If you were born into an African-American family in the early 1900's, your fate was slavery. You spent all day, sunrise to sunset, picking cotton in the fields. You were controlled by your owners and they decided how you would spend your day. No matter how hard you tried to change where you were or what you were doing, slavery was your lifestyle. Some slaves were punished for wrongs that weren't their own; whipped until they bled or received no food for the week, nearly starving to death. All because of the color of their skin. But what if their skin was white? What if they were born into a southern, upper-class family where they had three home-cooked meals a day along with the opportunity to earn an education. It's safe to say that their fate would have been much different. They wouldn't have been punished because of what they were born into, very similar to the tragic story of Oedipus the King. The King and his wife, Jocasta, received punishments that I believe did not fit their "crimes " that they committed. .
Jocasta played the role of both the mother and wife of Oedipus. Many believe that Jocasta was aware during the whole play that Oedipus was her son while some think it was still common thought that she was oblivious. Throughout the play, Oedipus tells Jocasta many events about his past, pieces that could be put together to form the mystery puzzle and answer all the questions Thebes is asking such as, who killed the King and why? Jocasta seems entirely oblivious to what Oedipus has to say, but it looks almost as if she is disguising the truth, she doesn't want to believe it exists. When the truth begins to be revealed, Jocasta suggests to Oedipus that he should forget about what the messenger has said, trying to persuade him that he should put an end to putting the puzzle pieces together, "No please - for your own sake - I want the best for you " (p. 223)! As he keeps pressing the matter, Jocasta becomes more adamant, saying "Stop - in the name of god, if you love your own life, call off the search! My suffering is enough " (p.
