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The Character of Oedipus in Oedipus and The Infernal Machine
The stories of Oedipus, as told through Seneca's Oedipus and Cocteau's The Infernal Machine, contain both similarites and differences. Both authors portray the character of Oedipus as being obstinate, ignorant, and inquisitive. Yet Seneca and Cocteau differ on their interpretation of the motives that propelled these characteristics of Oedipus. Seneca portrays Oedipus as a mature man who, in seeing the troubles of the plague that has descended upon Thebes, feels true sorrow for his dying people and wishes to cure his moribund city. On the other hand, Cocteau's Oedipus is a pretentious, immature, and overweening young adult who seeks to indulge himself in the fast and wealthy lifestyle of the royal class.
Seneca and Cocteau seem to agree that Oedipus is a very persistent, curious, and yet unwitting character. Furthermore, they believe that it these qualities that ultimately bring about his demise. In Seneca's tale, Tiresias tries to warn Oedipus that only bad will result from his need to know the identity of Laius's killer-"Avid your hung er for such knowledge now , but you will come to rue the things you know." (Sen. Oed. p. 22) Even when his horrible actions are discovered by all the other characters, Oedipus, oblivious to the truth, persists with the search. Creon describes the area in which the King Laius was slain, yet Oedipus seems to realize nothing and instead, continu es to demand the identity of Laius's killer.
Oedipus. . . .Whom did I murder? Through a blunder, a pure blunder, an old man on the road- a stranger.
Tiresias. Oedipus, your blunder killed the husband of Jocasta, King Laius.
Oedipus. The two of you. Now I see the shape of you...
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...presence of his mother at his side. In the end, Oedipus, according to Cocteau, doesn't even solve the riddle, but instead is told the answer by the Sphinx herself.
Both Seneca and Cocteau regard Oedipus as a stubborn and curious man whose necessity to identify the killer of King Laius, despite warnings from Jocasta, Tiresias, and Creon to leave it be, lead him to his horrible fate. Yet there is a distinct difference between the motives of the authors' characters. Seneca's wise and gracious Oedipus persists in his quest to find the killer in order to free Thebes of its pollution. While Cocteau's puerile and arrogant character must know the identity of the killer, simply for personal knowledge.
Works Cited:
Cocteau, Jean. The Infernal Machine and other plays. New York:New Directions, 1963
Seneca. The Tragedies Volume II. Baltimore:Johns Hopkins, 1995
There are several prominent geographical features that played a major role in the daily life of Pompeii. The geographical location of Pompeii, its economic and industrial activity, entertainment and the Roman influence in the city’s architecture all convey different geographical features. These features contributed in shaping the way the city’s inhabitants went about their daily lives, and all had a profound impact on Pompeii
Oedipus can be argued to be a sympathetic ruler of his people, "my heart must bear the strain of sorrow for all." (4). He shows a strong desire to rid the land of its despair. Yet as the reader captures a more in-depth glimpse into Oedipus' soul, we find him to be a jealous, stubborn, "blind", guilty, and sinful man. Oedipus' character outwardly seems to want nothing more than to find the guilty persons involved in the murder of Laius, yet when given obvious clues he turns a blind eye, not wanting to know the truth behind the prophecy.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale’s greatest fear is that the townspeople will find out about his sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. Mr. Dimmesdale fears that his soul could not take the shame of such a disclosure, as he is an important moral figure in society. However, in not confessing his sin to the public, he suffers through the guilt of his sin, a pain which is exacerbated by the tortures of Roger Chillingworth. Though he consistently chooses guilt over shame, Mr. Dimmesdale goes through a much more painful experience than Hester, who endured the public shame of the scarlet letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s guilt is much more damaging to his soul than any shame that he might have endured.
The selfishness that Oedipus possesses causes him to have abundance of ignorance. This combination is what leads to his father’s death. After fleeing Corinth and his foster family, Oedipus gets into a skirmish with an older man. The reason for the fight was because, “The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord’s command” (1336). Oedipus is filled with a rage after being insulted by the lord and feels the need to act. The two men fight, but Oedipus ends up being too much for the older man, and he kills him. What Oedipus is unaware of is that the man was actually his birth father and by killing him, Oedipus has started on the path of his own destruction. Not only does Oedipus kill his father, but also everyone else, “I killed them all” (1336). The other men had no part in the scuffle, but in his rage, he did not care who he was killing.
Pompeii once on a plateau of the earliest lava near the Bay of Naples in Western Italy in the region Campania, almost 1.6 kilometers from the bottom of Mount Vesuvius. With the shore to the west and the Apennine Mountains in the East, Campania was a fertile plain, crossed by two major rivers and rich soil. (OI) In the beginning, Pompeii was not a remarkable city. Scholars haven’t been able to categorize Pompeii’s first dwellers. Judging by evidence, the first people to live in this area were most likely prehistoric fishes and hunters. (OI)
In fact, Oedipus’ determination towards solving the mystery behind Laius’ death ironically lead to the truth behind the oracle’s prophecy. His supercilious “energia” is present during his speech to the people of Thebes where he states, “As for the criminal, I pray to God -/ Whether it be lurking thief, or one of a number -/ I pray that that man’s life be consumed in evil and/ wretchedness,” (30). Furthermore, he explains that, “If any man knows by whose hand Laius, son of Labdacus,/ Met his death, I direct that man to tell me everything,/… Moreover: if anyone knows the murderer to be foreign,/ Let him not keep silent: he shall have his reward from me,” (30). When Oedipus seeks advice from Apollo in order to lift the curse casted upon Thebes, he lea...
