ipl-logo

The Shattered Mirror Oedipa

256 Words2 Pages

The shattered mirror continues to be an important symbol in this novel and serves to tie the book further with the myth of Narcissus. After Oedipa’s affair with Metzger, “things grew less and less clear…she went into the bathroom, tried to find her image in the mirror and couldn 't. She had a moment of nearly pure terror (Pynchon 33).” Like Narcissus and the pool of water the mirror serves Oedipa in a similar fashion, it reflects the woman that society has shaped her to be but the shattering of the mirror shows an end of that. The mirror earlier in the novel served as a narcissistic connection to Oedipa’s old self who was okay with the lot in life that she had been dealt, but the breaking of the mirror symbolizes the break of the hold on her

Show More
Related

  • Greek Burning Mirror Summary

    244 Words  | 1 Pages

    The article states that the Greeks could not use the burning mirror and provide three reason of supports. On the other hand, the professor refutes all of the passage reasons and declines this issue that Greek’s soldiers could use this instrument to defend themselves. First, the passage claims that ancient Greeks were not advanced to invent this war instrument. In contrast, the professor say the Greek’s people could fabricate an enormous parabolic curvature mirror by many small mirrors assembling and made it elaborately.

    Read More

  • The Spirit Of The Mirror Summary

    190 Words  | 1 Pages

    He had been contemplating whether to start gathering a search party to find them, held off for now. The Spirit of the Mirror had reassured him several times that Emma and the rest of the group were completely safe. They were busy with a group of Indians who were willing to listen to their teachings on Christianity, while trading furs and other goods. Leon knew he should have faith in the mirror, even though the mirror had expressed disapproval over his relationship with Emma. Leon did find that The Spirit had been willing to help locate her, and from what he had been told she was perfectly safe for right now.

    Read More

  • Blindness And Vision In Oedipus The King

    686 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus the King is a tragedy that was written by Sophocles that emphasizes the irony of an irony of a man who was determined to trace down, expose and punish an assassin who in turn became him. Oedipus the King is also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus. The art is an Athenian play that was performed in ages approximated to be 429 BC. Oedipus the King would later in the play fulfill the prophecy that he would kill his father and later on marry his mother. There is a twist of an event in the play where Oedipus is looking for the murderer of his father to bring to a halt the series of plagues that are befalling Thebes but only to find he is in search of himself (Rado, 1956).

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex Critical Lens

    581 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles displays a tragedy in which a righteous man is plagued by his hubris, leading to his inevitable downfall. To cleanse himself from his torment, Oedipus is left with no other choice than to painfully rip out the sinful eyes that deceived him. The act of Oedipus gouging out his eyes reveals Sophocles’ didactic purpose: one's physical eyes can be blind towards the truth. When a vicious plague hits Thebes, Oedipus begins to display signs of pride blinding him from the right course of action.

    Read More

  • Sight And Blindness In King Oedipus The King

    628 Words  | 3 Pages

    Master of Tragedies Neil Gaiman once said, “There’s none so blind as those who will not listen.” This quote relates to the theme of sight and blindness in “The Tragedy of Oedipus Rex”. King Oedipus was a man who would not accept the truth about himself. Physically he was not blind but in truth he was. There are three examples of Oedipus’s metaphysical condition of blindness which will be listed as follows.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex Sight And Blindness Analysis

    1075 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the concept of sight and blindness is shown countless times throughout the play. In Oedipus Rex there is both literal blindness and figurative blindness. This play has a character who is blind, which is an example of literal blindness and a character who can see visually but unable to perceive the truth. The concepts of sight and blindness has a major role in Oedipus Rex. It lets the reader know that sight is not only based on what you see, but also based on one’s perspective, that the blind may see more than someone who is not blind, and that sometimes being able to see may not be a blessing but a curse. These are some of the roles of sight within Oedipus Rex.

