Oedipus Rex is a fascinating insight into the nature of a human being’s need for control. From the opening lines of the play we see King Oedipus as the strong leader of his city. His strength lies in his ability to control everyone around him and every situation he is confronted with. He is arrogant but his arrogance comes across more as one who is sure of his abilities to manipulate any situation. Yet, one aspect of his life that he is never able to control is his own destiny and when he loses that ability, he begins to unravel.
We know that Oedipus fled his home town to avoid a prophecy that foretold that he would kill his father. It is later revealed that he did in fact, albeit unknowingly to Oedipus himself at the time, kill his father. It is through th
Oedipus eventually learns everything about his darkened past and proceeds to inflict self-blindness by stabbing his own eyes. This is a very telling part of the story as it again mirrors human instinct – to turn a blind eye to the truth. In the midst of this unfortunate tragedy, Oedipus blames himself for remaining willfully ignorant to the truth. But by destroying his eyesight, he is still blind though in a different way, and still trying to control the situation. Through this act he feels he is executing judgment on himself, but his subconscious mind is driving him to inflict this pain on himself so that he will not have to face others. He is turning from one blindness (his refusal to accept his fate by attempting to control the situation), to another blind
Example Essays Home
