; you mock at that! I say you see and still are blind-appallingly: Blind to your origins and to a union in your house. Yes, ask yourself where are you from. You’d never guess what hate is dormant in your home or buried with your dear ones dead, or how a mother’s and a fathers curse will one day scourge you with its double thongs and whip you staggering from the land. It shall be night where you now boast the day.” (23). This quote says a lot. First Tiresias accuses Oedipus for mocking him yet still not knowing the information that he knows. Which is the curse. He accuses Oedipus for being blind also and not knowing the truth of his origins, which are from a different mother, and then he grew up with. He doesn’t see he has married his mother. In one part of the quote it states “Yes, ask your self where are you from”. Tiresias is hinting at the fact even though Oedipus thinks he’s extremely knowledgeable he’s ignorant because he doesn’t know where he is from.

    Read More

  • Interweaving Characters and Surroundings in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    Definitive criteria for judging the success or failure of a work of fiction are not easily agreed upon; individuals almost necessarily introduce bias into any such attempt.  Only those who affect an exorbitantly refined artistic taste, however, would deny the importance of poignancy in literary pieces.  To be sure, writings of dubious and fleeting merit frequently enchant the public, but there is too the occasional author who garners widespread acclaim and whose works remain deeply affecting despite the passage of time.  The continued eminence of the fiction of Emily Bronte attests to her placement into such a category of authors: it is a recognition of her propensity to create poignant and, indeed, successful literature.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: A Painful Path to Truth

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle. The story starts off by telling us that Oedipus has seen his moira, his fate, and finds out that in the future he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Thinking that his mother and father were Polybos and Merope, the only parents he knew, he ran away from home and went far away so he could change his fate and not end up harming his family. Oedipus will later find out that he cannot change fate because he has no control over it, only the God's can control what happens. Oedipus is a very healthy person with a strong willed mind who will never give up until he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, in this story these will not be good trait to have.

    Read More

  • Pathogenesis of Bordetella Pertussis

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    B. pertussis has several virulence factors, mainly involving proteins that have been separated into 2 main classifications: adhesions and toxins. The adhesions category consists of the following: filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), fimbriae (FIM), and pertactin (PRN). FHA is a very large surface protein, and it works to help B. pertussis attach to the host cell. FIM are surface appendages, a common finding in other bacteria. However, these appendages contain a factor called agglutinogens, which is used to serotype this bacteria.1 PRN has shown to take on a defense role, fighting any neutrophils that may come to the rescue. As stated above, the other classification of B. pertussis virulence factors is toxins, and it composed of adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT), pertussis toxin (PT), and tracheal cytotoxin (TC). ACT is actually quite an important virulence factor for this bacteria. It functions by injecting itself into the host cell, where it increases cAMP rates. This causes phagocyte function to cease, and may trigger apoptosis in selected cells.1 The exact role of PT is not yet fully understood, but it has come...

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aristotle defined a tragic story as the adventure of a good man who reaches his ultimate downfall because he pushed his greatest quality too far. Sophocles advocates the definition in the tragic play Oedipus Rex. He develops the play with the great polarities of fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight to show Oedipus’ experiences in search for knowledge about his identity. Through his search, Oedipus pushes his quest for truth too far and ultimately reaches his doom. Oedipus’ reliance on his intellect is his greatest strength and ultimate downfall.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: The Tragic Flaws Of Oedipus

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: A Painful Path to Wisdom

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the character of Oedipus, Sophocles shows the futility and consequences of defying the divine order. Oedipus served Thebes as a great ruler, loved by his subjects; but it is his one tragic flaw, hubris, which dooms his existence, regardless of the character attributes that make him such a beloved king.

    Read More

  • Memorable Super Bowl Season

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    As I sat in my comfy theater seat, watching many people file into the Vashon Theater, I pondered the implications of this Super Bowl game. This was the most important game for any sports franchise that had any significance to me. It almost made me shiver, thinking about the joy and celebration that would occur if the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. I listened to the excited chatter all around me, impatient for the game to start, having never experienced an atmosphere so ecstatic, so energetic, so euphoric for a sporting event.

    Read More

  • Sphinx's Riddle In Sophocles Oedipus Rex

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    Greek mythology frequently has a superior ruler, a ruler that figures out difficult circumstances with superior intellect. Sophocles' 'Oedipus the King' is no different. Before Oedipus arrives in Thebes, the Sphinx haunted the city by asking travelers her dark riddle "What walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?" With simplicity, Oedipus solves the riddle, destroys the Sphinx, marries his mother, and takes the throne. Although Oedipus figures out the riddle with ease, he cannot comprehend that the riddle has much to do with his own life. Oedipus' pride and oblivion leads to his epic downfall as the archetypal tragic man, which presents itself within the three stages of the Sphinx's riddle.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: Oedipus And The Gods

    2182 Words  | 5 Pages

    The idea of fate has existed for a long time and exists even today. Fate revolves around the idea that people's lives are predetermined and that no matter what is done it cannot be changed. With the gods it was used to explain events that seemed strange. Sophocles expands on this idea by introducing Oedipus' fate. The thought of fate is strong considering no matter how hard he struggles he still receives what was predetermined. As a baby he survived the elements on Mount Cithaeron. As Oedipus was destined to live, it shows the dominance of fate. Having fate play such a large part of the play is certainly an insight into the Greek's idea that fate controls us no matter how hard we struggle against it.

    Read More

  • The Explanatory Gap: The Responses of Horgan and Papineau

    2935 Words  | 6 Pages

    8 This paragraph and the next are a paraphrase of Terence Horgan, "Jackson On Physical Information And Qualia" Philosophical Quarterly, 34: (1984) 147-52.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Oedipus the King

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    Here is a story where Oedipus the King, who has accomplished great things in his life, discovers that the gods were only playing with him. He has everything a man of that time could want; he is king of Thebes, he has a wonderful wife and children, and great fame through out the lands. He has lived a good life, but in the end everything is taken from him.

    Read More

  • Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Catherine and Heathcliff continue to defy their brother as they grow older, refusing to clean themselves, dress properly, or behave in a civilized manner. One day the two come to Thrushcross Grange (another house on the same land as Wuthering Heights), where they attempt to scare the two children, Edgar and Isabella Linton, who live there with their ...

    Read More

More about Oedipus the King: The King Of Riddles

Open Document