Quickwrite 1: How has Oedipus changed? Is this change internal or external (or both)?
In Oedipus the King Oedipus was a very strong willed confident man. He was a great leader, though at times he showed hubristic characteristics. He like to brag that “[everyone] knows [him], the world knows [his] fame,” (Oedipus the King. 7) and that he was the greatest person. He also thought the he was the most powerful man. These hubristic characteristics are what arguably led to his downfall. This was Oedipus’s tragic flaw. He was not humble by any means in this first book, but in the second book that all changed. After Oedipus could see the truth, and realized that his prophecy of killing his father and having children with his mother came true, he blinded himself. He wanted to escape what he could see (metaphorically) so he blinded himself (physically).
In Oedipus and Colonus, Oedipus was old, weak, and weary. He was humble and pitied himself. He had to rely on his daughter, Anitgone, to guide him and care for him wherever he went after his exile. He has faith in the gods and realized that they are always watching you and know if your faith has faltered. In the first book he thought that he could prove the oracle wrong and show that the gods were not always right, but in trying to outrun his prophecy he caused it to happen. He changed drastically mentally and physically because of this. He lost all of his pride and was only full of pity. Also, he gouged his eyes out to try to escape seeing the truth.
The Review on What events bring about this change? book report 3652
Throughout this novel, we see Alison adjust from a child to a young and confident woman. What events bring about this change? Introduction There are many important phases in life, ranging from baby, to toddler, to schoolchild to high school and finally to an adult. Many regard puberty as the most important phase as it involves growing from a dependant child to a self-sufficient adult. Growing up ( ...
Quickwrite 2: Is Oedipus innocent because he sinned unknowingly? Should this decrease his guilt? Why or why not?
Oedipus is innocent because he sinned unknowingly. If Oedipus had not received a prophecy from the gods saying that he would kill his father and marry his mother, he would never have left Corinth. The prophecy would never of happened if it was not said. The same goes for Laius’s prophecy. It is not Oedipus’s fault that he killed his father, because he was trying to protect himself. Also, he did not know that his mother was his mother when he married her and had children with her. Also, if his parents never abandoned his and left him to die then none of this would have happened. His parents, also, would not of abandoned him if it were not for the prophet that Laius was told. The gods had set Oedipus up for a life of misery before he was even born.
They decided his terrible fate before he even had the chance to show what kind of person he was and “if god lead him on, [how] can [he] escape his fate” (Oedipus at Colonus.268).
His small hubris acts were not nearly equivalent to the punishments dealt out to him. On the other hand though, Oedipus was the one who blinded himself and said the punishments that would be dealt to the killer of Laius. Though, at the time he announced the punishments, he did not know it was him. So while guilty of wedding his mother and killing his father, he is innocent because he did not know what he had done. Fate was set against him from the day he was born, so he should have felt less guilty.
