Oedipus Intellect Quotes

The Rise and Fall of Oedipus In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses intellect as both the rise and fall of John the Savage. The ‘Savage' enters civilization and instantly becomes somewhat of a celebrity because of his knowledge of the outside world. He learns quickly of the conformist society, and is eventually disgusted by what he sees. Shortly after his arrival in civilization, John the Savage is internally torn apart by his knowledge and eventually commits suicide. Oedipus the Play is somewhat parallel to Brave New World – Sophocles also uses intellect as the hero's fatal flaw. In Oedipus the Play, there are three great polarities: fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight. These polarities are intertwined with Oedipus' reliance on intellect, and all contribute to his downfall. Throughout his search for identity, Oedipus experiences the great polarities that reflect his reliance on intellect as both his greatest
strength and his ultimate downfall. The first great polarity, fame and shame, is experienced by Oedipus through his defeat of the Sphinx and the tragic discovery of his cursed marriage.
Shortly before Oedipus becomes king, he defeats a Sphinx that held the city of Thebes captive. Here intellect is Oedipus' greatest strength – by answering the Sphinx correctly, Oedipus gains fame, a kingdom, and a wife. Without realizing his relations to the Queen, Jocasta, Oedipus willingly marries her as a reward for defeating the Sphinx. He begins to believe "the world knows [his] fame," and believes himself invincible (l. 8). However, when Oedipus discovers his identity at the end of Oedipus the Play, his shame exposes intellect as his greatest downfall. Oedipus finally learns of his adoption, Laius, and the chaos he creates by marrying Jocasta. He truly becomes "the curse, the corruption of the land," when he gains knowledge of his identity (l. 401). In this case, intellect and Oedipus' shame cause him to blind himself, bringing about his
downfall.
As the play progresses, Oedipus changes from a man of ignorance to one of insight as he learns the truth of his identity. The true sight and knowledge of the blind prophet Tiresias reveals the ignorance of Oedipus, which eventually brings about his downfall. While Oedipus claims "[he] wasn't asleep, dreaming," he is completely unaware of the horrible reality of his marriage and parents (l. 77). Tiresias knows what the knowledge would do to Oedipus, and everyone in Thebes, and tries to persuade Oedipus to let him go. However, Oedipus is ignorant of the knowledge Tiresias holds and goads Tiresias into revealing the truth, revealing that Oedipus himself is "the curse, the corruption of the land" (l. 401). Oedipus is unwilling to accept reality and convinces himself that Tiresias is "stone-blind [and] stone-deaf," that Tiresias is ignorant himself (l. 422). However, by calling on the shepherd to investigate Tiresias' words, Oedipus "stand[s] revealed at last – cursed in birth, cursed in marriage, and cursed in [the murder of Laius]" (l. 1308-10). By discovering the truth of his identity, Oedipus obtains incredible insight to the monstrous things he had done, exposing more of his fatal flaw. Also, in her attempt to convince Oedipus of his innocence, Jocasta makes the truth even more apparent to Oedipus. She reveals the facts of Laius' murder to Oedipus - Laius was killed at a crossroads by thieves. Before his murder, the Oracle predicted to Laius that he would be killed by his son. Laius cast his son away following the prediction, and Jocasta believed him to be dead. She tells Oedipus that Tiresias' words can not possibly be true – the oracle's prediction was ‘wrong,' so how could Tiresias be right? However, when Jocasta professes this to Oedipus, the truth becomes as "clear as day" (l. 830). He realizes that he could have killed Laius, that the Oracle's prediction could be true, and that Tiresias could be right.
The final polarity, sight and blindness, contributes to both Oedipus' success as a ruler and his unwillingness to see the truth, which eventually brings his downfall. Throughout his reign as ruler of Thebes, Oedipus utilizes intellect and sight to successfully communicate with his people. Oedipus the Play begins with the compassion of Oedipus toward his people; Oedipus claims "[he] would be blind to misery not to pity [his] people kneeling at [his] feet" (l. 14). Unlike other rulers in history, Oedipus puts his people's welfare above his own when he realizes the gravity of the plague. He uses intellect to devise a solution, but because he is still unaware of his monstrous situation, he is unsuccessful. When confronted with the truth by Tiresias, Oedipus is unwilling to believe he is blind himself and is gradually defeated by those with true sight. At first, Tiresias refuses to tell Oedipus the truth – he is afraid of what could happen. However, Oedipus provokes Tiresias into exposing the situation, unaware of the affect it will have on him. He first attempts to blame Tiresias himself – when that does not work, he proclaims the truth is Creon's "conspiracy" (l. 431). Oedipus is unable to understand he could have a weakness, but he eventually realizes his situation. In the process of distributing blame for the plague, those with true sight, and even Oedipus himself, gradually expose him and his realities.
In Oedipus the Play, Sophocles uses three great polarities: fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight. These polarities contribute enormously to Oedipus' reliance on intellect, which serves as both his greatest strength and his ultimate downfall.