Oedipus the King Analysis - Research Paper Example

?Question How do these images or your own personal notion of heroism compare with the various “ancient” heroes we’ve encountered so far in our readings? Use at least three of the ancient heroes and details from their stories to illustrate your answer (Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Oedipus, Rama, Kumagai/Rensho, etc. -- Noah is not considered a “hero” for the purposes of this question). Heroes willingly and ardently dedicate their service to the needy and oppressed. Oedipus is also a modern hero, because after he saves a whole city from ruins by dealing with the Sphinx, he commits himself to finding the new cause of his city’s sufferings. In Scene 1, Oedipus tells the head priest: “My zeal in your behalf ye cannot doubt; /Ruthless indeed were I and obdurate /If such petitioners as you I spurned” (Sophocles). He underlines that he has “zeal,” which means that he is passionately devoted to his people, and that showing otherwise will make him a ruthless leader. He is devoted to helping his citizens escape their latest source of torment. When Oedipus hears that he must avenge Laius’ death to rid his city of its ordeals, he immediately agrees to find this killer: “I also, as is meet, will lend my aid/To avenge this wrong to Thebes and to the god” (Sophocles). He does not think twice in helping society and he believes that what he will do is for the good of the majority and will also please the gods. This swift action and level of dedication is comparable to the 9/11 heroes who risked their lives to help others, even when they are strangers. Oedipus’ people, in a sense, are also strangers to him, since he thought that he did not come from Thebes. He willingly helps these strangers, because of his dedication to his mission of being a just and good leader. In Koran, Muhammad also saves his people from oppression of different rulers and ignorance of the true path of religion. He teaches them Islam, a spiritual and religious way of life that will provide order and development in their lives. Koran underscores the blessings for those who believe in God and support Muhammad’s aims in expanding Islam around the world: “Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility on them and rewarded them with a near victory…” (Chapter 47, verses 38, 048.018). Koran shows that Allah will support and bless those who help Muhammad. For these people, victory will be theirs, on heaven and on earth. Gilgamesh also kills monsters, such as Humbaba, that tyrannize people. In Tablet II, it says: “Enlil assigned [Humbaba] as a terror to human beings.” As a ruler, Gilgamesh wants his people to live in peace and harmony, with no fear in their hearts, so he journeys with Enkidu to kill Humbaba. Heroes are courageous, even in front of the most terrifying obstacles to their missions. Humbaba is a demi-god that many fear: “Humbaba's roar is a Flood, his mouth is Fire, and his breath is Death! He can hear 100 leagues away any rustling in his forest!” In essence, he has powers to kill in the most brutal manner, and he is almost omnipresent, because of his hearing abilities. Despite these superhuman strength and capabilities of the enemy, Gilgamesh is determined to kill it, for he himself is mighty: “I want to make myself more mighty, and will go on a distant(!) journey! I will face fighting such as I have never known, I will set out on a road I have never traveled!” He is eager to kill this monster to prove his might and courage. He will do this for his people too. Gilgamesh, however, is different from modern heroes, because the latter do not have super strength. Nevertheless, Gilgamesh and modern heroes possess extraordinary confidence in their abilities to help those who need them. In Book IX, Odysseus uses his wit to save himself and his people from the Cyclops. He says: “As for myself I kept on puzzling to think how I could best save my own life and those of my companions; I schemed and schemed, as one who knows that his life depends upon it, for the danger was very great.” He uses his intelligence and quickly tries to find the best remedy to their dilemma, because his people’s lives depend on him. He is a man who cares for the welfare of his people, like modern heroes who are also bent on helping and saving others. Oedipus, on the contrary, faces a different kind of monster, the monster that truth can sometimes represent. He has called for Teiresias to reveal the killer of Laius, but the latter declines at first. He tells Oedipus that his miseries will be the latter’s miseries too, if he forces him to tell the truth. Oedipus threatens the old man to speak: “Wouldst thou betray us and destroy the State?” (Sophocles). He emphasizes that it is the duty of any citizen to preserve the state and revealing the killer is essential to preserving it. Thus, like modern heroes, Oedipus intends to promote the welfare of the needy, whatever the consequences may be. Question 3: Explain how it is that Oedipus’s problems with