Monday, December 7, 2009

Day 5

Today we finished Oedipus. It is truly sad that a good man fell the way he did because of some circumstances that were out of his control. Yet, the one thing in his control, his anger also caused some of this to occur as well.

For this evening:

By the end of this reading, do you sympathize with Oedipus or do you think he is too blame for his pain and suffering? Connect the theme of darkness or blindness into your answer with at least one specific example from the story.

49 comments:

Emma Flynn said...

After finishing reading Oedipus we discovered the truth about the tragic hero who was faced with many mournful and sorrowful circumstances that led to his devastating cascade. Oedipus encountered much pain and suffering that in my opinion, he was not at fault for. As merely an infant, Oedipus’s parents had gone to an oracle to foresee their young son’s future. After the boy’s disastrous fate was declared (his fate being through which he would kill his father and marry his mother) his parents believed it was in their best interests to abandon him to die. I feel sympathetic for Oedipus because his own parents abandoned him as an innocent baby, piercing through both his feet, all because an oracle had claimed his future to be so gruesome and unfortunate. His parent were not only blind to the thought that their son would survive their attempts to have him killed, but also to the idea that perhaps the oracle’s prediction of Oedipus’s future may not have been his actual fate. Oedipus is not to blame for the suffering and pain that the he was faced with because in my opinion, his parents were the sole characters at fault. Had he not been adopted and traveling through Thebes, Oedipus would not have purposefully married or slept with his own mother. Due to his parent’s trivial and irrational decision to abandon their own son, Oedipus was opposed to live a life of darkness from the truth, as seen specifically when he unknowingly sought out to save his city from the pollution, that was in all actuality, himself. This darkness led to the sympathetic and unfortunate downfall of a tragic hero.

Becca said...

By the end of reading Oedipus I sympathize with him. Most of the circumstances were out of his control. I feel that Oedipus is not too blame for his pain and suffering. He had no idea that he killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus was in the dark about the truth. He was blind to the fact that he did kill his father and married his mother. I know that Oedipus did have an anger problem, and this did cause some circumstances to occur, however, I still think that Oedipus was not a bad man. Just because some bad thing happened to him, doesn't mean that he is a bad person. The main reason I think Oedipus is not too blame for his pain and suffering is because he was left in the dark. Even though Tiresias told Oedipus that such a thing would happen, Oedipus was still blind to the truth. In conclusion, I feel that Oedipus was a good person, and did things to help the people of Thebes, and that he did not cause his own blame and suffering.

Becca Need
3rd Hour

!!!!!!TAYLOR SWIFT IS SO HOTT!!!!!! said...

I do sympathize with Oedipus beacuse i think that he was doopped from the start. His life was already cursed when his mom and dad made the choice to try and kill him. Oedipus should have never been in thebes and never heard the oricals of his life. Well Oedipus' mom and dad were blind to see that they could Have raised Oedpus right and he wouldnt kill his dad and marry his mom. Oedipus was blind to see that he could have just stayed in Corinth and not killed his dad or married his mom. His fear of a dark life coming upon him scared him and that is what made him leave. The theme of Darkness is showed when Jocasta and Oedipus both punish themselves. Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus blinded him self for their sins. Blindness is a big theme in this book. Blindness in this book is more then just seeing. It is more of having vision and thinking clearly.
Zack Ruffin

Tyler McLeod said...

At the conclusion of Oedipus, I sympathize with Oedipus. From the beginning of his life his fate was destined to be tragic. The prophecy given to him at birth that he would murder his father and marry his mother started the chain of terrible things to come. Things that were out of Oedipus control. King Laius and Jocasta's decision to pin his feet and request that he be killed was evil on their part. Oedipus was not to blame that the shepherd he was given too allowed him to live and that he was given to Polybus & Merope to raise as their own. Yes, Oedipus was blind in over looking details and facts that he was given; he did not want to come too the realization of what he had done. Teiresias told Oedipus that he was the murderer of Laius, however, Oedipus blinded himself to the information he was given. Oedipus was not a bad man, but a victim of circumstances out of control and I sympathize with the cards that were dealt to him.

Conner said...

