Blog Post #4

Creon is now the ruler of Thebes, but how will he do as a king?

In the beginning of the play, Oedipus puts a lot of trust into Creon. Oedipus sends him to Delphi to learn how to save Thebes. This shows that Creon is respected and capable enough to do important tasks. Creon genuinely wants to help people, and compared to Oedipus, Creon can better control his anger. When Oedipus accuses him of treachery, Creon says, “Hear me out, then judge me on the facts” (609). Creon thinks rationally which will later benefit him as a king. When Oedipus is no longer a king, Creon shows compassion towards Oedipus. He tells him that “I haven’t come to mock you, Oedipus, or to criticize your former failings” (1557-1558). 

However, Creon still has flaws. At the end of the play, Creon tells Oedipus that he “tries to say what [he] means” (1671), but this statement seems to be proven false. Earlier, he tells Oedipus that being a king is “hardly to [his] taste” (662), but Creon hastily replaces Oedipus’s spot as king. Creon also seems to be secretive at times. Unlike Oedipus, Creon wanted to tell the news of the oracle to Oedipus in private. Creon separates himself with the people of Thebes and prefers to keep things confidential. This leads to question of how Creon will rule as a king. He exhibits some quality traits that will make him a good ruler, and he does not try to defy the gods — learning off of Oedipus’s mistake. (He will only exile Oedipus if the gods approve). But the fact that Creon says he tries to always tell the truth may foreshadow that he actually does not.

The End

As the new king of Thebes, Creon hopes to get the approval of the
gods to determine Oedipus's fate. Just like the cartoon above, the man
in the middle is the only one who controls the fate of the man in the
cage. The two men surrounding them give different opinions on what
to do with the man. Nevertheless, both the man in the middle and gods
decide the fate of the little man and Oedipus respectively

Unfortunately for Oedipus, he unknowingly fulfills his prophecy which results in a downfall of his reputation. The man who the people acknowledge as their hero and king suddenly becomes a tragic hero who “tore the brooches - the gold chased brooches fastening her robe - away from her and lifting them up high dashed them on his own eyeballs” (1455-1458). Driven to madness by the disclosure of his oblivious actions, Oedipus deliberately blinds himself as his way of taking control of the pain that torments him. The violence empties and exhausts Oedipus’s rage, “shrieking out such things such as: they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me” (1458-1460) to which he accepts his fate.
The pity and horror aroused by Oedipus' tragic fall brings about a catharsis, the realization that the power of fate cannot be overcome by will — even by the will of a king. The role of fate shapes the individual and determines the human life. Fate represents a terrifying and unstoppable force. Although King Laius and Queen Jocasta manage to get rid of baby Oedipus to “aye through fear of evil oracles” (1350-1351), Oedipus still conducts his prophecy mistakenly. Oedipus’s fate leads him to be a tragic hero rather than a monster in the play’s final moments. Throughout the play, Oedipus behaves willfully and proudly as well as being earnest and forthright in all of his actions. Oedipus’s punishment of his blindness and his exile have been inflicted by himself, no one else. The reign of the great Oedipus ends abruptly as fate has been known to be unavoidable.

Irony

Irony is a major theme throughout Greek drama. In Oedipus, Oedipus’ dynamic character change from the beginning of the play to the end is very ironic. In the beginning of the play, Oedipus was arrogant, prideful, and quick to anger. He had everything: a reputation, a family, and a kingdom; it was easy to be cruel when he held all the power. At the end of the play, Oedipus lost everything: his wife (mother), his children, his sight, his kingdom, and his pride. His fate forced him to humble himself. In his arrogance, he once told Creon, “I want you dead” (698), but now Oedipus must put aside his pride and beg Creon to fulfill his dying wishes. This ironic moment reveals how power and the truth can change a person. When Oedipus was king, it was easy to throw insults at Creon, telling him he didn’t have “a shred of decency” (637) but at the end, he had absolutely no state of power. This is where his change of heart is shown, when he pleads Creon saying “Please… my king. Grant it with all your noble heart” (1608); emphasizing the irony of how power changes his actions and thoughts.

Oedipus’ ironic character change after learning the truth about his mother and father impacts the overall plot because it emphasizes the Greek themes of having everything to having nothing and how there is no way to avoid prophecies. Oedipus’ dynamic character affects individual characters such as Creon and the Chorus. Creon is now the king and is merciful and just once Oedipus is humble, as Creon has shown by fulfilling his dying wishes. The Chorus can “count no man happy till [Oedipus] dies” (1684) because then the “plague-storm” (114) will be lifted and people will be happy again. They will remember Oedipus as a great man because he is down-to-earth at the end, but he must still die for the kingdom to be rid of the plague. 

Riches to Rags

      Finally towards the end of the play we witness the anagnorisis. Oedipus has finally realized he has made a horrible error in judgement. When the Shepherd and Messenger finally come together and tell Oedipus the truth, he falls apart. “O god… I stand revealed at last- cursed in birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I have cut down with these hands!” (1305, 1310-1311). Oedipus finally realizes he is the curse of Thebes. He is the one who killed Laius, he is the one who slept with his mother and he unknowingly fulfilled his prophecy. 
     This is tragic because Oedipus did everything he could to avoid his prophecy from coming true. The story is also tragic because Oedipus cursed the killer of Laius, which is him. “And all these curses I- no one but I brought down these piling curses on myself!” (906-907). Oedipus’ fate is now turned over. This is known as the perpetia. He can no longer be the king of Thebes since he cursed himself. Being the killer, he is “alien… no word to [him] in public, driven out of every hearth and home” (903-905). The curse bands him from his own city. He is the man who went from riches to rags. He is the man who went from being Thebe’s savior, to the man who cursed the land. A man with good intentions ended up making everything worse. No matter what Oedipus did he was doomed from the beginning. No matter what he did his horrible prophecy would be fulfilled. This makes Oedipus a tragic hero.

False Sense of Security

     Oedipus gains a false sense of security when he learns of the death of Polybus. After hearing from the messenger that "a light tip of the scales put old bones to rest"(line 1051), Oedipus rejoices that his fears have been relieved- or so he thinks. He declares "all those prophecies I feared... They're nothing, worthless."(lines 1062-1064). Oedipus is still wary that he will somehow, against all odds, sleep with his mother if he travels back to Corinth. After learning that Polybus was not his true father, a messenger tells the tale of how Laius was the one who left Oedipus on Mount Cithaeron all those years ago.
     If Oedipus had learned of his true bloodline when he was young, he would have not feared to go to back to Corinth in his later years. This false sense of security was only temporary, for as soon as he learned that Polybus was not his true father, Oedipus spiraled out of control. I feel that the reason he gouged out his own eyes is so that he could not see the prophecies unfold any longer. All his life he wanted to avoid them, only to be caught in the tangled web of prophecy in a world where "Nothing I could see could bring me joy."(line 1473)

     In typical Greek fashion, fate played a major role in this play as Jocasta and Oedipus did everything in their power to defy the prophecy from coming true. Despite the valiant effort of Jocasta taking the baby far away, the prophecy prevailed. Upon realizing the harsh truth of the incest, Oedipus committed, he begins to breakdown and feels an overbearing feeling of guilt as hey says, "I have done such things to the two of them, crimes too huge for hanging." (1503-1504) Unlike Jocasta, Oedipus refuses to hang himself as he feels like being hanged is not a just punishment for what he has done. Hanging himself would not suffice for the sins committed. As for Jocasta, her hanging says a lot about her character. Instead of facing reality and owning up to what has happened, she chooses the easy way out which is suicide. She doesn't have to deal with public banter or living with the humiliation of sleeping with her son. In fact, the choice by Oedipus to not hang himself tells the readers a lot about his character. This shows that Oedipus is in fact an honorable man who does not run from scrutiny or deserved punishment. Oedipus turns to Creon and says "Drive me out of Thebes, in exile." (1667). He begs to receive punishment for his sins he committed. Irony plays a huge role in this play as the drive and curiosity of Oedipus lead to his own demise as a king. This is a major example of curiosity killing the cat.

Would you LOOK at that

The hero of Thebes may have gorged his eyeballs out of their sockets, but does that make him truly blind? Every direction Oedipus has seen has lead him to the wrong destination; "nothing [he] could see could bring [him] joy"(1473). When his eyes were fully intact, he was searching for something more. He felt as if he couldn't see every angle of his situation, and when he finally did, he proclaimed " O light--now let me look my last on you!" (1307). He was oblivious to the world around him when he had his sight, but once his vision vanished, his perception of life was clear. Other characters, as well as Oedipus, have shown poor problem solving capabilities all throughout the story, and each solution followed the path of ignorance.  Jocasta and King Laius pinned their sons ankles together and sent him to be killed as a solution to a prophecy; if the baby was dead, they could avoid the problem all together! How simple is the path of ignorance? Jocasta kills herself when she discovers the prophecy has come true instead of facing her shame, which only makes the situation worse for everyone that is involved. The action that Oedipus takes to pry out his eyes is what opens his eyes to the truth, but also shields him from facing it. He isn't blind to his actions anymore, but he is evading his consequences, which is cowardly. Since the path of ignorance was blocked by a huge traffic jam of truth and reality, Oedipus had to take a detour, and he has no clue where he's going.