Theme Of Ignorance In Oedipus The King

The ignorance of political leaders and people in general is an astonishing large problem just as it has been in the past. This problem is clearly reflected in literature, and nowhere is this problem more evident than in Sophocles’ Greek drama Oedipus. The ignorance of one often has an effect on many and it's last for generations. Ignorance is a lethal condition in one form of another, it harms many, and it seems to be genetic; all of these aspects apply to the stories of Oedipus.

Ignoren people and their actions have often horrendous effect on the people around them, and no one is immune. In the Greek Tragedy Oedipus, Oedipus’ fate and lack of knowledge and arrogance leaves him and his family in shambles. Upon finding out that he is not only the reason everything in his kingdom of Thebes is dying, Oedipus also realises that he's has inadvertently fulfilled a prophecy saying that he will kill his father and mary his mother. Driven to the point of extreme anguish his wife/ mother changes her self, upon seeing that Oedipus gouges his eyes out. Later on in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone Oedipus’ two sons have killed each other in battle before the play starts, and one of his daughters Antigone, ends up hanging herself because

In the play Oedipus, Oedipus’ action affect everyone around him, his wife, children, his brother-in-law Creon, the city. The problem does not end with Oedipus’ banishment, it extend to the death of Creon’s, wife and son, then later his daughter and himself, in the plays Antigone and Medea. It seems almost ironic that with each member who takes the throne seem to instantly becomes ignorant and rash, resulting in the death of several members of the family, including himself. Ignorance is a personal problem that has a tendency of spreading like a virus, infecting one after another leading to their great harm or