11/26/19 Kenton Zhang Period 8

11/26/2019

Kenton Zhang #33

Period 8

Aim: How does the paradox of blindness illuminate the Oedipus' tragic flaw of hubris?

In class, we first discussed the backstory of Oedipus Rex himself, including all the major events about him and his life prior to the part of the play we were up to:

Jocasta and Laius, queen and king of Thebes and Oedipus’s mother and father respectively, were finally expecting a child. Laius went to an oracle, a follower of Apollo who granted prophecies, to receive the future regarding him and his baby. He was told that his own son would not only murder him, but would sleep with Jocasta and become both brother and father to his own children. In lieu of this horrific news, Laius put a stake through both Oedipus’s feet and bound them together. In fact, the name Oedipus means “swollen foot”. However, Laius was forbidden from killing Oedipus because of the Greek taboo of not being able to kill your own kin. As such, he gave the baby away to a shepherd and told him to throw the child off a cliff. The shepherd, taking pity, spared the child’s life instead and gave him to the king and queen of nearby Corinth to be raised. Many years passed, and Oedipus became a young adult. One day, Oedipus was told by a drunkard that, because of the holes in his feet, he would sleep with his mother and kill his father like the prophecy said. Though Oedipus initially denied this, he went to the oracle himself to confirm this fact. The oracle only repeated what the drunk man had said, and Oedipus became worried. He decided to flee to nearby Thebes, not knowing his fate there. On the way, he encountered a group of robbers, who he promptly killed. Once he arrived, he was met with the Sphinx, who had been afflicting Thebes with a horrible plague. The Sphinx told Oedipus that, if he could answer her riddle, the plague would be removed and Oedipus would be granted passage into the city. Oedipus answered correctly, and the Sphinx kept her word, killing herself in the process. The people, grateful for his help, made Oedippus the new king, giving him the former king’s wife Jocasta in the process.

Some time after being crowned, Thebes has been infected with another plague, the cause of which is unknown. Upon further inquiry by Creon, it is revealed that the plague is present because the murderer of the late king Laius is still alive. Oedipus calls upon the prophet Tieresias for assistance, though makes fun of the prophet for being blind. In response, Tieresias says that, though he may be blind, he has the power of foresight that no normal man could possibly possess, telling Oedipus that he is a curse from both his mother and father and that he will be driven from the land. He predicts that Oedipus will soon uncover many dark secrets and that, though he may hold contempt towards Tieresias, he cannot escape his own situation. Oedipus is outraged, denying everything that Tieresias has said. At the same time, however, Oedipus demands that Tieresias tells him about his parents, to which Tieresias refuses to give a straight answer. Tieresias takes his leave, but not before telling Oedipus that the murderer of Laius is a citizen of Thebes who will be proven to be both father and brother to his own children, both son and husband to his mother, and finally “fellow sower in his father’s bed”, whom he had also killed.

Next, we discussed about the nature of truth and paradoxes, and how they are linked both to the play of Oedipus Rex and each other.

A paradox is a statement that seemingly contradicts itself which keeps on going and going. A prime example of this is the paradox with Pinocchio which asks what were to happen if Pinocchio were to say, “My nose will now grow.” In the story of Pinocchio, his nose would grow longer should he tell a lie, but stay the same if he told the truth. If Pinocchio’s nose were to grow longer after he said this, it would signify that he told a lie; however, his statement that his nose would grow ended up being exactly what happened, which means that he told the truth. If the statement were true, then wouldn't his nose have remained the same length? This line of reasoning can be carried out indefinitely, thus creating a paradox. 

We then applied this concept to the subject of prophecies and oracles in Greek mythology, as well as the concept of truth. 

We discussed a hypothetical situation in which a prophecy was given that stated someone were to get in a car crash next week. The logical course of action would be to remain indoors, trying to avoid a car crash as much as possible and taking all necessary preventative measures. However, a car might just end up crashing into you while you are in your house anyway. Thus, the prophecy comes true. Let’s then assume that you decided to leave the house and go outside anyway, despite the warning. This would most likely only result in you getting hit by the car in the open anyway, even though you avoided the car en route to your house. Thus, the prophecy comes true. This proves the inescapable nature of truth, oracles, and prophecies, and how they’re similar to paradoxes.

We ended the period talking about Oedipus’s rashness and the Greek trope of blindness. In Greek stories, blind characters are often provided with the gift of prophecy and foresight. This provides a sense of irony in which the physical limitation of the person is juxtaposed against the divine power they’ve been blessed with. We talked about Tieresias doesn’t want to use this power too easily or too often due to the nature of learning the truth. Learning the truth may be enlightening and relieving, but it could also be painful or demeaning. Tieresias, fearing the possibility of Oedipus having a negative reaction to the truth, never plainly states what he knows and only drops small hints, even after being berated. 

Student Reflection

I learned about the paradoxical nature of prophecies and oracles and their role within Greek myths, as well as how blindness in Greek myths creates a sense of irony. I learned this because of the major role these themes play in the story of Oedipus Rex so I could understand certain motivations for the actions that take place in the story. I’ll be able to use this new knowledge in the future when I look at more Greek stories, as well as analyze other cultures’ myths to see if these ideas reappear. I could even apply to other fictional literature not related to mythology or folklore at all.