fate and the gods can be seen as essentially his own “fault” or responsibility – since he didn’t know that he killed his own father or married and had children with his own mother. How does the play establish Oedipus’s own responsibility for his fate? Oedipus the King might seem like an unfair story about the gods and how they punish people with undeserved tragedies. On the one hand, Oedipus should not be blamed for his miseries, because the gods already planned him to live a life of tormenting consequences. They filled his plate with a series of inopportune events. On the other hand, Oedipus’ attitudes and behaviors also made him culpable for his fate. His pompous personality leads him to act and to decide harshly against others. The text shows that Oedipus is responsible for his fate, because by running away from his parents, he dares to change what the gods had destined for him; his personality made it easy for him to kill Laius; and his treatment of Teiresias and Creon shows his pretentious identity. No mortal can change his destiny and to do so will be futile and show disrespect to the gods. When Oedipus learned about the prophecy, he runs away from his parents to stop it from being realized. By this alone, he is showing that he can escape the curse of the gods, as if he is superior to them. It is ironic when Oedipus says: “but no living man can hope/To force the gods to speak against their will” (Sophocles). He has not yet realized that by seeking to escape his fate, he also shown his arrogance to speak against the will of the gods. Oedipus also dares to question what the gods planned for him: “But, ye pure and awful gods, /Forbid, forbid that I should see that day!/May I be blotted out from living men/Ere such a plague spot set on me its brand!” (Sophocles). He calls the gods “awful,” because he feels that they have unjustly cursed him. He is afraid to know the truth, especially when it is a plague which will ruin his family and life. But his past actions will affect him and his future. He can no longer run away from his destiny. The play also shows that no matter how much Oedipus might have wanted to escape the prophecy, his impetuous personality made it easy for the oracle to occur. He has a fight with his father Laius, because Oedipus has a quick temper. Teiresias says: “And yet this very greatness proved thy bane” (Sophocles). This means that Oedipus has a superiority complex too. Because of this high belief in himself, he has become quickly angered in his confrontation with Laius and he hastily kills him. Oedipus is already on the run from his prophecy, and the last thing he needs is a form of “homicide.” But he does this anyway, and so through his rash attitude and actions, the story is saying that Oedipus deserves his grim fate for the killing of an innocent man, his own father. Finally, Oedipus’ treatment of Teiresias and Creon shows his insolence, which further attests that he deserves his forbidding fate. Teiresias is only the lips of the gods. He cannot control his visions and yet Oedipus treats him like a liar and traitor. When Teiresias does not reveal his vision, Oedipus charges him for plotting it: “…Thou methinks thou art he,/Who planned the crime, aye, and performed it too” (Sophocles). This is wrong, because Oedipus has no proof to blame an old blind man, but he makes hurtful accusations anyway. When Teiresias finally reveals that it is Oedipus who killed Laius, he further receives Oedipus’ wrath. Oedipus says: “Vile slanderer, thou blurtest forth these taunts,/ And think'st forsooth as seer to go scot free” (Sophocles). He calls the old man a “slanderer” and threatens that he will not go “scot free.” Oedipus does not even consider the possibility that Teiresias is telling the truth and he eagerly uses his power to subdue him. This shows arrogance and abuse of power. Then, Oedipus also charges Creon of plotting to oust him from his throne through Teiresias’ prophecy. He tells Creon: “My murderer and the filcher of my crown?” (Sophocles). Oedipus uses harsh words and allegations without evidence. He also threatens Creon with death, which shows that he is willing to abuse his power. Hence, the play shows that Oedipus also deserves his faith, because of his impudence and arrogance. He may have saved the Thebans from the Sphinx, but he cannot save himself from his hubris. Works Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. Trans. Samuel Butler. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. < http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html>. Koran. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. . Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. F. Storr. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. < http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/oedipus.html>. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. Maureen Gallery Kovacs. 1998. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. < http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab1.htm>. Read More