I feel Oedipus is not one who i can feel bad for and think he is to blame for his pain and suffering. Oedipus throughout the book gave and showed no reason for the reader to feel bad for him after all his decisions made and the way he presented him self. Throughout the book it seemed as if Oedipus did not live his life everthinking about what or others were feeling at times. The way he treated other people and the way he was showed a sense of darkness or blindness. This means that he never really seen exactly what he did and took into consideration what others felt. For example, When Oedipus had the conversation with Tiresias, he showed he did not care or took in or listened to any of the information gaven by him all cause he is a blind man. Oedipus felt that due top the fact that he Tiresias is blind, why bother listening to what he has to say and believe other things. This showed the themem of darkness as Oedipus showed not to truely see what others thoughto or the truth.

conman

Anonymous said...

After reading Oedipus I sympathize with him. Oracles had warned him about what was going to happen and he did everything in his power to make sure that it didnt. He had tried his very hardest to make sure that the things that were supposed to happen didnt happen. I sympathize with him because after going so far in trying to stay away from his parents he still managed to kill his father and sleep with his mother. I feel bad for him because the gods pretty much had it out for him from the get go. After everything that has happened in his life he had needed a break from tragic events and stress, but it just never happened. I find it sad that he gouged his eyes out after realizing what had happened. I also feel sorry for him because he is taking on all of the guilt for what his children are going to go through, even though it was not in his control.

Cherie Stoll said...

6th
By the end of the reading, I sympathize with Oedipus. Basically, at birth Oedipus's life was destined for disaster. The Gods told his parents that he was going to marry his mother and kill his father. His parents couldn't even know if this would become true, but they attempted to kill him anyways. His parents are the real reason for the prophesy coming true. When he grew up, his adopted parents never told Oedipus that he was adopted. His adopted parents are to blame as well, because if Oedipus would have known that they were not his real parents, he would have never left. If he didn't leave, then Oedipus would have never killed his father, which started all of the bad events in his life. Oedipus never knew his wife was his mother, so he cannot be blamed for marrying her. Oedipus was blinded to all truth in his life. His adopted parents nor anyone else in Corinth told Oedipus that he was adopted. He never knew that the man he killed was Laius, or that his wife was his mother. He was blinded from the truth because he never knew of his past. In the end Oedipus stabbed his eyes because he did not want to face anyone; he was ashamed of his life. When he was blinded from the truth he could see, and when he could see the truth he was blind. Overall, I think that Oedipus's circumstances were out of his control.

Jamie Diehr said...

After reading Oedipus, I can sympatize with him. Although his stupid actions caused him all this missery, I don't think that he was a terrible man. Just because you do horrible things doesn't necessarily mean that you are a horrible person. Yes, what he did was wrong and stupid, and yes he should get some kind of punishment for it, but I think that what he did was more than enough suffering that he deserved. He already found out that he killed his father (unknowingly)and married and fathered his mothers babies (unknowingly). This is enough suffering as it is, finally realizing how blind he really was to the truth. Even when you have eyes and can physically see, you can still be blind to the truth. Sometiems it takes darkness or bad situation to finally be able to see the light of truth.

kurtis said...

what happend to oedipus was not his fault. it was his proficey to do what he did he was fated to kill his dad and marry his mom, but could the situation been avoided if he didnt lose his temper with his birth father? or was it fated to happen?blindness in this story is ironic because terieces, the blind man, knows wat happend to oedipus because he is close the oracle,but oedipus who can pysically see is blinded by his anger and cannot see the truth so atthe conclusion of the story he blinded himself as a punishment.

beattiex33 said...

Oedipus is in control of a lot of things in the story but one was not the fate of himself marrying his mother and killing his father. I don’t think that he should go through more misery then he already has. He is one person who has done greatly in the ruling of his country; even though his anger has caused some faults. Oedipus should feel guilty in the killing of his own father. He shouldn’t go through the rest of his life feeling ashamed for what has happened because he was completely blinded from the truth, not only from his real parents but his adopted ones as well. If his adopted parents had told him he was adopted, then he probably wouldn’t have fled to Thebes. Oedipus has been blinded from the truth from all of his love ones for years, he shouldn’t go through the rest of his life actually blind and remorse for the choices others made. Oedipus made wrong choices, like killing his father, but with the years serving his country as king made up for that. If he wasn’t a good king I think he would have deserved the misery, but to go and blind himself and then ask to be sent away from people to die is over reacting the situation. Oedipus doesn’t deserve the misery because he really was a good person, and just because his parents screwed up doesn’t mean that he should go through his life more blind and distraught.

Lauren Beattie
3rd Hour

Wilbur2381 said...

