Oedipus And Blindness Imagery Essay -- essays research papers

In the story of Oedipus the king, Sophocles beautifully demonstrates the resourcefulness of sight versus sightlessness through the use of tragedy and ignorance. Oedipus is ignorant to his take incest, therefore causing the first instance of his blindness. The scrap instance of Oedipus blindness is the ignorance of his true parents identity. The third instance of Oedipus blindness is a literal one, in which he physically blinds himself after finding the proboscis of his mother, or wife. Sophocles utilizes his skill of creating a tragic character by demonstrate Oedipus as blind on multiple levels, all the while creation unaware of his blindness until the end.Oedipus first encounter with blindness is in the incestuous relationship he has with his mother. Although Oedipus does non realize the nature of his relationship he nor his mother take into account the prophecies they have both heard. The gods may not choose to show pity on Oedipus because he deliberately tries to assume their power by leaving who he believes to be his mother and father. Oedipus is blind to the fact that his mother, his wife, the mother of his children is the fulfillment of the prophecy he hears long ago.The second instance of Oedipus blindness is his misinterpretation of who his true parents are. His hubris bars him from acknowledging the fact that he could not avoid the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedip...