Evil In Oedipus The King

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Women lie, Men lie, but the heart does not lie. In every society evil and villainy surface in different ways; however, what does not remain the same is whether it is to be judged based on the outcome or the intent. Evil should be judged based on the intent of the heart and not the outcome because the intent is what makes a person truly evil.
Oedipus departs Corinth to defend his parents and ends up bringing a blight on Thebes and killing his real parents. Oedipus attempts to help his city, but dooms himself in the process. Sophocles pens, “Upon the murderer, I invoke this curse/ whether he is one man and unknown to all/ or one of many – may he wear out his life/ in misery to miserable doom” (ll. 266-9). Oedipus does not realize that he just cursed himself. He is an outstanding ruler well liked by his people and sympathizes with their suffering. His intent in Thebes was to assist the people after he had saved them once before. He had exceptional intentions that had a terrible outcome. It caused the untimely demise of his father by his own hand and drove his mother to suicide because she had children by him. Later in the story Oedipus has a flashback to when he departed Corinth. Oedipus vows to a messenger that, “‘I …show more content…
If one does not know they have committed a crime, did they commit a crime? No, a hallmark of evil is guilt. People who do not have a mental illness feel guilt when they do something they perceive as wrong. There are events such as the Donner party when a group of people becomes stranded in the wild and have to resort to cannibalism. Those who survive can recount their guilt at eating their fellow man, which is an appalling crime, however society does not condemn them because it was out of necessity. Adam and Eve had pure intentions at first and never committed any evil. “They were naked but felt no shame” (Genesis 2: 24). They were committing a sin, but their hearts were pure, so they were not committing

Oedipus Quotes

murderer whom you seek” ( Sophocles 1216) Oedipus who is seeking information for the betterment of those in Thebes does not understand why Teiresias accuses him King Laois’s murder. Oedipus who is not listening because he is in disbelief of Teiresias accusations and desires for him to repeat what he said. Oedipus is angry and his inability to understand how he is the murderer makes him confused. The continuous questioning of Teiriasis indicates Oedipus is in disbelief. The naysaying continues…

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