At the end of the story i believe that Oedipus led himself into all of his suffering. The main factor that played in his suffering was his Achilles heel (his anger), an example from the story that shows how his anger got to him was when Tiersias is trying to explain to him who the murderer of Lauis is and Oedipus goes berserk and starts pointing the finger at Tiersias and Creon and accusing them of trying to overthrow Oedipus' thrown. Now after reading the story there is the other side to it that you may sympathize. I dont believe that you can really sypothyize for the guy. First of all he actually believed that Apollo was right on the fact that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Secondly he overreacted when Lauis ran his foot over, and thirdly he let his anger get the best of him which in return made him look like a jackass.

Will Michaels 2nd hour

ZACK SZAJNER 5th Hour said...

By the end of this reading, do you sympathize with Oedipus or do you think he is too blame for his pain and suffering? Connect the theme of darkness or blindness into your answer with at least one specific example from the story.

With the conclusion of this story i feel sorrow for Oedipus. As a infant he was left to die in the mountains. From then he was adopted by the King and Queen of Corinth. Here he lived a happy life until he was told by an Oracle that he would marry his mother and kill his father. With this, it caused much pain as he was forced to leave where Corinth and travel to find a home somewhere else. Later on, as he became the king of thebes, he fulfilled the oracles thoughts, eventually killing his father and marrying his mother. That caused him the most pain. All these pains were added up by things that he could never control. This is why i feel sympathy for him, things happened that he couldnt control. In his later life, in Thebes, he became blind to his situation. Teiresias, a blind prophet came into Thebes to tell him that he fullfilled the Oracles thought. Oedipus was blind to this and disregarded him, in hs eyes it musnt have been true.

Anonymous said...

I sympathize with Oedipus because I think that a lot of these unfortunate events that happened were out of his control. If his parents had never taken him to the oracle and not listened to it, they would still be alive and he wouldn't have fulfilled it. Fate can change but because they were so stupid and believed everything they heard, they set up the situation for the oracle to come true. I think that Oedipus did have anger problems and maybe shouldn't have killed Laius but it was a fight between them and things can get out of hand. But marrying Jocasta wasn't really his fault and it was kind of his destiny to solve the riddle of the sphinx. He has suffered enough for the things he has done. The theme of blindness connects to the story because Oedipus was blind to the truth that he was living his life in. He thought that Polybus was his real dad and when he found out that he was supposed to kill him he left. The truth was that Polybus was his adoptive dad. This also proves that Oedipus really is trying to take control of things and puts others needs before his. Oedipus was blind to Teiresias and him telling him the truth. When he finally did listen, he blinded himself and now lives in darkness. I feel really bad for Oedipus and I don't think that he is evil or a bad person.

Alanna Nagi said...

Although I was not present in school today, I do suppose that some of his circumstances were out of his hands. I do feel that Oedipus shouldn't be blamed for the pain and suffering, because he didn't know that he killed his father, and married his mother. He thought that he left his mother and father back in the town where he grew up, he thought that those were his real parents. However, little did he know, that when he left his "parents" is when he was really going to find his parents. Oedipus was blind to the fact that his real parents were not his real parents. All his life his "parents" were telling him that he wasn't adopted and that he was their real soon, but all that was a lie. He was also blind to the fact that he was the killer of King Laius, and not a group of people. He just assumed that he wasn't the killer because everyone said King Laius died by a gang, and Oedipus killed all the men by himself, he didn't make the connection. Although, some of his mistakes were wrong, it's not like he went out searching for this to happen, he didn't know anything until the end of the book.

Alanna Nagi
2nd hour

Anonymous said...

Upon finshing the story of Oedipus I sympathize with him. His troubles were not his fault, he didn't do anything wrong. Everything that happned to him was out of his control. It was all pre-ordained that he would kill his father and marry his mother. It's Jocasta's fault that all of that happened. If she hadn't tried to kill him as an infant he wouldn't have ended up killing his father and marrying her. Oedipus was blind because he didnt know that the man he killed was Lauis, or that Lauis was his father.

James Richardson
3rd hour

Megan said...

