Preview

A Theme or Issue That Connects Oedipus and the Outsider

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
613 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Theme or Issue That Connects Oedipus and the Outsider
Truth is an important theme in both Oedipus and the Outsider as it changes the fate for both of the characters. I will talk about how the characters find out about the truth. I will also talk about how this theme is presented to us similarly in both the play and the text, as both the characters stick to the truth of their crimes which leads to both their downfalls. As Oedipus and Meursault based in different settings, this contributes to how the truth is presented.

In the play Oedipus, he seeks to find out the truth as he believes that he can help the people of Thebes “I’ll bring it all to light myself” later on even when everyone is begging him not to seek the truth he says “I must know it all, must see the truth at last” Although whatever Oedipus is doing is for the well being of Thebes this leads to his downfall as he himself is the cause of the plague. The realization of the truth is a turning point in the play as this changes his life.

Meursault does not intentionally kill the Arab as his physical needs over powers his ability to think. Meursaults realizes that he has murdered “it was like giving four sharp knocks at the door of unhappiness.” The simile in the quote also foreshadows that unhappiness is going to be a part of his life because he killed the Arab. Meursault is a simple and straightforward character and he believes in only telling the truth, this therefore changes his future.

Despite the fact that Oedipus and Meursault have different social status, there is a similarity on how they react once they find out the truth; both the characters are honest about the crime they have committed. Despite Oedipus being the King of Thebes he keeps his word that “I curse myself as well” and once he comes to know the truth he realizes that he is responsible so he blinds himself and exiles himself from Thebes. Meursault being an ordinary man is very straightforward and therefore tells the truth that he killed the Arab. Meursault decided to “die for the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The only difference is, Meursault’s attempt to integrate himself into European culture is also the action that defined him as an outsider. During an encounter with an ‘Arab’, Meursault “fired four times at the motionless body... and it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness” (Camus, 59). At that time in Algeria, racial tensions are high among the French and the ‘Arabs’. To try to fit in, Meursault tries to enforce the racial superiority of the French when he shoots the ‘Arab’. In his world, killing the ‘Arab’ would help him fit in, but instead he knew it did not work. He states he ‘knocked’ at the ‘door of unhappiness’ implying that he was now on the outside and his actions would disappoint whoever was inside. The house symbolizes the European divide, with Meursault being on the outside of the house looking in. Although his intentions were to assimilate, Algerian citizens saw his actions as too extreme, casting him as the…

    • 2119 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The ability to see is a much more complex ability than just the physical attribute. Most individuals have the ability to see physically but are blind to the reality of certain circumstances. In the play, “Oedipus the King” by Plato, Oedipus, the tragic hero, is not a blind man but cannot see the reality in the outcome of trying to escape his given fate.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pride In Oedipus Rex

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages

    His pride and blindness towards truth are also reflected in the play when he denies his destiny. Oedipus attempted…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He shot the arab five times and the arab was already dead after the first shot. Meursault didn’t even feel a certain type of way about this he just did it. Even the judges were wondering why he was so calm for his mother's death and after the crime. He was found guilty and charged with murder. Meursault wasn’t a bad person he even had a whole girlfriend who he just wanted to be with no matter what. He just did what he felt was right even though he doesn't feel anything he likes to keep the people he likes in his…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Rex is full of people searching for justice. Throughout the play Oedipus acts upon what he believes is justice.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the study of Greek plays, one tries to recreate for an experience, to recapture something of what is meant to those for whom it was written. We know more about the life of Sophocles than we know do about the lives of any other Greek playwright, but this still is not a lot. Sophocles’ work has been said to be the pinnacle of Greek tragedy. Oedipus the King is something like the literary Mona Lisa of ancient Greece. It presents a nightmare vision of a world turned upside down; a decent man, Oedipus, becomes the king of Thebes, whilst in the process unknowingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. As scholars, we are bound to relate this story through history, to ask what the writer really meant, how…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oedipus Rex a man blindly searches for the truth not knowing that it will be the cause of his own despicable fate. He finds out the to end the plague he has to find the former king's killer. He fights with Tiresias,the seer and says Creon is plotting against him. He fights with Jocasta about the past and current “coincidences”. They both realize the truth and Jocasta hangs herself and Oedipus stabs his eyes out. Creon becomes king and agrees to take care of Oedipus’s daughters, Oedipus is banished. Throughout the whole play Oedipus struggles with seeing and realizing the truth.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Rough Draft

