One of the defining human conditions that is prevalent throughout the play is the attempt to escape one’s fate and the burden of truth. I understand that in his position the idea that he would murder his own father and to then sleep with his mother deeply disturbed him so much that he perhaps thought he could do something to escape that destiny by using his free will. However, not realizing that his actions end up fulfilling the very prophecy he’s terrified of. Along with the idea of escaping fate and free will, another theme I’ve picked up is sight and blindness. The contrast between a blind prophet who can “see” the world for what it really is and Oedipus who is able to see with his own eyes yet to chooses not to see things for what they are. Sometimes we choose to see what we want to see because it’s easier to live in ignorance than to be burdened with the weight of the truth.
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One thought on “Alex Barrios Discussion 7”
Hey Alex, I think you chose a great example of a timeless human experience. The attempt to escape ones fate and the burden of the truth is definitely something that humans continue to do. It could be a child hiding a bad grade from their parents or maybe an addict trying to hide their addiction from their family. Maybe someone waits very long to open the results from an important test they took. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.