Oedipus Rex Case

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex is a dramatic yet in one form, comical play. Oedipus is the one of a king who was once given a prophecy that his son would grow up to kill him (the king) and marry the queen. Therefore, Oedipus is abandoned and is adopted. Years later he hears that same prophecy, and goes in search for the truth. Along the way he gets in a fight with a man and kills him, unknowingly his father (the king who abandoned Oedipus as a child). He then solves a riddle from the Sphinx which has been terrorizing a kingdom, and in return, the kingdom gives him their queen's hand in marriage, who is his biological mother. In the end, the prophecy does come true but only because his dad had tried to prevent it from coming true.

This short play encompasses many themes of which some are quite subtle but still noticeable. Some of those themes include the power of the unwritten law, the limits of free will, and the willingness to ignore the truth. What I liked about this story is that it demonstrated the power "psychics" and priests have on people's minds. Even today people still over react over what psychics, priests, astrologers etc... say and purposely end up making the prophecies come true. I can directly relate to this because one of my friends was told by her father's priest that she would go to college in the east coast. She was later accepted to UCLA and Boston University but for her Major which was Media, UCLA was obviously the better choice. Despite that, she chose Boston University because her father's priest told her that she would go to college in the east coast. I actually find it comical how much this play relates to that situation.