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Being ignorant of the world around oneself is worse than being blind. The truth is hard to observe if one is not thinking critically and be open minded. When one is self absorbed in his own hubris, he will lose track of values that are much more important to him, including his own prophesized fate. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s “blindness” towards the decisions he made and his past added to his inevitable downfall.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tiresias is an appealing character in the play and gives meaning to the overall theme. He is a blind prophet that informs Oedipus of the truth. Tiresius tells Oedipus that he is the murderer of his own father and married to his mother. He quotes, “I say: you have been living unaware in the most hideous intimacy with your nearest and most loving kin, immersed in evil that you cannot see.” Oedipus defensively says, “You have blind eyes, blind ears, and a blind brain.” The irony of his blindness is that Tiresias is not blind at all within the realm of knowledge. He has a clear vision and sight into who Oedipus is and what his future holds. Oedipus is oblivious and can only see what his eyes choose. The other characters in the play with physical sight are also unenlightened to this truth about their king.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The entire story of Oedipus is built around a central ironic theme. The king's world is one full of ironies, most of which are cruel. His life begins in exile, because his father fears a prophecy, one in which his son would kill him and marry his wife. It is this…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Oedipus the King” is a drama that portrays misfortune that dwells among mankind. The tragic sequence of events first starts with the birth of Oedipus. His biological parents are stricken with grief when they discover a secret that causes them to banish their son from the city of Thebes. Little did they know that, despite their actions, fate would still play out which would, in turn, cause the society of Thebes to be stricken by the plague. Although many people suffered from the unfortunate destiny of Oedipus, perhaps the person that suffered the most was Oedipus himself. Oedipus endured an unforgiving reality check after being blindsided by the current state of his life.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The selfishness that Oedipus possesses causes him to have abundance of ignorance. This combination is what leads to his father's death. After fleeing Corinth and his foster family, Oedipus gets into a skirmish with an older man. The reason for the fight was because, "The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord's command" (1336). Oedipus is filled with a rage after being insulted by the lord and feels the need to act. The two men fight, but Oedipus ends up being too much for the older man, and he kills him. What Oedipus is unaware of is that the man was actually his birth father and by killing him, Oedipus has started on the path of his own destruction. Not only does Oedipus kill his father, but also everyone else, "I killed them all" (1336). The other men had no part in the scuffle,…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Essay

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages

    "What walks on four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs at nightfall." This was the riddle posed by the Sphinx who at the time was destroying the city of Thebes. The riddle was solved by none other than Oedipus who was made king for ridding the city of the Sphinx. Ironically though, Oedipus in his life comes to embody the riddle of the Sphinx and its soulution. Firstly, the Sphinx is percieved as a curse on Thebes and Oedipus also becomes a curse by the end of the play. Secondly, Oedipus's physical health embodies the riddle. Thirdly, Oedipus's emotional state also resembles the riddle. Lastly, the events of Oedipus's life relate to the theme of identity in the play.…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Originally, this is introduced in the conversation with Tiresias where Oedipus, having no idea that he is the center of all this disarray, believes that he is just a king that simply wants to avenge the previous king. Tiresias begins by refusing to “reveal my dreadful secrets, or rather, yours” (21) and goes on to the point of depleting the patience of Oedipus. This leads to Oedipus beginning to suspect whether or not his life was a complete lie. In the beginning, Oedipus claims that he is the one who can see while all others are blind. However, after one defining moment, it dawns on Oedipus that he himself was blind the entire time and that he is not who he thinks he is. Wanting to free himself from this blindness, Oedipus searches only to find the horrifying truth - the prophecy already occurred. In shock, Oedipus reveals to all that he was “born in shame, married in shame, and an unnatural murderer.” (89). Realizing that everything actually revolved around him, he exiles himself in “honor” of the curse he put up on the murderer saying to Creon to “take me away from here at once” (107). If Oedipus was not genuine, then he could have easily disregarded the curse he put up and continued to rule as king. Instead, Oedipus lives up to his code and accepts his…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Personality

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages

    His insistence on the truth is how he displays his wild curiosity. In addition, his inability to convey humility and his intense desire to solve the riddle of the murder demonstrate his inquisitiveness best. When the doomed king learns of the source of Thebes’ suffering, he takes it upon himself to find the truth. “‘I’ll bring it all to light myself!’” (Fagles 268). Moreover, he insists that he should be the one to find the killer since he is king. He seeks out the truth, yet his spirit of inquiry uncovers more than just the identity of the killer. “‘Apollo told me once―it is my fate―I must make love with my own mother, shed my father’s blood with my own hands’” (Fagles 304). Doomed, King Oedipus fails to grasp the fact that the entirety of the truth is more than he can handle; it consumes him and leads him to his ruin. On the verge of verifying the prophecy, the doomed king’s curiosity is still evident as he tells Jocasta “‘I must know it all, must see the truth at last’” (Fagles 307). His longing to find the source of Thebes’ suffering―his curiosity―causes him to figuratively and literally be…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays