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Ignorance In Oedipus The King

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The greek tragedy Oedipus takes place and was written in Ancient Greece. They play is about a man who is told his fate, and while trying to avoid it ends up running into it in the end. In the end Oedipus stabs out his eyes and becomes physically blind. The story also uses metaphorical sight and blindness to connect to the themes of ignorance and knowledge in the play.

Ignorance plays a very large part in Oedipus. Oedipus is too cocky to believe his parents when they tell him that they are not his parents. If he had not been as ignorant his fate may not have been what it was. Had he confidently known where he actually come from he would not not have left his home. The king’s ignorance also led to his fate. If he had not been so arrogant or …show more content…

Once Oedipus realizes he has fulfilled his destiny it is like his eyes were opened metaphorically, and he was no longer blind. He realizes how ignorant he was, and realizes the fact that his pride got in the way of him behaving logically. This idea also applies to many other characters in the tragedy. Jocasta's eyes were definitely opened when she realized Oedipus was actually her son. That knowledge leads to her suicide. If she had known beforehand that Oedipus was her son, and trusted the prophecy things would have gone much differently.

Oedipus being able to easily find the solution to the riddle illustrates Oedipus’s knowledge and ignorance. Though many believe having lots of knowledge shows you are intelligent that is not always the case. Oedipus was clever, but that does not mean he was wise. There is a very large difference between intelligence and wisdom. Oedipus was ignorant because he believed he was smarter than his adopted parents, and did not trust their wisdom. Oedipus did not behave wisely when he learned Jocasta was actually his mother. Instead of thinking of his children and his people he was selfish, and stabbed out his eyes to show how miserable he was.

The greek tragedy Oedipus uses metaphorical sight and blindness to connect to the themes of ignorance and knowledge in the play. Had it not been for Oedipus’ ignorance and pride the story would have most likely gone very

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