By the end of the story, I do not sympathize with Oedipus. He may have not had control over the situation he was put into, but he did have control with how he handled it, which was not very well. If it was not for his anger Oedipus would not have killed Laius to being with. Even when he was told that Laius was his father and Jocasta his mother, he again got anger and blinded himself from the truth. Had he not gotten so anger, he would have been able to realize what had happened and handled the situation differently. He may have even ended up being King of Corinth. Oedipus did not think of this. He was so wrapped up in lies and anger that he pushed the truth away, or putting himself in darkness. In the end, he is the one to blame for his suffering, because he was the one who got himself there, and decided to stab his eyes.

Megan Kastelen
2nd hour

bree: thompson said...

Ummm I moved in with my grandparents today, I do not know when I will enroll out here but I will not be back at Lakeland so I don't know if I should blog.

Samantha Tedder said...

After reading, I do sympathize with Odeipus. I believe it was fate that effected Oedipus's life. The pain and suffering he had to deal with was so great, and I don't believe he could've stopped it even if he knew what the original oracle meant. Oedipus was blind to the fact that when he journeyed back to Thebes, in the process killing his father, he would eventually marry his mother. The blindness was that he had no idea he was supposedly adopted. He believed that his mother and father were safely back in Corinth. When he killed Lauis, and married Jocasta, he just thought he killed some random guy, and married some random girl. Upon finding out the truth, he gouged his eyes out because if he killed himself, he said he wouldn't be able to bare seeing his mother and father. And, he thought if he was blind in life, that he would also be blind in death.

Samantha Tedder
2nd hour

Dennessa Degen said...

After reading the story about Odepis i do not really sympathize for him. Many people have ruff lives, some are worse then Odepis's. People get help and learn how to cope with it. Odepis took his lefe because he was being selfish took a father away from his children. No, I do not blame Odepis for is suffering. Things happened that made him feel that way. He should have got throught and should have moved on.

Brittany Laubscher said...

I truly do sympathize for oedipus. I dont think it was his fault at all. Their are certain things in life that you cannot change. Oedipus was someone who was delt a bad deck. Their was nothing he could really do to change what was suppose to happen. Oedipus tried to stop it from happening by leaving who he thought was his parents. he didnt know that he was adopted, so he thought by leaving was going to help. The theme blindness goes along with this very well. I look at it like this, Oedipus was blind to being adopted. No one told him that he had true blooded parents out their. If he knew then he would have done the right thing and stayed in his current location.

Cody Kabisa said...

After finishing Oedipus, I sympathize for him. He pretty much got screwed from the start I think. He was destined to kill his father and marry his mother and thats what happened. He was abandoned and never given a chance. Both of these themes connect to the story in many ways. Blindness connects in one very obvious way; Teiresias. Blindness also goes deeper than just the physical trait. Oedipus was blind to the whole situation. He didnt listen to Teiresias when he told him that he killed the king. Instead, he got angry which is what may have led to some of his misfortune. He then got mad at Creon and almost had him killed because he was so blind to the truth. At the end of the story, there was another very obvious connection to blindness. Oedipus stabs his eyeballs, blinding himself.

Codyk

Sean said...

I sympathize for Oedipus for his pain and suffering because he didnt ask for any of the events he was placed into to. He was in no control of his birth and his childhood and it wasnt his fault for growing up believing what he did. I blame his parents for letting him go through what he did, and having to find out the truth how he did. The theme of darkness is evident in that his parents left Oedipus in the dark. They hung him dry. Oedipus never knew he was living in darkness because he was raised to not learn the truth, and his parents and the people that took care of him did whatever they could to keep the truth from him. A specific example is when Jocasta wont tell Oedipus who gave birth to him. She doesnt want Oedipus to know the truth, which is like leading him into the darkness rather than heading toward the light, which is truth and justice.

deets

Clare Pathe said...

By the end of the story, i honestly feel sympathatic for Oedipus. Most of the tragic events that happened to him were out of his control. He is not to blame for all the stuff that happened to him. He had no idea that he killed his father and married his mother, because he didnt know they were his real parents. Because, as far as he knew, his parents in Corinth were his real parents. The theme of darkness plays a huge part in Oedipus. The truth about Oedipus was darkness, and he was blinded by the fact that he killed King Lauis and married his mother. I do believe Oedipus was a good person at heart. Yes, he made a mistake to anger, by killing the king, but that doesnt make him a bad person. That just means he made a bad choice. An example of this would be when Tieresias told him the truth about his life, and Oedipus didnt belive him. This shows that Oedipus was the blind one and Tiersias was not.

Chloe Martin 6th said...