    Read More

  • Flaws In Oedipus The King

    583 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is often said that pride comes before a down fall, but pride must first trip over the truth The downfall of Oedipus is due to flaws in his character. Throughout the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, Oedipus’s character has led him to make judgements that were not in his best interest. These flaws are pride, leading to overconfidence and having poor judgement. Oedipus character also show determination which throughout the play also became a flaw as well. The character of Oedipus is ruled by fate.

    Read More

  • Tragic Flaws In Oedipus The King

    1159 Words  | 5 Pages

    Introduction The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Blindness In Oedipus The King

    1874 Words  | 8 Pages

    Oedipus The King by Sophocles Theme of Blindness Sophocles was a prolific writer and his long life enabled him to have a prodigious literary output. There is always a deep philosophic content at the back of Sophocles’ plays. Men suffer in the tragedies of Sophocles, characterisation always charged with emotion and poetry guesstimates the growth and development of his dramatic genius. One of the main underlying themes in Oedipus Rex is blindness.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Blindness In Oedipus The King

    700 Words  | 3 Pages

    Appearance can be misleading, the obvious things we see are not always how things are in real. In Oedipus the King, Sophocle exposes the trick of nature which is "what we see is not what is intended to be" and which turned to be a situational irony in the play, Oedipus the king. Blindness is not only apply to people who are blind.

    Read More

  • Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Mirror Analysis

    999 Words  | 4 Pages

    Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a short novel written by Robert Stevenson, shocking the audience with its sudden twist. Told mostly from the view of Mr. Utterson, Jekyll’s lawyer, he goes through the mysterious connection between Jekyll and a horrible man named Mr. Hyde. In the end of the novel, it is discovered that Jekyll is Hyde, taking a potion to transform into the hideous man. After several transformations into Hyde, Jekyll finally glances into a mirror, seeing a short, hideous and hairy man, much different from the tall and clean Jekyll. In the novel, Stevenson uses mirrors to represent Hyde’s physical manifestation, an object that reflects within the person, and he uses the mirrors to show the unstable duality of the individual's psyche.

    Read More

  • Blindness In Oedipus Rex

    760 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Ancient Greek mythology, fate is the focal point of many plays and is significant in establishing the catharsis that Greek tragedies provide for the audience. The playwrights use the catharsis to allude to the general theme that people cannot escape their fate, and using symbolism is an effective way to emphasize the theme. Sophocles, the Ancient Greek playwright of Oedipus Rex, uses the symbolism of blindness to develop the play’s theme and teach the audience a lesson about fate. Sophocles uses blindness to symbolize to ability to see truth and accept fate.

    Read More

  • The Burning Mirror Summary

    279 Words  | 2 Pages

    The text and the lecture both discuss same topic, but present it from two different perspectives. The author of the reading discusses the burning mirror, which was a weapon of the Greek used against the Roman navy. Despite she gives three points why she disbelieved the story of burning mirror, the lecturer casts doubt on that points. Firstly, the reading provides that the ancient Greeks ' did not have advanced technologies and it is hard to believe they made a very advanced burning mirror, which demands very precise parabolic curvature also a large sheet of copper.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Research Paper

    1224 Words  | 5 Pages

    So in the end, Oedipus no longer thinks of himself. Thinking of his children 's impending marriage, Oedipus begs for his children and no longer can think of himself as anything more than a creature that embodies what it means to be pathetic: “When you come to the age ripe for marriage, who will he be who will run the risk, children, to take for himself the reproaches that will be banes for my parents and offspring alike? What evil is absent? Your father slew his father; he ploughed his mother, where he himself was sown, and he sired you in the same fount where he himself was sired.

    Read More

  • Tragedy In Oedipus The King

    848 Words  | 4 Pages

    Greek theatre was formed back in 500 BC by the Greek civilisation that used performing, miming and dancing as ways and means to tell stories, imitate others and for their rituals. They were two forms of plays that were showcased in the City of Dionysia; tragedy and satyr. The City of Dionysia was the festival celebrating the God Dionysus. Throughout this essay I will be describing the characteristics of Greek tragedy while using Sophocles’ ‘ Oedipus the King’ as a reference.

    Read More

More about The Shattered Mirror Oedipa

Open Document