William Shakespeare and Sophocles are playwrights that illustrate their
             keen understanding of human behavior. In the plays Oedipus the King and
             Othello, we observe man's inability to reliably distinguish between what
             seems to be and what actually is. Additionally, we are shown how different
             individuals handle the truth in various circumstances. Some choose to
             ignore the truth while others use truth as weapons to get what they want,
             as we see in A Doll's House. These plays illustrate how the truth is
             Oedipus and Othello incorrectly assess their circumstances and, as a
             result, make bad decisions. They misjudge people and situations because
             they allow themselves to be influenced by their emotions. Their decisions
             ultimately lead to their demise. However while both men share a lack of
             insight, the theme of their inability to see the truth are treated
             In Oedipus the King, we are introduced to the search for truth from the
             beginning of the play. Oedipus desires to bring an end to the suffering
             that the plague has caused Thebes. Oedipus begins with good intentions but
             those intentions are also fueled with Oedipus' desire to solve the riddle
             of the plague. Sophocles emphasizes irony in this play because Oedipus is
             the person guilty of the crime he wishes to punish.
             To enhance Oedipus' blindness to reality, Tiresias, who knows the truth,
             is physically blind. When he tells him Oedipus is the reason for the curse
             (Sophocles 401), Oedipus becomes indignant. When Tiresias repeats that
             Oedipus is the murderer he is looking for, Oedipus simply calls Tiresias'
             words an "obscenity" (413). Tiresias captures things perfectly when he
             tells Oedipus that even with his eyes, he is "blind to the corruption of
             your life" (471). From what he knows, Oedipus cannot be the murderer
             because he has never met the prior king. By placing Oedipus in this
             situation, Sophocles is allowing us to ...