Sight/Sightlessness in Oedipus
What is sight? Is it understanding? Knowledge? Truth? Can the sighted be blind? Can a blind man see? When the truth becomes too terrible, does one choose not to see? In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the characters of Tiresias and Oedipus form a complete contrast to one another. Tiresias, a blind man, can "see" the truth about Oedipus, yet Oedipus, in all of his physical perfection, cannot. Although Tiresias is physically blind, he sees the truth from the beginning, while Oedipus, who has physical eyesight, is blind to his fate. However, in the end, Oedipus blinds himself when he learns the truth and finally sees. Both the characters of Tiresias and Oedipus prove that seeing the truth does not require sight. Although, Tiresias, a seer, is physically blind, he is clairvoyant and sees more truth than the sighted. Tiresias is "A blind man, who has his sight now." It is ironic that the only insight Oedipus has into the gods' will is through a blind man. He cannot see the workings of the world. However, his contact with the gods gives him more knowledge and truth than any of the sighted can observe. Oedipus demands that Tiresias tell him the information sent from the gods, but Tiresias refuses, knowing that the mention of such word
, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!" That light, which represented all truth and knowledge, must be destroyed. Oedipus feels that his entire life has been cursed and the only way to remedy the situation was to block out that light from ever entering him again. He proclaims, "What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy." Once Oedipus sees the truth, his entire world collapses. Although now he is physically blind, he, like Tiresias, now "sees". Oedipus can see all too clearly what the truth is, but he desperately does not want to accept his fate. Having killed his own father and married his mother, knowledge of his past tears Oedipus to pieces. Rather than accepting the situation the way he "sees" it, he decides not to see it at all. Oedipus needs to escape the sight of his sins. He feels that he can no longer "look men in the eyes". As an attempt to humble himself, Oedipus decides to gouge out his eyes, which have been blind to the truth for so long. With a scream, Oedipus calls out, "You, you'll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know! Blind from this hour on! Blind in the darkness-blind!" Oedipus blinding himself was the only thing left to do. "O god-all come true, all burst to light! O light-now l
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Approximate Word count = 928
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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