REFLECTION ON "Oedipus, a Tragedy"

Oedipus the King

Oedipus is the king of Thebes. The citizens of Thebes ask their king to lift the plague that threatens to destroy the city. Oedipus orders his brother-in-law, Creon to the oracle to learn what to do.

On Creon’s return, he announces the oracle instruction that they must find the murderer of Laius, the previous king of Thebes. The discovery and punishment to the murderer will lift the plague.

Oedipus calls Tiresias, a blind prophet. At first he refuses to speak, but finally he accuses Oedipus as the murderer. Oedipus denies and rejects the prophet angrily. The blind prophet tells him that his future will be covered with incestuous marriage, blindness, and infamy and wandering.

Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife (also widow of Laius) advises her husband that the prophecy must be wrong. She explains him that once a prophet told her that Laius, her husband, would die at the hands of their son. According to Jocasta the prophecy did not come true because the Laius’ baby has been abandoned and die. Laius himself was killed by a band of robbers at a crossroads.

The story shocks him, because jus before he comes to Thebes, he has killed a man who resembled Laius at a crossroad. To know the truth of his birth, he tracks down the only living witness, a shepherd. He knows the Oedipus’ secret. He tells that actually Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta. It also becomes the proof that the Corinth’s king, Polybus and Merope are not Oedipus’ biological parents.

Realizing he has killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus is agonized by his fate. Jocasta also commits suicide. Oedipus takes pins from her gown and rakes out his eyes. He is blind now. He asks Creon to send him away from Thebes, but Creon waits the oracle who will determine whether he will stay in Thebes or be cast out forever.

Source: www.sparknotes.com/drama/oedipus

It is a good works from restoration era (plays by John Dryden) is an adaption of Sophocles' Oedipus. The plot of the story is very suitable to who like mystery. Since the story asks the reader to unfold murder mystery, political thriller. But not only those things, the story also provides a psychological conflict among the characters.

The fate which is provided during the story is a trigger to make the story interesting. Laius hears the prophecy that his son will murder him, so he abandons his son in order to kill him, but the baby is not dead. He grows to be a good man, Oedipus. And unfortunately, he kills his unrecognized father. The story reminds me to another story I have ever watched in “The Monkey King”. In the story there is a king who loves his son, but I changes when the king hears that his own son will kill him. The love changes to hatred. He always tortures his son. All the bad conducts fuels the son’s hatred to kill his father. He hates his father very much. Until one day, he can kill his own father. The fate comes true. I do not know to say it, is to kill their baby the right solution to avoid bad fate of them or otherwise?

In the story, we also find the incestuous marriage, Oedipus and Jocasta. It also reminds me to the popular story of Sundanese, Sangkuriang and Dayang Sumbi. Sangkuriang loves his own mother, but the both story is quiet different. Sangkuriang does not marry his biological mother since Dayang Sumbi has already known the true identity of Sangkuriang that he is her son.