Oedipus Rex

The story of Oedipus is one that is well known throughout the ages as a myth of a man who is tragically bound by fate to kill his own father and sleep with his mother. Sophocles’s play, Oedipus the King, expands on this story –already well known to the audience of his time- to show Oedipus’s strength and heroism through how he bears his suffering and uses logic –a characteristic valued so highly by educated Greeks- in his investigations.

The first evidence of Oedipus’s integrity is his immediate desire to consult an oracle concerning the recent disasters in his city –an action that shows not only his piety, but also his devotion to his citizens’ well being. Oedipus also truly empathizes for his people, a fact that he reveals when he says that he cries regularly and loses sleep over their troubles and vows to do whatever is necessary in order to spare them more suffering. In this case it meant exercising the most severe punishments possible, death or exile, to the king’s murderer when he should be discovered. He then exercises his reason when he believes that Creon is making an attempt to steal the throne with the blind oracle Tiresias. Although this accusation is false, it is perfectly understandable given the circumstances –Oedipus has no knowledge of killing his predecessor and such a charge against him could only serve to dishonor him in front of his people and thereby lose his kingdom. The argument that follows between Oedipus and Creon is the only moment where Oedipus lets his reason give way to his emotion, but this mistake is soon corrected by his wife Jocasta. From this point forward, Oedipus serves as a detective, putting everything aside in order to find out the truth behind Laius’s death. Oedipus is tireless in this quest, and even after being begged by several loyal subjects and those closest to him, who have figured out that the conclusion of the investigation will bring nothing but shame for Oedipus, he continues to show loyalty to his people –for in ridding himself of his ignorance, he is also ridding the curse upon his city.

Finally, in the conclusion of the story, Oedipus gives Apollo justice by avenging the king’s death upon himself. In the horror of what he had unknowingly done, Oedipus actually punishes himself in a most fitting manner. By blinding himself, he has made a physical representation of his ignorance – as he was called blind by Tiresias earlier in the story- and by sentencing himself to exile and then death, he will appease the gods and undo the wrongs which he has committed. However, it is putting the needs of his community above his own personal well-being that makes Oedipus a hero, and is the greatest moral to be taken from this story (470).

On his Deathbed....

In Ronald Blythe’s introduction to The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy he states that it “is the tragedy of a man who is a death illiterate and who has to make his way out of the world through the ranks of other death illiterates.” In many regards, this statement is a reflection on Tolstoy’s use of social commentary in the story on how the lifestyle of Ilyich and his associates leaves them unfulfilled during their last moments and meaningless to the world as a whole.

Ivan’s government career placed him among a class of materialistic, social-climbing professionals, and in accordance to his life strategy to live “easily, pleasantly, and decorously,” he conformed to their values and ideals. An early example of this behavior is when Ivan commits actions and affairs that he believes to be morally questionable but upon those actions being approved by his colleges and superiors he pays them no more thought. This corruption continues in the workplace not through abuse of his powers -for that would be an inconvenience- but through Ivan’s new found hobby of turning his “humanity” on and off in order to accomplish his work and further his social career. His desire to appear normal also invades his personal life: Ivan takes time off from his personal leave to go to St. Petersburg in order to ambitiously seek out a new position, he buys the stereotypical house of a rising middle-class professional for his family and gloats over it and when experiencing uneasiness with his family he simply invites guests over to his home so that his family must act in an appropriate manner or avoids them altogether by escaping with his “associates” to play bridge.

It is only when Ivan Ilyich falls fatally ill that be begins to see the errors in his way of life. When in meetings with his doctor, Ivan feels isolated by the disinterest in which the doctor takes over his case – when, in fact, he is using the exact indifferent judgment that Ivan himself used when approaching many legal cases. Ivan also becomes extremely irritable and argues frequently with his wife because he feels alienated from the world and is dissatisfied with his life. Ivan’s final realization comes when looking at Gerasim’s face, the one character in the book that truly cares for others and is able to confront death because of his abilities to meaningfully connect with others. Ironically, in the final moments of his life, Ivan realizes how he should have lived –unfortunately, his knowledge cannot be passed on to the countless others just like him, who simply are thankful that they are not dead and continue on to collect from the demise of their fallen "friend" (453).