Friday, November 29, 2013

Is it fair to say that in Sophocles "Oedipus is innocent and gods are evil"? Give reasons for your answer.just compare the two

Certainly, there is a part of the quote that is quite accurate.  Oedipus is not entirely and fully responsible for his fate.  Yet, I would suggest that we cannot call him entirely "innocent" because he does demonstrate a sense of hubris when it is not necessary.  His repudiation of Tiresias and of the belief that he is subject to the will of the fates are examples of a character flaw.  While this is not deliberate, I cannot feel entirely comfortable calling him "innocent."  He does understand, at the end, his own lack of vision.  Certainly, it is noted that he does suffer for being human, no more, no less.  In terms of the Gods being evil, I think that similar analysis applies for it does not seem like the gods deliberately target Oedipus.  Rather, he becomes a part of the larger drama.  While the gods could have done more to spare him, they do not strike me as overtly evil for, in this case, if the standard for evil is the mere not taking action, a very rigid definition emerges.

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