I don't sympathize with Oedipus at all! sure he was born into unfavorable circumstances he was oblivious (blind) to what those were. he grew up a normal child, privileged actually, he lived a good life. nothing took place in his life that would lead him, or justify the murder of Laius. Oedipus was extremely blind. with all of the subtle clues about who the true murderer was or who he was actually in relation to. for example the blind profit basically told him he was the child of his wife and the killer of his father, but his rage clouded the truth and better judgment. Oedipus should be held 100 percent accountable for what he did, he was not thrown into the mix of bad fortune, he could have passes anyone on the street and let his rage over power him. nothing can justify or make less of what he did he should be held fully acountable.

Steve Snapp said...

After reading Oedipus i believe that he isn't to blame for many reasons. The fact that he was abandoned as an infant was rough enough. When his parents revealed his future from the oracle they also abandoned him and he was exile from his former city. Oedipus's whole life is a mystery and he never knew the true meaning behind it. I Sympathize for Oedipus mostly because his life was brutal, and he didn't really have a say in his future. I think if Oedipus was never abandoned he wouldn't be in this situation, his life would be totally different. Another reason i sympathize for Oedipus is because the blindness of truth that he didn't realize till later in his life. To marry your mother and kill your father is a future nobody hopes for.

Tayler Chase said...

I think that Oedipus is partial to blame for his pain and suffering. I think that there was no way around him killing his father and marrying his mother. I think that no matter what he or anyone else did the oricals prediction would come true. If Oedipus would have listened to Terisias, instead of being blinded by his anger then it would have only ended his pain and suffering sooner. Oedipus was being nlinded by his anger when he was talking to Terisias and when Terisias was telling him the truth.

Joey said...

By the end of reading Oedipus I sympathize with him. He shouldn’t be blamed for. Oedipus had no control over what happened. He tried his hardest to prevent from what the oracle told him. I feel bad for Oedipus because he couldn’t do anything about it. The theme blindness correlates with how Oedipus was blind to the thought that he killed his Father and married his mother. He had no clue that he really did what the oracle predicted. Darkness also ties in with these themes by Oedipus and his mother Jocasta punishing themselves. Oedipus blinded himself and Jocasta killed herself.

Katrina said...

After reading the entire story part of me does sympathize with Oedipus. He was blind to the story of his life for so long. He lived almost his entire life thinking he was someone else. I think he suffered a lot. Not just in the end but throughout his life. He was pierced in the feet as a baby and when he found out that he was supposed to kill his father and sleep with his mother. This caused him to leave the people he loved and go out on his own. That must have been miserable. Also, the realization of what had actually happened and who his wife really was was accompanied with other bad news. This included his wife/mother killing herself and the fact that he himself was bringing the plague to the city. He was brought out of the darkness and into the light of truth so rapidly that it was painful. It was like his eyes didnt have time to adjust because the shift happened instantly. Thats kind of ironic because he gouges his eyes out. So i do sympathize. He suffered much of his life and when things begin to turn around and hes happy the truth reveals itself and the suffering is worse than ever.

Anonymous said...

I do feel a lot of sympathy for Oedipus in the story. I know he committed a crime, and killed his father but I believe it was fait. This whole time period was based on the idea of multiple God's and prophecies. So with all these odds against Oedipus it was hard for him not to act or with anger, or without logical sense. No he does not always make the right decisions, but I can definitely see where he is coming from. He was blind to everything that was going on in his life. I think he was so emotionally distraught about who he really was, and what was really going on the message was lost. However darkness had fallen upon him, he had a terrible fate from the moment he took his first breath. So why should it be his fault, he was only trying to prevent this horrible fait.

Taylor Dieck
2nd hr.

Dan Calma said...

I do not sympathize for Oedipus, but I do not blame him for all of his pain and suffering. For example, if Laius and Jocasta had tried to love their son as much as possible he could've been a great person and possibly wouldn't have killed his father and slept with his mother. Oedipus' parents' fear of the prophecy made them make a dark decision. If they had succeded with their dark plan, surely Oedipus would not have been put through so much pain and suffering. Or even if Oedipus had survived and went to Corinth he would had lived well if the drunk had not told everyone he was adopted. And on the other hand, if Oedipus had controlled his anger and not gone to the oracles he would not have thought that he was to kill his adoptive father and sleep with his adopted mother. I also think that some of Oedipus' pain and suffering is his fault as well. If he had not let his anger control him, he would not have killed Laius at the crossroads. Oedipus' anger blinded him a many times, like when he forced Teirasius to tell him the truth. Laius' and Jocasta's fear of prophecy blinded their decision, which casted the dark prophecy into motion. And Oedipus' anger repeatedly blinded is judgement, thus blinding his actions.

