Our behavior during COVID varies in similarities and difference with the people of Thebes as seen in Oedipus the King. Both parties experienced distress, no one knew what was going on and how to fix the situation. People searched the internet and followed every news outlet possible, and religious people prayed to god for guidance in this new wave of illness. The people of Thebes did the same when they looked for help from Oedipus to save them from the mayhem that the plague was causing. Another similar factor people endured was the realization that just like Oedipus, we also brought this plague amongst our selves. Oedipus left Corinth which snowballed into the plague starting in Thebes and we did not practice good hygiene practices which was a leading cause to COVID. People had to endure heartbreak during both times. Jocasta said “I beg you—do not hunt this out—I beg you, if you have any care for your own life. What I am suffering is enough. (Sophocles 17)” During COVID people were not allowed to see their sick family members nor their recent dead love ones. Jocasta suffered finding out the truth because she knew their were harsh consequences coming. During COVID all news regarding the declining health of a love one meant their was a possibly of even worse news to follow.
The difference are that this was an internal issue amongst the family of Oedipus that lead to many people suffering of a empire and COVID was a world wide plague that did not derive from one man running away from a prophecy. Thousands of people died and COVID did not cause anyone to self multidate like Oedipus when he stabbed his eyeballs.
Also this play focuses more on Oedipus fulfilling his prophecies by trying his hardest to avoid it, and not on the details of the suffering of the people. The play spoke a lot about killing and there was a major increase in hate crimes and domestic violence, but in my opinion they do not compare when it comes to the play.
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One thought on “Elizabeth Reyes”
Elizabeth, you make so many good observations here. I’m struck by your discussion of the “amplitude” of Covid and how it affected people in so many more ways than just being sick. People were separated from loved ones, unable to visit them. Many people died in hospitals alone. The denial seen in Jocasta is another behavior we witnessed here in the U.S., with people refusing to be vaccinated, refuting the health professionals’ advice, and take unnecessary risks. Note: Please do not check anything under “Category Sticky” when posting. Please leave that to read “Select Category” and scroll down to the lower box called “Category,” where you will check the box for the week we are in. Thank you!