Punishment Of the Leader in Oedipus and In American Politics

Students pursuing the course of literature are more often than not asked to work on assignments related to the punishment of the leader in Oedipus Rex, drafted by Sophocles. Not many have the experience and understanding of the approach that needs to be taken to prepare the assignments as per the given specification.

We are here to help you understand the play so that you can frame the assignment accordingly. If you still have issues in understanding Oedipus’s punishment, then you can always consider taking the assistance of online assignment help Australia and get your issues resolved without any delay.

Let’s get started and understand all about Oedipus’s punishment so that you can prepare the papers in the best way possible.

Punishment & Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles was certainly one of the most exciting plays, and it made people debate the punishment given to Oedipus at the end. Many argued whether the punishment was justified or not. We are here to brief out on whether the punishment was fair or not. At the end of the play, the character Oedipus Rex is sent into exile, and his eyes are gouged out. His wife and mother were dead as they hung themselves.

This was indeed a harsh punishment that sentenced Oedipus and was actually argued by several readers. They all questioned why Oedipus deserved such harsh punishment. Before understanding whether he deserved this punishment or not, it is important that you understand what the crime he did that he was asked to serve such harsh punishment was.

Reason

Oedipus was held guilty of two crimes. In fact, these crimes one can’t even dream of. He was accused of killing the kind and even incest as well. One day, while traveling, Oedipus met Kin Laius on the road itself. During their meeting, they had a huge fight on basically who actually had the right of way. During the fight, things get worse, and eventually, Oedipus kills the king. After killing Oedipus, he moves to Thebes.

He then answers the riddle provided by Sphinx and then marries the queen after inheriting the crown. But, after marring the queen, he comes to know that she was actually her birth mother, who he never knew about or met. These are the reasons he was held guilty. But, the punishment given to him was certainly the most extreme of all.

One thing is for sure he had no idea about the crimes he was committing, so the punishment was not justified in this case. He had no idea that the man whom he argued with was the king and the Jocasta was actually his mother. So, all these aspects show that he committed those mistakes unintentionally, and this is why he didn’t deserve such harsh punishment. It eventually led to a lot of misunderstanding as well.

The Problem With Fate

There has been another interesting possibility that states that Oedipus was bathing against the gods. In fact, it has been stated that God has an indirect presence in Oedipus rex. We have never noticed the same direction, but when you see the blind prophet Tiresias speak about his situation, you might feel about how he might have an indirect presence of God.

The Tiresias speaks against Oedipus and lets him know that only he is at fault for killing the king, but he was just not accepting the same at all. He completely refuses to even hear out Tiresias and completely ignores his fate or the consequence that might come along because of his attitude. And He was constantly trying to avoid the results that might come along the way, but he felt he was trying to go against God’s will.

Matter OF

And he wasn’t doing this the first time. He also acted against fate by planning to move to Thebes even after Oracle told him that he married his mother and eventually killed his fate. The fate was quite disturbing, but still, he plans to go home. Even Laius tries to get rid of his fate because he has received a prophecy that he is going to be killed by his son itself, and this is the reason why he has his infant banished from the land of Thebes.

But, the objectives of fate just cannot be ignored, and this is why things did happen the way they were meant to be. The fate did come true, but the question still remains whether the punishment was justified or not. If you have been assigned the task assignment related to it, you can always connect with the experts at MyAssignmentHelpAu known for providing assignment editing help services, and that too at $8 per page. Connect now!

Oedipus

Based on one version of the tale, Laius, king of Thebes was told by the oracle that his son would kill the king. So the time his wife Jocasta ( Iocaste in Homer Epicaste) was pregnant, he had a son and he was able to have the child exposed (a method that is known as infanticide) to Cithaeron.

Tradition says the name of his father, meaning “Swollen-Foot,” was a result of his feet being pinched together, however, modern experts are skeptical of this meaning. A shepherd was kind to the child who was taken in by the king Polybus who was from Corinth along with his bride and was raised to be their son.

When he was young, Oedipus went to Delphi as well., upon discovering that he was fated to be killed by his father and to marry the mother of his choice, Oedipus made a vow not to go back to Corinth.

More On That

While heading towards Thebes when Oedipus came across Laius who started an argument, and Oedipus killed his opponent. As he continued on, Oedipus found Thebes plagued by the Sphinx and presented a puzzle to everyone who passed by and killed the ones who were unable to find the answer. Oedipus was able to solve the puzzle and the Sphinx ended up killing herself. In exchange, he won The throne at Thebes as well as his hand from the queen who had died and the mother of his father, Jocasta.

The couple had 4 children, Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone, and Ismene. When the truth was discovered, Jocasta committed suicide, and Oedipus (according to another account) who was blinded was exiled with Antigone and Ismene. His brother-in-law was Creon as his regent. Oedipus passed away in Colonus close to Athens Athens, where Oedipus was buried in the earth. He then became the protector of the country.

Conclusion

Oedipus is a common theme in the folklores that are prevalent in Albania, Finland, Cyprus as well as Greece. The classic tale has a powerful dramatic appeal. Through Seneca, it was transmitted to Seneca. the subject was passed on to a list of playwrights which included Jean-Pierre Corneille, John Dryden along with Voltaire.

It was particularly popular in the 20th century in addition to other artists, such as Russia-born Igor Stravinsky’s symphonic opera Oedipus Rex, French writer Andre Gide’s Oedipe, and French novelist Jean Cocteau’s La Machine infernale.

Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud formulated the Oedipus complex as the name he chose for his work. Oedipus’s complex describes the son’s feelings of the love of his mother, and of hatred and jealousy towards his father, though these weren’t the primary motives behind Oedipus’s actions or shaped his character in an earlier version of the tale.

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