Assignment #10-- Oedipus

Oedipus the King,written by Sophocles is a great play filled with tragedy and drama. Throughout the entire play there is a message being delivered by the relationships between sight, truth, ignorance, and darkness. It was told by the oracle that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother and have children. Being told such a horrible thing he decides to run away from his home to not commit such a terrible thing. On his way to another town he encounters some men who he kills. He ends up in Thebes and is smart enough to solve the riddle of the sphinx which ends up killing the sphinx. As a reward for such a great thing and knowing that the King is dead, the people of Thebes decide to reward Oedipus with the crown and the queen. They might have been extremely grateful but their ignorance in not questioning an unknown man lead them to suffer the consequences. As we all know Oedipus ends up fullfilling the prophecy of the oracle. After a plague hits Thebes in his desperation to save his people he calls in Tereisas which happens to be an old, blind man but known to be a holy prophet. Tereisas knows that Oedipus is the one accountable for what's going on. Eventhought Tereisas is unable to see he knows the truth. Unlike Oedipus who has a perfect vision but is ignorant enough to unfold his own reality. He is blinded by his own ignorance which throws him in a world full of darkness. I believe that this play is mainly trying to say is that darkness and ignorance can overshadow the truth. You might not be physically blind but spiritually blind.