Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex is the father of all tragedies and rightly so. This poem is depressing! The "Big Question" deals with what allows some people to overcome obstacles and others to fail. In this case, the obstacle was fate and Oedipus Rex was not able to overcome his sick fate. This story adds an interesting twist to my question. According to the Greek culture, humans are victims of fate. Fate cannot be overcome, it is a force that deals out complete control over a human life. So are there some things that cannot be overcome, no matter the character of the person? In the Greek mind, that is a definite yes. A common part of all tragedies is the tragic flaw of the hero and this leads to the eventual downfall of the hero. Fate may be unconquerable, but Oedipus was flawed, therefore keeping him from rising to Fate's challenge. Oedipus was metaphorically blind to the truth and this led to his terrible ending. So if Sophocles were to answer my question, I imagine he would say that the refusal to see the truth keeps people from even rising to meet the challenge.