Pompeii is possibly the best-documented catastrophe in Antiquity. Because of it, we know now how the Pompeians lived because they left behind an extensive legacy of art, including monuments, sculptures and paintings. Pompeii lay on a plateau of ancient lava near the Bay of Naples in western Italy in a region called Campania, less than 1.6 kilometers from the foot of Mount Vesuvius. With the coast to the west and the Apennine Mountains to the East, Campania is a fertile plain, traversed by two major rivers and rich soil. However, in the early days, it was not a remarkable city. Scholars have not been able to identify Pompeii’s original inhabitants. The first people to settle in this region were probably prehistoric hunters and fishers. By at least the eight century B.C., a group of Italic people known as the Oscans occupied the region; they most likely established Pompeii, although the exact date of its origin is unknown. “The root of the word Pompeii would appear to be the Oscan word for the number five, pompe, which suggests that either the community consisted of five hamlets or, perhaps, was settled by a family group (gens Pompeia)”(Kraus 7). In the course of the eight century B.C., Greek and Etruscan colonization stimulated the development of Pompeii as a city around the area of the Forum. A point for important trade routes, it became a place for trading towards the inland. Up until the middle of the 5th century B.C., the city was dominated politically by the Etruscans.
In “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto the main character Victor learns perseverance threw his embarrassing moments. To start of with, in paragraph twenty four Soto wrote “Teresa,” Victor said automatically. Some of the girls giggled. They knew he had a crush on Teresa. He felt himself blushing again.” This shows that Victor seems to be enamored with a girl named Teresa. Victor's classmates knowing about his crush on Teresa shows that he's been smitten for a while. Later on in the story, “Mr. Bueller asked if anyone knew French. Victor raised his hand, wanting to impress Teresa. The teacher beamed and said, “Très bien. Parlez-vous français?”
Few people think of detective work in regard to “Oedipus the King”, but this play builds on riddles solved, and unsolved, making it to be a mystery. Oedipus starts out as an optimistic individual who is in charge of a cold case proclaiming that he is going to solve the mystery of the murder of King Laius, in order to life the plague from his city Thebes. The people of Thebes look up to and Oedipus for solving the Sphinx riddle, “You freed us from the Sphinx; you came to Thebes and cut us loose from the bloody tribute we had paid that harsh, brutal singer. We taught you nothing, no skill, no extra knowledge, still you triumphed (Sophocles 44-47). The people believe in him without any prior knowledge of him. When he first hears of the murder, Oedipus immediately takes on the role as a detective when he hears “where shall we find clue to solve that crime after so many years” (Sophocles). The Oracle at Delphi tells Oedipus that the plague will be lifted if Thebes banished the man who killed Laius (Sophocles 74, line 350).
In both plays Oedipus appears to have extreme pride; while Sophocles' clever Oedipus has reason for his pride, Cocteau's foolish Oedipus is arrogant without cause. Sophocles' Oedipus solves "the (sphinx's) riddle by (his) wit alone."(Soph .O.T. 397) The Sphinx sits on the road to Thebes and kills anyone who can not answer her riddle until Oedipus appears, solves the riddle, and saves Thebes. It is at this point that he becomes King of Thebes and rules his people well. He does not know that he
Oedipus is guilty because, despite knowing the prophecy that he will commit parricide and incest, he yet kills an elderly gentleman and sleeps with an elderly women. The choice was his, and this accounts for his guilt.
Oedipus was a victime of fate, his futur was foretold by an Oracle, he had no way of knowing that his wife was his mother nor that the stranger he killed was his father. Oedipus could not prevent his own downfall. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, he became king when he cured the city of a deadly plague. He cured the plague by solving the riddle of the mythical creature, the Sphinkx. Now the city is suffering from another plague and as king Oedipus must solve the riddle of this one.
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.
The myth of Oedipus is one of a man brought down by forces aligning against him. Over the years, different playwrights have interpreted his character in various fashions. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a man who is blind to the path on which his questions take him and exemplifies the typical tyrannical leader in ancient times; in Senaca’s Oedipus, it is the fear of his questions that give Oedipus a greater depth of character, a depth he must overcome if he is to survive his ordeal.
Oedipus was willing to die to uncover the truth. Closure was needed for Oedipus the individual and Oedipus the king. Despite this need for closure, Oedipus remained blind to the clues in his path, plainly dismissing the ideas of other characters. Oedipus’ passion for knowledge was at least as strong as his blindness to the clues in his path. This blindness can be attributed to his pride. This pride gradually developed from h...