odepus essay
Oedipus Rex Literary Analysis Essay
Introduction: Many people in the world have great power, though only few abuse it. Oedipus is one of these people that abuse their great power. He is the king of Thebes and he likes to show it, from commanding everyone to obey his orders to calling the people of Thebes his children.
Thesis: In the play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the Abuse of Power is one of the themes that stands out the most, ending up being the downfall of Oedipus.
Body Paragraph 1:
Statement: Oedipus abuses his power by referring to the people of Thebes as his children, making himself the father of Thebes.
SOAP: In the quote, Oedipus is addressing the people of Thebes and he calls them his children. By calling them his children he is abusing his powers as a king.
Proof: Oedipus: “My children, generations of the living\In the line of Cadmus, nursed at his ancient hearth.”(1.1-2) Oedipus: “Children,\ I would not have you speak through messengers,”(1.7-8).
Analysis: By calling them his children, he his putting himself in a position of power over them. He is the king however, it still does not mean that the people are his children. He’s trying to act like a father to them. A king that is modest would refer to them as “the people of Thebes”. With Oedipus thinking of himself as a father of the whole kingdom, it shows that he is abusing the power that he has as a king.
Body Paragraph 2:
Clark 2
Statement: Another example of Oedipus’s abuse of power, is Oedipus giving commands to Teiresias who is the same status as him.
SOAP: Oedipus told Teiresias, the blind prophet, to leave his presence. Even though they have the same social status.
Proof: Oedipus: “What a wicked old man you are! You’d try a stone’s\Patience! Out with it! Have you no feeling at all?”(1.321-322)
Analysis: This shows abuse of power, he is trying to put himself above Teiresias. Teiresias is a prophet, there for he has the same status as Oedipus. Teiresias makes this clear to Oedipus when he responds later by saying, he will leave when he says what he has to say. This means that Oedipus can’t command Teiresias to do anything. By doing so he has abused the powers he holds.
Conclusion: These examples go to show that Oedipus abuses his power as a king. He refers to the people of Thebes as his children and he tries to command people of the same status as him. There are many other examples of why he abuses his power but those are some of the major reasons. In the play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the Abuse of Power is one of the themes that stands out the most, ending up being the downfall of Oedipus.
Introduction: Many people in the world have great power, though only few abuse it. Oedipus is one of these people that abuse their great power. He is the king of Thebes and he likes to show it, from commanding everyone to obey his orders to calling the people of Thebes his children.
Thesis: In the play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the Abuse of Power is one of the themes that stands out the most, ending up being the downfall of Oedipus.
Body Paragraph 1:
Statement: Oedipus abuses his power by referring to the people of Thebes as his children, making himself the father of Thebes.
SOAP: In the quote, Oedipus is addressing the people of Thebes and he calls them his children. By calling them his children he is abusing his powers as a king.
Proof: Oedipus: “My children, generations of the living\In the line of Cadmus, nursed at his ancient hearth.”(1.1-2) Oedipus: “Children,\ I would not have you speak through messengers,”(1.7-8).
Analysis: By calling them his children, he his putting himself in a position of power over them. He is the king however, it still does not mean that the people are his children. He’s trying to act like a father to them. A king that is modest would refer to them as “the people of Thebes”. With Oedipus thinking of himself as a father of the whole kingdom, it shows that he is abusing the power that he has as a king.
Body Paragraph 2:
Clark 2
Statement: Another example of Oedipus’s abuse of power, is Oedipus giving commands to Teiresias who is the same status as him.
SOAP: Oedipus told Teiresias, the blind prophet, to leave his presence. Even though they have the same social status.
Proof: Oedipus: “What a wicked old man you are! You’d try a stone’s\Patience! Out with it! Have you no feeling at all?”(1.321-322)
Analysis: This shows abuse of power, he is trying to put himself above Teiresias. Teiresias is a prophet, there for he has the same status as Oedipus. Teiresias makes this clear to Oedipus when he responds later by saying, he will leave when he says what he has to say. This means that Oedipus can’t command Teiresias to do anything. By doing so he has abused the powers he holds.
Conclusion: These examples go to show that Oedipus abuses his power as a king. He refers to the people of Thebes as his children and he tries to command people of the same status as him. There are many other examples of why he abuses his power but those are some of the major reasons. In the play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the Abuse of Power is one of the themes that stands out the most, ending up being the downfall of Oedipus.