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Oedipus the King : The Curing of Religious Hypocrisy

            Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King with the hope of portraying the presence of religious hypocrisy in his society and correcting it. He does this threw the character Oedipus, what Oedipus does to the character Creon, and threw the character Jocasta. Sophocles feels that the mortals of his day have been acting with a sense of control that is too great over the immortals. This is most likely due to two reasons; the lack of instant gratification received after invoking the immortals for a specific thing and also because no person has actually seen, heard, or touched an immortal (much less a servant of an immortal). Thus concluding that immortals actually don't exist. Putting the control of what happens in life into the hands of mortals. Sophocles sees that the religion of his day is becoming corrupt because of this control mortal's feel they have. He also sees that this as a growing problem in his society. Thus he attempts to cure it threw the creation of the characters who play with in the great story of Oedipus the King.
             The first character that Sophocles presents to accomplish his goal of curing religious hypocrisy in his society is with the character Oedipus, a very power struggling man. The first instance where we meet Oedipus and his power occurs in the beginning of the play. Oedipus is met by a priest and a group of children outside his palace. These people want to inform Oedipus of the plague that has been so terribly hurting their city. Here, the powerful Oedipus feels that because he is "in" control of the town of Thebia, that he should also be able "to" control what "happens" to the town of Thebia. Truth be told no one mortal has this control. This is Sophocles" first attempt of curing religious hypocrisy of his society threw his characters. The audience will see that Oedipus is trying to control where control isn't and will later see that because of this he falls. .
             The next character Sophocles presents is not presented for the same reason as Oedipus but rather to empathize the reason that Oedipus was presented.


Essays Related to Oedipus the King : The Curing of Religious Hypocrisy

1. Oedipus

Finding a cure for the plague rapidly escalates into a conflict that will be an "eye opening" revelation for Oedipus. In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is a man destined to fail because he is blind to the truth. ... As the play opens, Oedipus is a caring king who is deeply concerned about the citizens of Thebes. ... After defeating the Sphinx, Oedipus was presented the widowed Jocasta and was made king. ... Oedipus has three tragic flaws in Oedipus the King. ...

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2. Oedipus

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3. King Oedipus by Sophocles

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4. oedipus

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5. Oedipus Rex

The tragedy is dominated by the powerful figure of King Oedipus of Thebes. ... His journey in this play moves Oedipus from the quest for a cure from the plague to a search for his own identity (Porter 4). ... As the play begins, Sophocles presents King Oedipus as ruler of Thebes. ... Oedipus is described as a self-assured and proud king (O'Brien 20). ... King Oedipus was a man of greatness. ...

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6. Oedipus The King

At the outset, in fear of killing King Polybus, the man who he believes is his father, Oedipus self-exiles himself from Corinth. ... He is called upon by Oedipus to provide information about the murder of King Laius. ... Despite Oedipus" status, Teiresias never feels obligated to serve him; he speaks by his own will and the will of the gods: TEIRESIAS: King though you are, one right - To answer - makes us equal; and I claim it. ... Oedipus soon ends up in Corinth, where he is raised by King Polybus and his wife, Merope. ... In King Oedipus, Oedipus, Laius, and Jocasta exercise freew...

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7. The Story of Oedipus the King

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8. Oedipus The King

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9. Oedipus The King

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