Murder, assault, and other forms of violence are widespread plagues that haunt modern society. In order to combat these relevant issues society has implemented different systems over the years. These systems have moved from a simple mindset to intricate organizations of jurisdiction and law. Violence appears not only in reality but, in novels and literary works alike. Albert Camus’ The Stranger depicts a modern system of justice; however, Sophocles Oedipus Rex portrays a simplistic system of justice. Society implements these to prevent the downfall of the human race. Society protects humanity from its own demise by condemning acts of violence. Acts of violence, weather brought on by anger as illustrated in Oedipus Rex or by environmental influences …show more content…
Oedipus’s ignorance is the main cause to his violent actions. Oedipus’s downfall is illustrated through his discovery of his origins along with his self-inflicted violence of gouging his eyes out. Oedipus’s goal in life is to find out where he came from and this need to find out is eating away at his soul. Like the heat in The Stranger the need to know and the lack of knowing is the external influence that causes Oedipus to act violently. “’I say that you are the murderer whom you seek.’ ‘Now twice you have spat out infamy. You’ll pay for it!’” (Sophocles 20). The later excerpt is that of Oedipus. It is his reaction to being accused of murder. As in the Stranger Oedipus has a hidden violence that he lets out verbally on the occasion, however most of it resides deep within his character. Oedipus pressed on throughout the play and eventually came to the realization of the truth. To combat his emergence from ignorance, Oedipus self-inflicts violence upon himself. This is different to The Stranger in the sense that Meursaults’ inflicted violence on another member of society which in turn caused society to fight …show more content…
This is like Meursaults’ epiphany of rejoining society in the sense that Oedipus is emerging from his ignorance and realizing the severity of his actions. This also is a means of escaping and avoiding the truth by blinding himself from society. “No more shall you look on the misery about me, the horrors of my own doing! Too long have you known?” (Sophocles 69) These were the words uttered by Oedipus as he was blinding himself. As the murder was the pivotal scene in Meursaults’ life, this line is the apex of Oedipus’s life because his character developed from being smothered in the bliss of ignorance in to reality. He also is recognizing that what he has committed is wrong and that he is in essence punishing himself. He is taking the law in to his own hands. Oddly Oedipus is still under the concept that he is still the ruler of Thebes. “And he will leave Thebes, Self- Exiled, in order that the curse which he pronounces may depart from the house.” (Sophocles 70). This is society’s way of protecting itself against Oedipus. As one can see the system during Oedipus’s era greatly differs the complexity of modern-day society as portrayed in The Stranger. Oedipus is in essence being forced to step down and relive his throne. They are forcefully removing Oedipus
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.
It is clear to see that Oedipus is an impulsive and passionate man, which causes Oedipus to fulfill the prophecy that haunts him. He flees the kingdom of Corinthian in order to avoid his fate. Along his journey he comes to a crossroad that is blocked by a chariot, and “in a fit of anger” Oedipus kills the father he never knew (Meyer 1422). Oedipus’ anger causes him to kill the father he never knew and all the men in the entourage. Oedipus’ cannot control his temper and this personality flaw leads him to his fate.
“…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
Sophocles: A collection of critical essays edited by Thomas Woodward: Oedipus at Colonus. Whitman, Cedric H. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1966.
Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 1997.
Oedipus starts on a powerful trip to find the murderer, and this ends up throwing him into a passionate search within himself to find the truth. Because Oedipus will not compromise, and will only go after the
Sophocles. The Oedipus Cycle. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Harvest/HBJ-Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1939.
Fitts, Dudley, and Robert Fitzerald. Sophocles: The Oedipus Cycle. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Com, 1977. Print.
...Sophoclean Rulers: Oedipus.” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
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.
For Oedipus, prophecy is not the main source of his fall towards society; rather, his hubris blinds himself from recognizing his personal sin in the world, thus leading to his demise. Sophocles even skillfully uses a metaphor through the words “ as led by a guide” to further explain the “supernatural being” that ultimately decides the tragic fate of the family of Oedipus. In addition, through the death of Jocasta, the reader is immediately attuned of Oedipus’ raging moment of violence and will be petrified by the overwhelming power of the gods, thus realizing the importance of being cautious before making a final choice. Indeed, after an individual settles on a decision, the gods take control of the person’s fate, hurling numerous consequences to him if he makes the wrong decision. Moreover, as Oedipus suddenly becomes the unintended victim of the gods through his sinful decision to execute Laius, he is forced to relinquish his predominate impetus for pridefulness in exchange for a heart of deep realization and forgiveness. At the end of the play, Oedipus sacrifices everything in order to remove his guilt through the consequences of his atrocious actions witnessed by the gods. After Oedipus realizes the astringent fate he was destined to encounter through his sinful murder of Laius, he immediately attempts to take responsibility for his
Realizing the heinous nature of his actions, Oedipus blinds himself in a fit of anger and remorse - now, as Tiresias, he can see. In an age where popular entertainment is apparently guided by the maxim "more is better" (see the body count in any popular "action thriller") and "special effects" dominate, Oedipus Rex achieves its climax in a refreshingly concise and intelligent manner.
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.
Punishing the unlawful, undesirable and deviant members of society is an aspect of criminal justice that has experienced a variety of transformations throughout history. Although the concept of retribution has remained a constant (the idea that the law breaker must somehow pay his/her debt to society), the methods used to enforce and achieve that retribution has changed a great deal. The growth and development of society, along with an underlying, perpetual fear of crime, are heavily linked to the use of vastly different forms of punishment that have ranged from public executions, forced labor, penal welfare and popular punitivism over the course of only a few hundred years. Crime constructs us as a society whilst society, simultaneously determines what is criminal. Since society is always changing, how we see crime and criminal behavior is changing, thus the way in which we punish those criminal behaviors changes.
“Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a tragedy of a man who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. Aristotles’ ideas of tragedy are tragic hero, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis these ideas well demonstrated throughout Sophocles tragic drama of “Oedipus the King”.