Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Sight vs. Moral Blindness
Oedipus can see, but he arrogantly believes that he can circumvent prophecy; Tiresias cannot see physically, but he is expert at divining the will of the gods. Discuss the significance of physical and moral blindness in the play. Give some examples of how the symbols of blindness/sight are connected with the ideas regarding ignorance/knowledge in this play. How do you think the solution to the riddle illustrates Oedipus' knowledge and ignorance?
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This is one of the finest examples of dramatic irony I can think of. The fact that Oedipus has eyes but is too dense to see what is in front of him contrasts nicely with the fact that Tiresias has lost all phsycical sight but can see the future and interpret the gods own word. Oedipus is just as blind as Tiresias but in a differnt way than him. Oedipus' "blindness" what makes this whole mystery a mystery. A smart man might stay away from killing men and marrying thier wives just to be safe Oedipus does just the opposite and doesn't remmeber FOR YEARS he is so oblivious that he can't link two and two together. If only he had not been so vain as to not belive Tiresias when he told him thw truth. Oh well. The riddle answer ( and I asume this is about the sphinxes riddle) is showing how as Oedipus' life goes on he very much follows the answer. As he gets older his gains and power plays lead him to walk on two feet as king of Thebes. Then as he gets older his knowledge leaves him and leaves him instead with a cane of obliviousness to hobble along on. So all in all this example of dramatic irony make Oedipus more of a tragedy by show a great mans slow decline into realization.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you are getting your answer from, but about the last part of the riddle, I think it can be interpreted quite literally so to say that Oedipus will be using a cane in his last years since he can no longer see and a cane can act as eyes using the sense of touch. To each their own though, but other than that, I fully agree with what you had to discuss.
DeleteI agree with you especially with the riddle part. It's true, like Tyler said, the riddle can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but I think that the main purpose was to portray Oedipus' life/ fate.
DeleteI agree with the idea of Oedipus' life being related to the riddle, i was thinking the same. And i agree with tyler's part also. I also interpreted it somewhat different, i thought of it as Oedipus is blind and will then need to be aided in his older years in life but instead of a cane, it would be man as he needed people to guide him to see his daughter and help him on the way to exile out of Thebes.
DeleteI also agree with Tyler and Josh. The last part of the riddle can be a literal interpretation. A cane can just be an extension of Oedipus' senses. But as Josh pointed out, the riddle's main purpose seems to be to portray Oedipus' life. Other than that, everything else said is agreed with and insightful.
DeletePortrayed through the use of irony, Oedipus has proven to be ignorant in the search for his childhood origin. Although some may argue that Oedipus' hamartia, was his ignorance to believe in the holy seer, I also believe that his solution to the sphinxes riddle also portrayed an influence to Oedipus' hamartia. For example, during the quarrel between Teresias and Oedipus, Oedipus denies the accusation made against him most likely due to the fact that he saved Thebes, from the Sphinxes riddle. Moreover this may have influenced his ideology of eliminating himself as the prophet, because according to Apollo; the one who killed Laïos also brought the plague to Thebes, although because he saved Thebes it would make him less likely to have committed the murder and plague Thebes if he had saved Thebes. Which also leads me to the obvious contrast between Teresias and Oedipus, being their sights. With Teresias attribute of second sight, and Oedipus' attribute of first, the catharsis portrayed in Oedipus strengthens because his ignorance overcomes the physical blindness that is suggested through Teserias, also providing irony through the reality that although Oedipus is not sightless, he is still blind to recognize his own fate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement of how irony was used to characterize Oedipus and how you stated that Oedipus was blind to his own fate and could not see anything in front of him. I misinterpreted your statement on how Oedipus was ignorant to find the truths of his early life. Do you mean he did not realize what he was getting himself into by looking for his real parents?
DeleteI believe physical sight and moral sight impact the play tremendously.
ReplyDeleteOedipus can see physically but lacks the ability to predict the outcome of his choices or to understand something to a deeper extent. This makes Oedipus very stubborn and hard headed. For example, even when Creon said that he would never want to take the king's throne because he has all the power but no responsibilites and when Jocasta was pleading that he was not guilty, Oedipus was still not convinced that he Creon did not wrong him. Oedipus was also morally blind which was shown in his hubris. He believed he was great enough to defy the oracle of Delphi and alter his prophecy of murdering his father and marrying his mother by moving to Thebes.
Although Tiresias cannot see physically, he has very good insight. Tiresias clearly predicts what will happen and even warns Oedpius about it but he does not believe him. He is stronger than Oedipus because of his ability to predict outcomes. Understanding consequences proves that Tiresias is neither ignorant nor stubborn but also intelligent compared to Oedipus.
The Sphinx's riddle was "What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?". The answer to the riddle was "Man". Walking and men play major roles in the subject of this poem. I think that the answer and riddle relates to Oedipus' knowledge and ignorance because his feet were pierced so it was difficult for him to walk/crawl when he was abandoned by Laius and Jocasta. I think that although he answered the riddle directly, Oedipus ignorance and lack of knowledge prevented him from realizing that the riddle was slightly based off of his life and especially based off his prophecy when he was abandoned.
I wouldn't say that he lacked reason, or that he was stubborn and hard headed, just that he was blinded. However, I do agree that Teiresias, to some extent, makes Oedipus look like an idiot. Also, your answer to how the riddle was related makes a lot of sense to me now because I would've never thought of that. Because of that, I see a better perspective about the riddle, so thank you good sir!!!!