Eric Tamm said...

I am torn in my decision on this. I know everyone says that you have to make a decisive decision, but I truly just cannot with this situation. On one hand, I sympathize with him becasue it could be Jocastas fault that it ended like this. She was the one who tried to kill him, and therefore it could be her fault. Also, since she chose to belive the oracle, that could be why it came true. If she couldv'e ignored it, nothing might've happened. It goes back to the what ifs we talked about in class. His life was basically doomed from the start, however on the other hand, he was blind to the fact that Polybus wasn't his real father. He himself also accepted the oracle's story, and therefore could've put it on himself. I think if he would've let fate lead his life, nothing would've happened, as opposed to the fact that he fled corinth, and forced the story to come true. EVeryone is somewhat at fault for their own wrongdoings, even if they have no idea what's going on. That is why I think he is at fault as well as not. The themes of blindness are displayed in the book because Oedipus is blind to the truth throughout the whole thing. This connects to both sides because it could prove it's not his fault, or it could say he was ignorant and too careless to realize the truth. He is also blind becaus he gouges out his eyes in the end.

Jessica klave said...

after this reading i still have contrversial thoughts. I think he is to blame for his pain, but in other ways i think he isnt. For one oedipus is to blame because he had very bad anger problems, causeing him to kill the king, so he is part to blame for his pain. on the other hand oedipus' mater and fater took the easy way out and had him to be killed as a infant fearing the oricle, so he had to live his whole life a lie. he discovers the truth but it is not known if he would have been better off not knowing. he was blind to the fact that he was the killer. I truely believe if he had suspected that he was the killer that he would have never promised such drastic measures.

Katlyn said...

After finishing Oedipus i sympathize with him. None of it was really his fault. His mother was the one that sent him away when he was a baby. If his mother never listened to the oricle then none of it would have ever happened. Oedipus was blind to all of this at first. He had no idea that he killed Lauis or that he was sleeping with his mother. When he found out he blinded himself. He didnt want to have to look at himself or face everyone else. He felt ashamed of himself. His children will have to suffer now for what he did.

Katlyn Twigg 2nd Hour

kevin wardlow said...

After finding out what Oedipus did, i felt some sympathy for him. Mostly because he was almost killed by his mother when he was an infant. And i felt bad for all he did for the people as a king, he had to suffer through the truth. But he was also to blame for some of his pain. In the story, Oedipus was told by the gods that he was cursed to sleep with his mother, and kill his father by his own hands. When he found out, he ran from it, and he never really thought about what they said, and never accepted it, causing him to forget about it. So when he wanted to find out who was polutting the city, he was blind to what the news from others was telling him. Darkness can be tied into the story for what Oedipus did to himself and with his mother. Sleeping with his mother and his mother trying to kill him was dark. It seemed that their fate was already decided long ago? especially after what the oracle said before he was king.

Jordan said...

After finishing oedipus a lot is going on. A lot of people make assumptions about oedipus and his life he lived. I think i have a couple opininons. Though mainly i sympithiaze for oedipis because i feel like he didnt have control over things. IT all comes back to having evil thrust upon you instead of being born into it. Their is a huge diffrence. I think the theme of blindness also comes into the story a lot. For instance, oedipus was blind for most of his life. Not literally, but in fact he could not see the true facts of his life, he lived a lie. In the end of the story though he actually did blind himself because he felt like he did not desreve to see the world.I disagree because again i feel like none of this was his fault. One of the specific examples of blindness in the story was the fact that oedipus killed his father and married his mother. He was completely blind to this.
blanz
2nd

kristen said...

I do not sympathize with Oedipus at all. This is because although his fate was written, he had the chance to change it. He could have changed his fate without even knowing he was. This is because he allowed his anger to get the best of him and murder another human being. As long as it's not self-defence, there is no reason you should murder a stranger. He did have darkness in him. If you kill someone and then just forget about it, you have darkness. This is exactly what Odepius did; he forgot all about murdering a stranger. Yes, Odepius was a great man and great ruler. However, you choose your own fate and Odepius chose his. If you do evil deeds, eventually they will catch up to you.
Kristen Pauly
2nd hr.

