solved. Throughout Oedipus there are four recurring characters: Jocasta, Creon, Tiresias, and Oedipus. These characters are the ones that get close to Oedipus and help him figure out the plague of Thebes. To better understand the story of Oedipus the characters, the theme and the plot need to be examined. The protagonist of the play is Oedipus. He is the king of Thebes and was made king by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. Jocasta is the wife of Oedipus and mother, who is later revealed in the
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Leo Boerstoel Mr. Leonardi English 12 Humanities Honors 9/30/13 Irony in Sight Throughout Sophacles’ play Oedipus Rex, he uses sight and blindness to demonstrate irony and the hubris of Oedipus. This is marked by Oedipus’ unwillingness or inability to understand that which is clear to the audience. His hubris (extreme pride) is his tragic flaw, truly blinding him from the truth. Oedipus eventually blinds himself, and it is then that he can finally “see”. From the very beginning, Oedipus was
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A plague has stricken Thebes. The citizens gather outside the palace of their king, Oedipus, asking him to take action. Oedipus replies that he already sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle at Delphi to learn how to help the city. Creon returns with a message from the oracle: the plague will end when the murderer of Laius, former king of Thebes, is caught and expelled; the murderer is within the city. Oedipus questions Creon about the murder of Laius, who was killed by thieves on his way
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truth his whole life. The parents who raised him weren't his parents at all. His real parents were Laius and Jocasta. Jocasta who was his who was his real mother was now his wife. When Oedipus does find the truth, he loses his physical vision by blinding himself. Even when Jocasta found out the truth, she refused to accept it and commits suicide. Jocasta blindness was different from Oedipus as well as both differed from Tiresias, the blind prophet. Tiresias's
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may not have physical sight, but they have another kind of vision. In Sophocles' King Oedipus, Teiresias, the blind prophet, presents the truth to King Oedipus and Jocasta. Oedipus has been blinded to the truth his whole life. When he does find the truth, he loses his physical vision. Because of the truth, Oedipus blinds himself. Jocasta was blind to the true identity of Oedipus. Even when she found out the truth, she refused to accept it. In this case, those who are blind ultimately do have a higher
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arena in which women have recently joined, or has it? While men have been in the forefront of many political accomplishments, it has been many times a woman’s idea that brought home such victories. One example of this is Jocasta. In the story of Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Jocasta is the wife of the king, Oedipus. She is a very mild-mannered woman and gives no signs of being harsh and brash, yet and still she is the most powerful person in the kingdom. An example of her docility is when Oedipus
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Comparing the Women in Greek Tragedies If I compare “Jocasta” of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus with “Clytemnestra” and “Helen” of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and “Electra” of Euripides’ Electra, I see their roles as black and white. There is a great contrast between their characters and the roles they play in these tragedies. “Jocasta” seems to represent the typical Patriarchal society where men tend to dominate and women play a passive role. She does play a passive role in Oedipus
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that his brother in law Creon has conspired against him. Jocasta, his wife, comes out inquiring about the loud voices. The King told her about what the prophet had said. She also remembers a prophecy said to her and Laius but in her mind, that child was killed. What is he saying? That I, Oedipus kill my own father? Nonsense!! He did not know the man he killed some time ago was his father. The messenger enters and tells Oedipus and Jocasta that King Polybus has died. For Oedipus, it was a relief
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in family loyalty when a law forbids her to bury her brother. Jocasta from Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, similarly to Penelope, is tested when her husband’s innocence in a murder case is called into question. While Antigone displays more action in her demonstration of family loyalty, Penelope exhibits the ideal way of showing loyalty to one’s family as her willpower and careful strategies are more successful than that of Antigone and Jocasta. Women in most ancient Greek societies had few rights compared
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one servant that lived went back went back and told Queen Jocasta that her husband was killed by a bunch of thieves. Oedipus still on his way to Thebes he meets and defects a Sphix. Now seen as a hero the people of Thebes worship him. Jocasta still needing a new king decided to make Oedipus it. Oedipus ashamed of his past decided it was best not to tell anyone. Little did we know that he wasn’t the only one keeping secrets but queen Jocasta also had secrets from her past. Jocasts secret was that she
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