Forgiving The Sphinx's Riddle In Oedipus The King

Creon has the full right to retaliate to Oedipus’ charge because he is innocent and is defending the truth. If Oedipus had been less stubborn, he would have seen Creon’s innocence and avoid this

The amount of chaos that Creon has caused forces such a harsh punishment upon him. Tiresias warns him to

The prophet Tiresias says "what use is it to kill the dead a second time" (1030). Antigone and others recognizes the crime that Creon is commiting by dismissing the god's divine

In Fences by August Wilson, the protagonist Troy has a rough adolescence and attempts to do more for his children by not being similar to his father, but with fate the inevitable occurs. Growing up Troy felt that his father did not care about him and was selfish, for example when Tory recounts his childhood to Bono, he says “sometimes I wish I hadn’t known my daddy. He ain’t cared nothing about no kids. When it come time for eating... he ate first.

When Creon is first introduced, he does not hold any major responsibilities. He is considerate, rational, and respectful toward Oedipus. When Oedipus first starts to search for Laius’s killer, Creon personally recommends that he seek out Tiresias, which,

Creon values his family and the gods, but, when he stepped up to be king, he becomes drunken with power and pride that causes him to turn his back on family and the gods. Creon’s barbaric claims towards Oedipus, “Sister, this husband of yours, Oedipus, judges terrible things for me, choosing two evils: to forsake my fatherland or to die.” (Oedipus Rex,

" This quote shows that Oedipus can admit to his mistakes and take responsibility. Creon downfall of luck is when he sentences Antigone to jail. Creon thought he could disrespect the gods and not have to pay for his disrespect. After Creon finds a way to flip Antigone's execution back on the god, the narrators tell Creon that his " mortal arrogance" would not "Transcends the wrath of Zeus?".

Cynthia Sanchez THTR 101: Intro to Theatre Prof. Bingham April 15, 2017 Synopsis of Oedipus the King Oedipus the King: a tragedy, focused on the theme of self discovery and eventually, self destruction. The use of motifs and foreshadowing in the play tells about the misfortunes that occur in the life of Oedipus the King of Thebes, and how these occurrences affect his relationship with his mother Jocasta and her deceased husband Laius . The plot begins in a mystery of events that lead the King to try and discover who murdered Laius.

“You freed us from the/ Sphinx, you came to Thebes/ and cut us loose from the bloody tribute we had paid/ that harsh, brutal singer. We taught you nothing,/ no skill, no extra knowledge, still you triumphed,” (44-47) says the priest to Oedipus, praising him for his quick wit that has ended the plague on Thebes. Oedipus could have chosen to run from the Sphinx, saving himself any trouble, but he righteously took up the task to defeat it, putting his own life at risk but deciding it was worth it to rescue the citizens of Thebes from their peril. Since one of the signs of nobility is selflessness, Oedipus is clearly noble because of his grand sacrifice.

Creon starts off by saying, “You citizens, I have just discovered--/ that Oedipus, our king, has levelled charges--/ against me, disturbing allegations.” (612-14). Creon is trying to warn the town about Oedipus’ accusations, which the reader knows these accusations are due to the blindness of his pride. While Creon and the Chorus converse about the assumption Oedipus has made, the Chorus reveals that Oedipus may have made these accusations with an unstable mind. The Chorus says, “Perhaps he charged you--/ spurred on by the rash power of his rage,--/ rather than his mind’s true judgment.”

Oedipus solved the riddle of the sphinx which ultimately saved the Kingdom of Thebes from the plague. This made Oedipus a respected ruler that was well liked in Thebes. His time as ruler eventually came to an unexpected end. Although Oedipus could not control his fate, his confidence in himself, determination and stubbornness to find out who killed Laius led to his downfall. Throughout the play Oedipus struggles with not being able to solve this murder.

Oedipus is defined as Latinized form of the Greek Οιδιπους (Oidipous), meaning "swollen foot" from (oideo) "to swell" and πους (pous) "foot". In Greek legend Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta. He unwittingly slew his father and married his mother. Oedipus was a great king but the Sphinx riddle was a perfect analogy of Oedipus’s life and this is evident through the plot events. Firstly there is three parts of the sphinx riddle, and the first part of the riddle was “What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning…” this riddle was first mentioned in the story when Oedipus wanted to pass through the gates of Thebsis but was stopped by the sphinx.

Oedipus who tries to make Creon looks like an evil person explains to Jocasta, his wife that he caught Creon in the act of wanting to stab him, which was not the case. “Precisely, I caught him in the act, Jocasta, plotting, about to stab me in the back” (Qtd in Barnet, Burto, & Cain, p. 1117). Oedipus who was challenging and discourteous most of the time violent temper plays a significant role in his downfall makes him a tragic flaw. Another tragedy of Oedipus as a tragic hero was that he was a proud man, who thinks he knew it all and would not listen to anyone. One of his greatest acts of hubris was that he denies his fate of the oracle and defy the prophecies of the gods that later came to reality, and despite his growing up in Corinth he was a son of the land of Thebes.

Oedipus Rex Henry Rollins once stated, “Weakness is what brings ignorance, cruelty, and pride, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor.” In Sophocles play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, weakness is his fate. Throughout the play, Oedipus is trying to outrun his fate because he feels the gods are subordinate to his powerful figure. Oedipus is seen as a god throughout Thebes because he defeated the mighty Sphinx, who was once haunting over the city. After defeating the Sphinx, Oedipus took over as king by killing his father and coupling his mother as his hubris blinded him from reality.

The Queen, Jacosta, Oedipus’ wife tells him not to believe in the prophet, because they’ve been wrong before, she then tells Oedipus about how she and King Laius had a son who was prophesied to kill Laius and sleep with her but since the child was supposedly dead the prophecy couldn’t be true. Oedipus becomes a bit weary because as a child an old man told him he was adopted and that one day he’d kill his real father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus did also kill a man at a crossroads which sounded like the way Laius died. Oedipus continued questioning the messenger and found out that he was the man everyone spoke of and Jacosta then comes to the realization that Oedipus is her son and kills herself.