Jake F said...

Aftering finshing Oedipus the King, I think that Oedipus got what he deserved. He said he would find the killer of Laius, and they would be killed or banished. I think when he blinded himself he got what he deserved. He also sufferend from things that werent hs fault. King Laius and Jocasta sent Oedipus away to be killed as a infant. Jocasta and Laius got what they diseerved by dieing. Blndness was a good theme throughout the story. Oedipus was blinded from reality and the truth. When he found he killed his own father and married his mother he blinded himself, punishing himself. When everything came out at the end the theme blindness really showed. I think that Oedipus both sffered from things that were and were not his fault.

Jake F 2nd hour

Taylor Wattles said...

I do have sympathy towards Oedipus. I think that he didn't deserve the cards he was drawn. However i do believe that everything happens for a reason and it its up o you to respond to the situation. Oedipus didn't really know what was happening around due to his confusing childhood or lack there of. The fact of the matter is bad things happen to good people. And it often doesn't feel fair or right that these things happen, but again everything happens for a reason and its how you control or react to the situation. Do I think that it is fair that he was struck with this terrible misfortune, No. Do i think that it was right of him to stab his own eyes out. I think that his blindness is to how he reacts to situations. For instance when he gets angry and upset when people confront him. Like when Tiberias tells him that he has anger issues and that he will not tell him what he needed.

Taylor Wattles

Audrey Beaumarchais said...

In my opinion Oedipus had control in certian situations. The first he had none. When Jocasta and Laius first found out that their son's future was full of drama and tragedy their first instint was to thwart this happening. Oedipus could not tell them to not kill him; he was only a baby. In this circumstance Oedipus had no real power over the situation because the Gods had chosen his fate. When Oedipus killed Laius, however, he had much control over his actions. All tragic heroes had a tragic flaw and Oedipus' was anger. He killed Laius over something very minor and in the end, was shown the consequences. In some ways I believe that this may have been an event thought out by by the Gods to make sure that Oedipus lived up to his destiny. Lauis' death was bound to happen but it may have not been in this way because the act that Jocasta and Laius committed may have changed the course of things but not Oedipus' overall destiny. I feel sympathy for Oedipus because he was blind to basically his whole life. Who does he have to blame? I believe it was his mother and father. But, they also were trying to save themselves and their great nation. Oedipus was in darkness his whole life; he thought he was someone else. He was living a false life his entire lifetime. And not knowing who you are is truly a tragedy.

Audrey

Hannah Aittama said...

After finishing Oedipus, it is sad to think such a good leader had to end like this. And yes, I do sympathize with him. It isn't his fault that his parents left him to die but someone picked him up and gave him to a new family. In some way you have to put some blame for what happened on his adopted parents. They should have told him from the start that he was adopted and maybe things would have been different for him. I think that by his parents not telling Oedipus the truth about who his real parents were, blinded him from the truth for the rest of his life. Even though people told him he was adopted he was so use to his adopted parents saying he was theirs that he became blind to the truth. And its sad that it took everything that happened for Oedipus to finally be able to see the truth, where as if he was told he was adopted from the start, it could have saved all of this from happening.

Hannah Aittama
2nd Hour

Andrew Melton said...

Even though I could take the side of being sympathetic for Oedipus, im going to take the side of him being the one to blame for his pain and suffering. I'm choosing this side because of Oedipus' tragic flaw, anger. Because of Oedipus' short temper, it took him a long, long time to see the truth. And when he did see the truth, his actions were quick, he gouged his eyes out, he couldve thought about it for a little bit, and took a different course. Or he could've listened to Jocasta and left it alone, and lived the rest of his life peacefully. Even when messangers like Teiresias came to tell him the prophecy, and who was to blame for King Lauis's death, Oedipus' anger blinded him from seeing the reality of the situation, and that he had killed the king, he was the killer, the person he was urging to find, to lift the plague of Thebes. A specific example from the story would be when Teiresias came to tell Oedipus who the killer of Lauis was, and he was scared to tell Oedipus because he knew his anger would get in the way of the truth, and Oedipus would get angry at him. Even after Teirisias tried telling him, he yelled at Creon because he thought he was trying to over throw Oedipus.

