Oedipus The King: What Does It Mean To Be Human?

Madeson Todd
Ms Casey
IB English 20
March 14th 2015
What Does It Mean To Be Human?
In what sense is Oedipus, though a king, also an "everyman" figure? In other words, how might this play be said to explore something fundamental about the limitations involved in being human? “In a sense every person must grope in the dark as Oedipus gropes, not knowing who he is or what he has to suffer; we all live in a world of appearance which hides from us who-knows-what dreadful reality” (E.R Dobbs, 1966). Oedipus The King follows one man’s journey from prosperity to ruin. Oedipus’ character development can be put into three distinct transitions; being a prideful, heroic king at the beginning, to a tyrant in denial towards the middle, and finally an atrocious,
If there is a lack of knowledge regarding what one is choosing, or if one lacks the mental capacity to evaluate this information in a rational manner, then there is an incapability of making a choice. To make an effective choice, the chooser must have self-knowledge, must be aware of the circumstances in which the decision is made, the potential consequence of one choice compared to another, and the true interests of the individual, or what ultimately is wished to be accomplished as a result of that choice. Through the play, it can be seen, as with all humans, that Oedipus lacks much of this knowledge, thus he acts from ignorance. This means he has a full ability to make decisions, but he generates poor choices because of his false beliefs and limited understanding of the situation. For instance, at the beginning of the play, Oedipus was praised for his intellect as he defeated the Sphinx by answering the riddle “with the flight of my [his] own intelligence” (452). As he required no help from the gods or any outer source of knowledge to defeat this beast, Oedipus gained self-confidence, perhaps too much, and thus believed he had the answers to everything. It is ironic that he thought he knew so much, yet he is “all unknowing” (473) as he does not even know who his real mother and father are. This lack of knowledge of the circumstance and consequences of
Part of this resistance comes with the power to refuse to hear and see things that one does not want to hear or see. Oedipus illustrates the human race in this way. For instance, he was told that the murderer will be “Revealed at last,” and he is the “brother and father to the children he embraces, to his mother a son and husband both – he sowed the loins his father sowed, he spilled his father’s blood!” (520-524) Oedipus knew that “it is my [his] fate” to “make love to my own mother, shed my [his] father’s blood with my [his] own hands” (1090-1092). It is quite a minor leap to tie Oedipus’ knowledge to the many hints that were revealed to him and make the conclusion that his prophecy was fulfilled. Yet, whether consciously or subconsciously, Oedipus did not make this connection. It is ironic that Oedipus was a free agent throughout the entire play, yet even with his free choices he did the one thing he avoided for his entire life; killed his father and married his mother. Perhaps this is a result of what every human does; focussing on what one is going to do rather than if one should or should not do it. This is exemplified by Oedipus as he never once discusses what his true interests are, rather he always “acted at once” (80). He does not have the capacities or inclination to stop and try to conceive where his true interests may lie and thus his continuous