Oedipus Project

______________________________________________________________________

QUOTE: “your pain strikes each / of you alone, each in the confines of himself, no other. But my spirit / grieves for the city, for myself and for all of you.” (74-76)

ANALYSIS: Oedipus takes on responsibility of the city and its people. He is emotionally invested in them and feels the pain that they feel. The city also reflects the conflict that Oedipus has in his life. From prior knowledge it is knows that Oedipus has broken many taboos. Thebes shows this strong conflict because they are suffering from a major plague and are in great distress. Oedipus will do anything to help the city, its people, and himself. Oedipus claims some pity from is citizens by saying that his spirit grieves for himself even though it is he who is not suffering (yet) from the plague. 

Also the random pauses, where the slash marks are, show that Oedipus is in somewhat distress because his diction is choppy.

READER RESPONSE:

I chose this drawing to represent my feelings about Oedipus because he feels pity for his people, but simultaneously he is showing that he is at a higher level than the Thebans by saying that his spirit specifically grieves for people including himself. Oedipus is in color because to me he stands out more than the citizens, and also he makes sure to include himself in his statement.

________________________________________________________________________

QUOTE: “you’ve lost your power, / stone-blind, stone deaf-senses, eyes blind as stone! / I pity you, flinging at me the very insults / each man will fling at you so soon.” (422-424)

ANALYSIS: Oedipus is insulting Tiresias because he is not telling Oedipus what he wants to hear. Dramatic irony is very apparent here because Oedipus made a comment about how Tiresias is blind, and Tiresias refutes that comment by saying that people will say the same insults to Oedipus in the future. This is ironic because Oedipus blinds himself when he finds out the horrible deed that he did. Tiresias pities Oedipus because Oedipus is in denial that Tiresias wont help him. Also I feel like Tiresias is being passive aggressive and twisting his words in a way just to provoke anger from Oedipus. Although Oedipus was not being very kind to Tiresias, it is still Oedipus’ right to know what he needs to do to save the city.

READER RESPONSE:

I chose Tiresias’ mask to look manipulative because he is passive aggressively manipulating his words. Oedipus is sad, hence the blue tears, and he is angry, shown by the fire. He feels these ways because Tiresias is not telling him what he wants to hear. I chose my mask to portray a conflicted look because although I feel bad for Oedipus because he isn’t getting told important information, he is being mean to Tiresias, so I am not sure who I feel pity for.

________________________________________________________________________

QUOTE: “…what man alive more miserable than I? / more hated by the gods? I am the man / no alien, no citizen welcomes to his house, / law forbids it-not a word to me in public, / driven out of every hearth and home.” (899-903)

ANALYSIS: Oedipus is self-centered even now. He is saying that he is the most miserable man alive; meanwhile his entire kingdom is dying from a plague. He is saying that he is the most hated man, even by the gods, though he may thing this is true, it is a rather radical feeling to jump to. He calls himself an alien, and finally wraps it up by abiding by his initial rules. He is exiling himself and saying he is no longer allowed to step into peoples homes. Even though is does not benefit Oedipus, he still follows his initial curse for the benefit of his kingdom. This is a selfish act for Oedipus because although personally exiling himself is harmful, he is being loyal to his kingdom and doing what he things is best for them. Oedipus has shows severely selfish traits in the past, but this is a turning point in his character and shows how

READER RESPONSE: Oedipus is showing a new found maturity by acknowledging his wrong doings and willing to follow through with the proper punishment. Although Oedipus shows self centered qualities when he is wailing about how he is the miserable man in the world, he makes up for it by taking the punishment. Although Oedipus does not have control over his fate, I do not feel pity for him because he had control over his actions and future until he killed Laius. The play demonstrates that one does not have control over their destiny, but if Oedipus did not kill his father, he would not be feeling the pain he feels now.

________________________________________________________________________

QUOTE: “Racked with anguish, / no longer a man of sense, he wont admit / the latest prophecies are hollow as the old- / he’s at the mercy of every passing voice / if the voice tells of terror.” (1001-1005)

ANALYSIS: Jocasta is stating how Oedipus will listen to every bad thing someone says. His surroundings and the people around him easily influence Oedipus. Jocasta is saying that the prophecies are “hollow” or not important and meaningless. What influences Oedipus is not the supernatural, but the opinions of his people, which is not the case prior in the text. Oedipus no longer has any sense because he is so reliant on what his people say, he is anxious without the guidance of his kingdom. The things going on around him are slowly chipping Oedipus away. His people weaken him, the people he is supposed to protect, and he can no longer thing for himself Even in this quote, Jocasta is speaking for him and telling everyone how Oedipus is feeling. Oedipus is getting continuously weaker which is understandable because he goes through so much emotionally.

READER RESPONSE: Throughout the text Oedipus has become weaker and weaker. It is understandable that this is happening to him because he is in many emotionally difficult situations. Jocasta is acting maternally towards Oedipus and speaking for him. Although it is not confirmed at this point in the text that Jocasta is Oedipus’ mother, she still acts motherly towards him. She displays a natural maternal instinct and uses this to help the emotionally fragile Oedipus. I respect Jocasta because she’s taking the pressure off Oedipus even though he did it to himself.

________________________________________________________________________

QUOTE: “You, / you’ll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! / Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, / blind to the ones you longed to see, to know! Blind, from this hour on! Blind in the darkness-blind!” (1405-1409)

ANALYSIS: Oedipus blinds himself after hearing that he fulfilled the prophecy and ended up killing his father and marrying his mother. Initially, Oedipus exiled the murderer of Laius and said that he should be blinding, and now that Oedipus discovers it was him that committed these deeds, he’s going along with the plan. Oedipus is addressing himself as “you” as if he were talking to the murderer who was another person. He is saying how the murderer, himself, will not be able to see the pain he caused, because he is exiled and blinded. This may be a defense mechanism to avoid being hurt by the suffering that he personally caused. Oedipus is now blind to the people that he shouldn’t have met and blind to the people he has wanted to meet. Therefore he is blind for both his past and present actions.

READER RESPONSE:

I chose Oedipus to appear in dark and messy clothing because he has been degrading emotionally from all the treachery. My mask has a conflicted relieved appearance because I feel pity for Oedipus because he will now suffer blindly and be exiled from his kingdom. I am relieved because he is saving the Thebans and caring for his people.

________________________________________________________________________

SYNTHESIS: Initially I thought of Oedipus as a selfless leader that is willing to do anything for his people. As the story continued it became clear that although Oedipus is helping his people but that is actually a side effect of helping himself. He makes a point in almost every quote to turn the feeling of pity on himself and in the conclusion of the play, Oedipus is demanding all the pity from the people of Thebes. At first I liked Oedipus because, under false knowledge, I thought of him as the leader that Thebes needs. In the end of the story I don’t like Oedipus because the emotional strain chipped away at his character making him a selfish person.

            Through the tragedy of Oedipus the King, I learned that to be a successful leader one must be selfless and put the best for the kingdom first. Oedipus did care about the well being of Thebes but he cared more about his morality and ego; he cared more about what people thought about him than the health of the kingdom. Creon, on the other hand displayed more selfless leadership and was the successor of Oedipus, proving that the selfless leader is the more successful one.

________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCE:

Sophocles, Oedipus The King. The Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. New     

York: Penguin classics, 1984. Print.