Rachel Kuehn said...

by the end of the story, i do sypathize with Oedipusbecause nothing that happened, even by his own hand, would have had such a tragic outcome if it werent for what his parents had done. Oedipus isnt to blame at all for the outcome of his life. His temper didnt cause his life to turn out as terribly as it did. His temper would have meen a meaningless detail if it werent for what his parents caused his temper to force. Oedipus would have never come across liaus if he hadnt been given up in the first place, and he never would have left thebes in the first place. He would have stayed there, solved the riddle all the same, and become a king, but he wouldnt have had to endure all of the suffering that he did due to his parents selfishness. I think that his parents were the blind ones. They couldnt see that it would be their actions that would lead to their doom. Everything that the family went through was their own fault, and the parents deserved their fate, Oedipus on the other hand was born into this mess, and punished himself for his parents wrongdoing. He believes that it is he who is the blind one in the story and thus gouges out his eyes to make sure that he remains that way.

JK said...

John Kent
12-7-09

I sympathize with Oedipus because he is blind. He is not physically blind, he is only blind to the truth of what he has done. He is also blinded by his anger. When Creon and Tiresias try to tell Oedipus the truth through riddles that he killed his father and married her mother. His rage blinded him from what they were trying to tell him. In his rage he accused them of plotting to over though him. Until Oedipus knew the truth about his life he was not able to see the truth of what he had done.

Priscilla Call said...

After reading Oedipus I sympathize for him rather than think he is to blame for his pain and suffering. Oedipus had no idea that the person he had children with and the person who had gave birth to him was the same person. It was terrible that he killed a man which turned out to be his father but that man had also tried killing him when he was born by leaving him out to die. I also feel bad because Oedipus punishes himself for what he had done. He had gouged his eyes out blinding himself because of what he had did. He was left in the darkness before because he didn’t know who he really was. But now that he is blind he is really left out in the darkness.

Anonymous said...

After reading Oedipus i do sympathize for him. I don not believe he is to blame for his pain and suffering. Oedipus's whole life, from the beggining, he was struggling. He never knew he was adopted or who his real parents were. Things that happen in his life never were really his fault. His adopted parents never told him that he was adopted, which led to finding out his wife and mother were the same person. Oedipus was always blinded from reality and the truth. He never knew that Lauis was the on ehe killed, he had been sleeping with his mother and married her.Being blind doesnt necessarily mean physically not being able to see, sometimes you have be "blind" to your surroundings. I blieve Oedipus was not to blame for his pain and suffering, but his bad temper and anger issues did not help his situations at all.

****** ******* said...

absent work!
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i do sympathize him becuse he had no idea what was happening. he was "blind". he couldnt undersatnd what happend and that he did do it because of his anger. he couldnt see past it and that he really could have dose these things and that he really did do them. i was a really bad think that happenned to him. he didnt do anything to deserve it. he tryed to stop what the oracle said was going to happen thats why he left. he was trying to do the right thing and in doing that he did the oppoiste and did what the oracal said he would.

mikki said...

In a way I do symphasize for Oedipus. He was abandoned as a baby and had his feet basically hooked. Then an oracle tells his parents he would kill his father and marry his mother. Later he finds out by a drunk that his parents arent biological. Goes to an oracle to find the truth and is told again about his father and mother. That is just a sucky life. But in a way I also feel he could of avioded the final result. He could of listened to the people of Corinth and make his parents tell the truth, so when he heard the oracle there would be no worry. Instead he left. His anger also played a part because if he would of controlled it, he would not have killed the king. He would never have known anyone in Thebes. His father would live so he could not end up with his mother.

Mikki Nosek

Scott said...

After reading the story of Oedipus I feel that he isn't really to blame for what happened to him. I feel that way because he was fated to have a terrorable life. I think that his parents are more to blame than he is. His parents are more responsible for what happened because instead of having him left on a mountain to die. Instead they could have sent him far, far away to another kingdom and told the adopted parents his fate so they could prevent it from comming true. Qedipus was blind because when he was searching for the truth he could see the answer because of his rage blurred his vision. For example when Qedipus was talking with Apollo, even through Apollo was trying to tell Qedipus the truth Qedipus was blinded by his rage and his raged caused him to think that Apollo was plotting to kill him.

Mike said...

I sympathize for Oedipus. Even though his anger was his undoing, his fate was sealed from birth and their was nothing he or his family could do to control it. After he makes fun of Teiresias for being blind, Teiresias says that he is blind to the truth. This is foreshadowing for what is to come. Later in the story Oedipus carves out his eyes so that he shall never see the truth, ever.