The myth of Oedipus The King was written by Sophocles to portray a story with great moral meaning in the face of tragedy in a play like form. Oedipus is a very strong willed man who became king of Thebes. He is the perfect example of an Athenian man due to his sense of devotion and confidence.
From the beginning of the story Oedipus wanted to know every thing about his life that was not completely clear to him regarding his parents. This caused the downfall of Oedipus. The oracles stated that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. .
Due to his strong will, Oedipus searched for the answers to questions about his life. He wanted to know the truth about his father and mother and how he came to be. The truth is what hurt Oedipus in the end of the story. The question then becomes; is knowing the truth about the future really worth knowing? If one could see how he would live or die how would that change the way they view the world. In Oedipus" case, when he was a child, the truth scared his parents so much they wanted to have him killed. .
Once Oedipus was grown and heard of this oracle, his strong will took over and he could no longer live with out the answers. The ironic part of the story is that all the answers were in front of him the entire time. He was blind to the reality of who he was but he could see clearly the world in which he lived. Oedipus encountered a blind man who of course could not see, but knew of the oracles and the truth about him. Oedipus" search for the truth revealed that he had actually killed his father and married his mother. When this was brought to light Oedipus was so upset that he gouged out his eyes leaving him blind and said, "You, you"ll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know! Blind from this hour on! Blind in the Darkness-blind!" Although now he knew the truth about his life, which is what he had wanted, he could no longer see the world in which he lived .