DeleteWhen you mention about what a smart man will do if he know his prophecy. But we need to remember even if he knows his prophecy he did not know his real mother and father at all.
ReplyDeleteThis is a comment for desi since i have problems with using the mobile version of the site
DeleteThere is a common phrase which states that "seeing is believing." However, this play provokes the contrary. Oedipus has the truth laid out in front of him, yet he cannot see it for himself. Meanwhile, Tiresias cannot see the world, for all he sees is the truth. This is by far one of, if not the most prominent example of dramatic irony in this entire play.
ReplyDeleteThe play uses the blindness of Oedipus to exaggerate his arrogance and egotistic personality. Oedipus had been given the truth on a silver platter and yet he still holds ignorant to it. He had heard his prophecy, and his efforts to avoid his fate had only brought him closer. This builds the irony through the fact that Oedipus knew where he was going, but could not see where he was headed. In other words, it was his ignorance which had led him to his inevitable fate.
Tiresias was blind to the world yet knew a vast majority of it. He holds the truths to Oedipus' actions and clearly see what Oedipus should already know. The irony in this is that Tiresias was a blind man who saw the truth that Oedipus clearly could not. Tiresias holds a knowledge that nobody else knows, perhaps it's due to the the fact that his physicall blindness helps avoid clouds of judgment in turn helping him see the truth more clearly.
In this play, there seems to be a greater appreciation of a moral clarity than a physical one. All the moral blindness had brought is an arrogance and ignorance of the truths which lie ahead. However, the physical blindness had actually allowed to see the truth more clearly. In this case, despite all of Oedipus' accomplishments, he comes out to be the loser who falls into the narrative of his inevitable fate.
I agree with your points about the dramatic irony. However, I don't think he was ignorant to the silver platter, I think he was blinded by his ego, which is why he didn't believe it.
DeleteThe use of physical deformities in literature is meant to highlight to uniqueness of a specific character. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays Tiresias as a blind prophet. He cannot see physically, but he has the ability to see in a metaphorical sense, by making predictions. On the other hand, Oedipus is a man blinded by hubris. Ever since solving the riddle of the Sphinx and being hurled into royalty, he seems to believe that he has a sense of superiority when it comes to intelligence. His excessive pride contributes to his own metaphorical blindness — to the truth. Although Tiresias knows that Oedipus is the murderer of his father and has fulfilled the prophecy that was established at his birth, Oedipus is oblivious to the fact that he himself his guilty. Additionally, Oedipus’ blindness actually leads to the fulfillment of his prophecy, and the readers see how the realization of the truth, leads to his ability of metaphorical sight, which results in the physical blindness of Oedipus, when he gouges his eyes out. Although they share similar conditions, Tiresias and Oedipus seem to be inverses of each other. Oedipus’ hubris and stubbornness has most likely been a life long trait, because of his status, which is probably why he always wants things to go his way. He never realizes the effects of his impulsive decisions, due to his metaphorical blindness. Meanwhile, Tiresias seems to be a man of the people, because he uses his blindness for good. Although he has a giant responsibility in being the holder of truth, he uses the voice of Apollo to help the people, and gives them advice based on what he can see. At some point, these two different lives intersect and display irony because an actual blind man is telling a man who is oblivious to his actual life what to do with it.
ReplyDeleteThe solution of the Sphinx’s riddle, man, seems to demonstrate Oedipus’ arrogance. Perhaps he felt he was much more than the common man because of his status and personal achievements and so, the riddle should not have applied to him. But as the story progresses, the reader sees how the riddle itself correlates to Oedipus’ fate. He figuratively walks on all fours when he is in his most ignorant state. Like a baby, Oedipus is oblivious to the prophecy in the early stages of his life. When he walks on two legs, it is when he is the most powerful, as the King of Thebes. Then, after obtaining knowledge of his fate, he cripples himself, thus completing the riddle.
i think ive never thought about the last paragraph that you wrote in the way you did. i always just thought "man" just meant "man" and that it just showed Oedipus' state throughout the play. Oedipus never thinks about things he does, i noticed. the riddle is just another example. he doesn't listen to advice that others give him, he (accidentally) kills his father for a very stupid reason, and fights with kreon. he needs to reflect on what he does!!! like see where a particular stance is coming from. Same with the riddle. Oedipus is a man right, so he shouldve thought on how the riddle relates to him, and maybe that might of prepared him for his inevitable fate, with the philosophy that everyone goes through a lil PERIPETIA :-) lol
DeleteThis adds to the irony in the story because Oedipus can see, but is blindly looking for the truth, whereas Teiresias is blind, but has already found the truth. Because of this, I don’t think that the choices that Oedipus made was because he lacked reason or because he was rash, but because he was blinded by the illusion that he was this sinless king and by the excitement of finding out his origins. If Oedipus didn’t take into account that he was this sinless king, maybe then he would consider what Teiresias said. If Oedipus wasn’t so excited about getting closer and closer to his origins, maybe he would think about what Jocasta was hinting at him. If he wasn’t blinded, he would be able to see. However, it was also because he was ignorant, whereas Teiresias, Kreon, and Jocasta were well aware of what was going on. From their perspective, Oedipus was ignorant because he ignored them. From Oedipus’s view, they were ignorant because they didn’t see the same way he did.
ReplyDelete