Greetings, darkness!
It's been more than 15 years since my college courses in Greek and
Roman History and Literature -- and reading Oedipus Rex -- so I had to
brush up a little before Answering your Question.
I have found some good references on the web which do an excellent job
of summarizing my own perceptions of Sophocles' intended moral lessons
in this play.
From the unlikely source AllFreeEssays.com by an unknown student:
"In Oedipus Rex one can easily see the fumes of hubris rising from the
Theban streets. When Oedipus refuses to see that it is himself making
the women and dogs give birth to dead babies, that is hubris...
He does not even realize that he is cursing himself. Oedipus also
displays this tunnel-vision quality as Tiresias reluctantly tells him
of the curse placed on him at birth. Oedipus automatically assumes
that Creon and Tiresias have made a plan to kill him and steal his
throne...
From Oedipus Rex there are a few things to glean. One is to never let
hubris run your life; though it is impossible not to have some hubris,
you can prevent it from dictating the way you act. It is important to
remember that when Oedipus had eyes he could not see, and once he tore
them out, he saw all the wrongness that he had built his life upon."
http://allfreeessays.com/student/free/Antigone_and_9-11-01.shtml
From "The Webfolio of the Millennium" by Rosie:
"Oedipus'ss obvious flaw, one in which we can all agree on is that his
pride was too high. This is because he solved the riddle of the
Sphinx, something no one at the time could have done. He thought his
wisdom alone was sufficient for his kingdom. During the story, we see
the power the Thebans give him. This unfortunately raises his head a
little too high above the clouds. The Thebans practically elevate him
to a god and savior even though they seem to show some respect to
their won gods by saying, "But we pray to you (to Oedipus), You cannot
equal the gods". Yet Oedipus, in his most prideful attitude states to
the Chorus, "you pray to the gods? Let me answer your prayers." Due to
Oedipus's arrogance and gross presumptuousness, he fulfills his own
prophecy in which of course, brings disastrous consequences. This as
mentioned previously, is one of the thematic lessons Sophocles added
in his story."
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/twenty/rose.html
From "Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex" by Maureen C. Howard, the Yale-New Haven
Teachers Institute:
"The basic theme of Oedipus Rex is the irony of fate. No mortal man,
no matter how powerful and wealthy, can be pronounced happy until he
is dead; for no man, however wise, knows what tomorrow will bring.
This is the burden of the last complete choral song and of the last
lines of the play (which are sometimes called spurious).
Oedipus confesses that he slew a man at the crossroads in anger. He
has angry clashes with Teiresias and Creon. Oedipus is guilty of pride
and temper, injustice as a ruler and an unorthodox attitude toward
seers and oracles...
Oedipus’ pride is evident in his first lines. After Creon’s report
Oedipus expresses his suspicions that bribery from Thebes emboldened
the thieves who slew Laius, and he suspects the same party would like
to put him out of the way in similar fashion. These suspicions prepare
for the later erroneous conviction of Oedipus that an intrigue exists
between Creon and Teiresias...
...Teiresias enters... The bitter quarrel that follows has several
important effects. It brings out certain unattractive features in
Oedipus’ character, his wrath and his unjust haste to condemn without
evidence. The portrayal of these features is important, for they
perhaps explain in part his slaughter of Laius, and they certainly
furnish some moral justification for the downfall of Oedipus...
Insolence begets the tyrant, but at the very moment of its triumph
insolence is hurled to utter destruction...the insolent manner in
which Oedipus has brought his unfounded charges against Creon, upon
the unorthodox attitude of Jocasta toward oracles and prophecies and
upon discussions of the pollutions of blood guilt and incest... those
who show no reverence for the gods."
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1984/2/84.02.03.x.html
From "Something to Teach Us" by Mallory James, Grade 9, Seabury Hall,
Makawao, Hawaii:
"Pretending to be a paragon of justice, he [Oedipus] finds he has
caused the torment of the city, and throws out his brother-in-law in
denial. He marries his own mother and has children with her! These are
not actions society condones. Even without being aware of it, Oedipus
continually, obliviously, and innocently breaks rules, eludes
definitions, upsets social standards and boundaries throughout the
play. Just because the supporting characters don't realize this
immediately and reject him, and just because he is unaware of the
social offenses he commits, doesn't mean he is as proper a king as he
thinks he is. This lack of self knowledge, or hubris, is yet another
of [his] internal flaws...
He is an epitome of the dangers of hubris, arrogance rooted in
ignorance of ones' proper place and real self in relation to the gods
and the world. He reminds the ancients not to doubt the gods or try to
escape fate. He is an omnipresent example of the fallibilities of
leaders."
http://www.rsiss.net/stepfolder/2james.html
To summarize the moral lessons --
These "tragic flaws" can lead to one's downfall:
1) Extreme pride and arrogance, or "hubris"
2) Refusal to accept the truth from others' lips
3) Lack of self-awareness
4) Paranoid suspicion
5) Violent, uncontrolled temper and anger
6) Thinking that one can, and attempting to, evade or escape one's
fate
7) Violation of society's laws (even though unbeknowst to the
violator)
8) Failure to give respect to, and heed, the gods
With the exception of 6 and 8, I believe that all of these lessons are
applicable today.
Search Strategy
moral lessons "Oedipus Rex"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=moral+lessons+%22Oedipus+Rex%22&btnG=Google+Search
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Regards,
aceresearcher |
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