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What Is The Truth In Oedipus The King

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The battle against society to find one’s truth is a crucial element in both the play Oedipus the King and the film Minority Report. The measures that certain characters take to reveal or hide their own truth represents the desire to mask and unmask hidden knowledge. In Oedipus the King, author Sophocles reveals how Oedipus ultimately dooms himself during his quest to learn the truth about his past. Director Steven Spielberg visually depicts actor Tom Cruise in a fight against the system he helped create, combating the truth which he cannot fathom. Many of the key motifs observed throughout both stories, an example being the tussle between sight and blindness. correlate directly with the ongoing theme relating to hidden truth. The importance of truth as examined in both Oedipus the …show more content…

He finds no better way to do this than incorporating the loss of a family member, a tragedy that no matter who the victim, will strike a match of burning hatred within one’s heart. In Minority Report, the truth is all powerful, John will do anything to reach the truth. However, John has absolutely no control over the truth, always remaining one step behind it, chasing it, similar to Oedipus. Finally, when John does discover the truth, he realizes that Pre Crime was right all along, and that his attempts to cover up for himself were to no avail. This is an example of the insurmountable power of the truth, as there is no way to overcome the facts. Although John fought to escape this truth, similarly to Oedipus once again, in the end there was no way around it. This evidence strongly supports the theme of “escaping the truth” observed in both Oedipus the King and Minority Report. John could not accept the predicted murder he had been accused of, so he attempted to run from it in any way

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