Subjects:
predictions of the future. Yet the characters still try to fight the
predictions. Do their personalities and traits decide their future, or does
fate take its course no matter what? Oedipus was a shrewd man furnished
with wit and intellect, yet his lack of insight (the ability to see and
understand clearly the inner nature of himself) and his arrogance led to
Oedipus's aret‚ (an exceptional ability or gift) was unravelling
riddles, and solving any puzzles with ease. He had a surplus of the
aptitude to look outward, but unfortunately he had a deficiency of the
ability to look inward. This talent of looking outward made him renowned
for deciphering riddles and mysteries. Yet when Tiresias appears and speaks
. . .
unravel any mystery besides
Oliver 3 his own existence. Oedipus would
have solved Tiresias's riddles instantaneously if it weren't for his pride,
and lack of insight. Oedipus is so arrogant that he
can't believe that he could possibly have done anything wrong.
Oedipus's expiration was caused simply because of his arrogance and his
lack of self knowledge. He suffered
from the sin of hubris. Was he not able to solve Tiresias's riddles because his arrogance
wouldn't allow him to, or did he recognize the answers immediately, his
vanity not allowing him to acknowledge the truth?
. Oedipus cannot solve them because of his lack of insight. When Oedipus saved Thebes from
The Sphinx, he answered this difficult puzzle. 37) Following that remark from Tiresias, Oedipus shielded
himself by accusing his brother in law, Creon (his uncle in reality), of
forcing these insinuations from Tiresias. Tiresias simply stated, I say, you murdered the man whose murderer
you require. Tiresias
conveys,
All ignorant! And I refuse to link my utterance with a downfall
such as yours.
Tiresias's riddles are clear in what they state, but Oedipus cannot
understand them because he doesn't know himself well enough. The Sphinx demanded, What
creature is it that walks on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and
on three in the evening? With his eminent mastery of riddles and having an
open mind, Oedipus replied, It is Man. Finally, Tiresias came right out and said what he meant
without a riddle, and Oedipus still couldn't accept that he did anything
wrong.
Essay's Topics
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