Oedipus Blindness Essay examples - 1118 Words

Blindness in Oedipus Oedipus thought his life was great. Feeling powerful and almighty, Oedipus was wonderful at solving riddles, but did not like the answer to the riddle of who he really was. Although many told him to stop trying to figure out the answer, it was not in his nature to give up. Oedipus thought he could see everything, but he was actually blind of the truth about his life until the end. In the beginning, Oedipus is told by Teiresias that he lives in shame. Of course, Oedipus feels that Teiresias is blind of not only sight, but knowledge: The truth is strong, but not your truth. You have no truth. Youre blind. Blind in your eyes. Blind in your ears. Blind in your mind. (502-504) Oedipus thinks he is†¦show more content†¦Oedipus wants to reveal the truth of his life: Let it break! Let everything break! I must discover who I am, know the secret of my birth, no matter how humble, how vile. Perhaps Jocasta is ashamed of my low birth, ashamed to be my wife. Like all women shes proud. (1348-1352) Although Oedipus says he wants to know who he really is, Oedipus is still being blind during the whole situation. Oedipus is now thinking of what he feels could be the worst of who he really is. Thinking he is from a lower family and that his wife may be ashamed, Oedipus still wants to hear the truth. If Oedipus could actually see clearly, he would know that the blind prophet and his wife were right about him and that he would harm everyone by revealing the truth. Oedipus is far from the truth. Oedipus finally realized that Teiresias could actually see, and that he is the one who is actually blind. Oedipus could see with his eyes, but not with his mind: LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT never again flood these eyes with your white radiance, oh gods, my eyes. All, all the oracles have proven true. I, Oedipus, I am the child of parents who should never have been mineÂâ€"doomed, doomed! (1475-1480) Oedipus finally realizes how blind he has actually been. He now can say that he can see, even if it is not what he wanted to see and know. The LIGHT represents answers and truth of his life. Kilborne points out that by knowing the truth, Oedipus is seeing: It wouldShow MoreRelatedThe Portrayal of Blindness in The Outsider and Oedipus the King1052 Words   |  5 PagesThe Portrayal of Blindness in The Outsider and Oedipus the King A primitive motif in Oedipus the King by Sophocles and The Outsider by Albert Camus is blindness. The protagonists in the novels are blinded to a personal truth, and are physically blinded as well. In The Outsider, Meursault’s blindness is metaphorical, as he is negligent to his own absurdity, which he later becomes categorized as. On the other hand, Oedipus’s blindness is literal, as he is ignorant to the truth of his life;Read MoreOedipus Blindness and Self Discovery Illustrated in Sophocles Oedipus815 Words   |  4 PagesFrom the very beginning of Oedipus, one can see that the main character of Oedipus is very sure about who he is and where he has come from. One of the most important motifs of the story is the idea of metaphorical blindness, and how Oedipus claims that everyone else around him is blind, and he is the only one that can see. However, what Oedipus soon finds out is that he has no idea who he is, and that all along he has been blind himself. Sophocles makes Oedipus suffer because of the fact that heRead More Blindness In Oedipus The King Essay725 Words   |  3 Pages Blindness plays a two-fold part in Sophoclesamp;#8217; tragedy amp;#8220;Oedipus the King.; First, Sophocles presents blindness as a physical disability affecting the auger Teiresias, and later Oedipus; but later, blindness comes to mean an inability to see the evil in oneamp;#8217;s actions and the consequences that ensue. The irony in this lies in the fact that Oedipus, while gifted with sight, is blind to himself, in contrast to Teiresias, blind physically, but able to see the evil to whichRead MoreEssay about Sight and Blindness in Oedipus Rex730 Words   |  3 PagesSight and Blindness in Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex is a play about the way we blind ourselves to painful truths that we can’t bear to see. Physical sight and blindness are used throughout the play, often ironically, as a metaphor for mental sight and blindness. The play ends with the hero Oedipus literally blinding himself to avoid seeing the result of his terrible fate. But as the play demonstrates, Oedipus, the man who killed his father and impregnated his mother, has been blind all alongRead MoreUse of Blindness in Oedipus the King Essay920 Words   |  4 Pagesin his plays, Wisdom stands out as the most impact full. After all, No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding(Plato 1/2). In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses the blindness of Teriesias, Jocasta, and Oedipus to point out how understanding is far greater than vision alone. In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles use the blindness of Teiresias to point out the great power behind wisdom and understand. Teiresias, by your art you read signs and secrets of the earth and the sky;Read MoreSight and Blindness in Oedipus the King Essay1048 Words   |  5 PagesThe Irony of Sight and Knowledge in Oedipus the King People equate ‘seeing’ to gaining knowledge. Expressions such as â€Å"I see† and â€Å"seeing truth† are used to express understanding of something, but is seeing really the same as knowing? In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s inability to grasp the truth is despite the fact that he is physically able to see contrasts Teiresias’s knowledge of the truth even though he is blind. The irony of the blind man being knowledgeable, and the seer becomingRead MoreEssay on Sight and Blindness in Oedipus Rex1311 Words   |  6 PagesIn the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the themes of sight and blindness are developed in a way to communicate to the reader that it is not eyesight itself, but insight that holds the key to truth and, without it, no amount of knowledge can help uncover that truth. Some may define insight as the ability to intuitively know what is going to happen, or simply as the capacity to understand the true nature of a situation. Bot h definitions hold a significant role in the play, not only for more obviousRead MoreEssay on Theme of Blindness in Sophocles Oedipus the King758 Words   |  4 PagesTheme of Blindness in Sophocles Oedipus the King Sophocles?s play, ?Oedipus the King? is one of the most well known of the Greek tragedies. The play?s interesting plot, along with the incredible way it is written are only two of the many reasons why two thousand years later, it is still being read and viewed. For those who are not familiar with the story of ?Oedipus the King?, it is written about the results of a curse put on King Oedipus which claims that he will murder his father and marryRead MoreVision and Blindness In Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles Essay660 Words   |  3 Pages The play Oedipus Tyrannus, written by Sophocles, is a play filled with symbols and irony involving the aspect of both vision and blindness. This aspect of the novel takes on an important role in the life of Oedipus, the ruler of Thebes. He originally feels as though he knows and sees everything, nevertheless, as the motto of the Oracle at Delphi states, he does not know thyself, as he will find out toward the end of the play. The notion of seeing and blindness becomes an important and ironicRead MoreThe True Vision of Blindness in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Essay959 Words   |  4 Pagesthey are blind to it. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles it is easy to see how blindness affects the transition of the story. It is said that blind people see â€Å"in a different manner† because they sense the world in a totally diferent way, such as Teiresias in the play. Oedipus Rex is a tragedy due to the content the Sophocles, the playwright, decided to include, first, murdering his father, ki ng Laius, then marrying his mother, Jocasta, and ending by blinding himself. Oedipus has been blinded to the truth