Oedipus The King Literary Merit

Shawn McDorman
Mrs. McGill
AP Lit and Comp
October 24, 2008
Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.
Oedipal society is a very religious civilization. The plebes religiously work their fields, pray to the gods to help their wheat grow, let the sun shine, and allow them to live for a few more years. They also religiously show deference to their leader, Oedipus. Oedipus is the one who has freed them of their slavery from the cursed sphinx who stumped many a greater man with her patronizing
riddle. Not Oedipus though, he found a way to rise above, and they reward him with kingship and the newly widowed Iokaste’s hand in marriage, but how does he respond to this awe inspiring show of appreciation.. And how does he respond to the new society that Thebes has sheltered him in. Through careful research and masterful use of language, Sophocles reveals all this and more in his drama “Oedipus Rex”.
In Greece, all pay homage to the gods. God Apollo is the ruler of… In Oedipus Rex, he serves as a foil to not just Oedipus, but also the society Oedipus lives in.. When the gods speak, the people listen humbly and act in the way they believe the gods will find most pleasing. When a soothsayer predicts a problem based upon the signs of the gods, people act as best they can to avoid disaster. For example, when Laius hears that he will have a son who will kill him, he immediately arranges for his son to be killed and abandoned on a mountain. This is nothing more than what would happen in modern American society as far as averting disaster is concerned, but these people are a bit more apt to accept what an oracle says than twenty-first century thinkers.
In this society, everyone has a place. Everyone works together to help generate the bigger picture. The king’s place in this society is, in general, to make big life changing decisions for the populace. Lewin believes Oedipus is “a responsible leader (because of) his desire… for honesty and directness in approaching the problem of Thebes’s plague.” In examination, a responsible king is supposed to keep his kingdom running at any and all costs, shield Thebes and its people from those who seek to destroy it, and attempt to improve his domain when able. He is a strong king with a thirst for truth, he avidly tries to weed out the source of the problem, and he doesn’t turn away from the truth when he ends up being the cause of all current troubles the people of Thebes have. According to Foster, he falls short because, “He can’t see a thing in the world.” Oedipus has attributes of a great king, but becomes a tragic king when he finds out that he is the reason his people are suffering. Upon realizing this, he immediately blinds himself so that his external sight matches his foresight. When he does this, the audience assumes the plague ends, and that he fulfills his duty to society by doing his best to keep Thebes of the thriving status.
Kreon is an example of how the king of Thebes should act and conduct himself.
His first lines in the play are a reassurance to the king and to all those who were standing near at the time. He admits that he has bad news, but he also says that with the right amount of action and patience, the evil can be countered.. His next set of lines is a warning to Oedipus that they go inside so not to be overheard. He either understands that the plebes could misunderstand what he says and panic or he is trying to keep the information private such that none will know that someone is closing in on the neck of Laius’s killer. Either way, he provides an easy and inventive way to accomplish his goals without too much concern on the part of the populace. Oedipus does not take either the hint or the suggestion, and allows Laius to talk such that all those around could hear. Kreon shows himself to have a cool tongue to go with his cool processing head. He presents a logical explanation to Oedipus, and although Oedipus doesn’t accept it outright, he does agree to wait until he had all the information before he would prosecute his uncle. Kreon shows tact and grace under pressure which are two attributes of a great
king.
Oedipus has pressure put on him via his society in many ways. He is challenged when he moves from the Corinth ruling family to the Thebes ruling entity due to basic society differences. Even though both major cities were just a mountain apart, they still had every opportunity to be completely different cultures. This is not to say that Oedipus’s job was a permanent piece of work, but he knew what he was getting into when he took his high rank and had some experience around leadership. He obviously fails his role in his society when he leaves office a blind fool with his father’s blood on his hands. In the end he overcame many challenges and fulfilled a few bonds with the people. The audience sees this when Oedipus interacts with the priest. The priest nearly worships Oedipus himself because he overcame the sphinx. He brown noses Oedipus and harps on his favor from the gods which he must have since he has no extraordinary insight above others who were stumped by the riddles. He makes Oedipus feel self important, and Oedipus in return promises to fix the problems the priest had been having with the chaos raging throughout the city. The priest seems to think that if Oedipus could just solve the problem at hand, then he would fulfill his role in society. Oedipus eventually does solve the problem, and therefore fits the priest’s idea of a king.
Overall, Oedipus comes very close to living up to the standards set by Thebes’s society. He falls short only because he is the one who brought about a catastrophe that discomforted the populace of Thebes.