The King Oedipus in Sophocles - Essay Example

The play depicts a life of simplicity, which is characterized by a need to find an identity as well as cope with different standards of life, which present themselves between generations. The life that The King thinks would be much easier with the grandmother turns for the worst with the revelation of challenges in relations associated with age. In the play, The King exhibits the desire to fit into a world that seemed to change under his feet and is faulted for thinking that life with his grandmother would be any easier.

The life of The King and Oedipus is estranged from friends and with the death of their friends and marooning by family, they feel obliged to adapt to each other’s perceptive of life considering the changes that the two experience, "blind, though now he sees - and poor, though now he's rich - hell use a stick to guide his steps into another land." (Sophocles 46). Different perspectives by The King and Oedipus are instrumental to the development of generation differences as The King and Oedipus present a difference in generations with The King looking to hold onto a past that seemed filled with enjoyment from the relations he had with his friends and the opposite sex.

However, there have been changes that have led The King to live a life of being singled out that incorporates adjusting to changes in preferences and lifestyle, which is brought about by the idea of a new generation, "send him to the fields, the sheep pastures, so far he couldn't even lay eyes on Thebes.” (Sophocles 52). The activities and lifestyle that both Oedipus and The King yearn for are ones that cannot be achieved with the changes in various structural and social constructs. The interests of Oedipus and The King are different, yet the two have a liking for a particular lifestyle, though not the same for both cases.

The two get along since they are faced with the challenge of adapting to the new life that is imposed by changes in the economic and social constructs. In light of the differences between the two, their ideas of a great life often collide, as the two are also representatives of different generations meaning that there are instances where the two do not get along. The play captures differences in generations based on the ideals of a perfect life. The King’s choice is a result of discomfort in the previous place of living from pressures by family and friends who adjusted better to changes in the world, which is a conformity The King has not acquired.

This is the reason he seeks solace in Oedipus, but Oedipus too has his challenges and at her age is not of much help to The King in his challenges in adapting to the changing times, "to live where time allows, and having a better life than the man who fathered you." (Sophocles 68). The two often find themselves faced with challenges in interrelation and lifestyle changes.