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Oedipus and Suffering

 

            As King Oedipus and the Theban Legend incorporate many themes, one particular themes sticks out. Does suffering make one wiser and stronger? Throughout the play Sophocles forces us to read between the lines to solve the question. Oedipus's fate and decisions lead to the suffering of himself and the citizens of Thebes and lead us to decide for ourselves: does suffering build you up or wear you down? Sophocles disagrees with this statement because if he were to agree with it, I believe he would not have made the ending so tragic. It is clear to the readers that once Oedipus discovers that he fulfilled the prophecy; his entire life spiraled out of control. The constant stress that followed Oedipus wherever he went did not make him any stronger. It wore him down. As Teiresias states, "You are the cursed and polluter of this land " (Sophocles 35). By this quote, Oedipus's subconscious is now making Oedipus doubt his every thought and more, which would put a heavy burden on his mind. He carried around the burden of not knowing who the killer was and not being able to help the people of Thebes out of their horrible plague brought on by the gods. He had to live with the guilt of knowing he caused all this to happen. His life may or may not have already been decided by fate, but it was his choices that brought all of this to life. .
             If anything the burden of the truth weakened him. It leads him to gouge out his own eyes and to be banished from his own kingdom. Another quotes by Teiresias goes," You, even though you see clearly, do not see the scope of your evil, nor where you live, nor with whom you dwell. Do you know your true descent? And secretly you are an enemy to your own kin " (Sophocles 37). Here he is stating that Oedipus's decisions have caused his suffering and pain even if his life was determined for him by fate. This is also ironic because Teiresias states that he cannot see clearly and in the end he ends up taking out his eyes because he does not want to see all the havoc he has created.


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