Truth is evident deep down in both Oedipus The King and Antigone. Although based in similar origins, the truth differs between the two plays. In Oedipus The King, the ignorant characters search for a truth right under their noses leading to destruction, while in Antigone there is an obsession with universal truth and humanity’s view of it.
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s very act of searching for the truth brings about his demise. The role of truth is for Oedipus and his family to learn a valuable lesson. A lesson to be wary of the future. As Oedipus searches for the truth, he is confronted by Tiresias who is amused by the fact that he ‘sees and still is blind, blind to [his] origins, and to a union in [his] house (23). Oedipus has always wanted …show more content…
When Antigone decides to bury her brother Polynices and give him a proper burial, she is taking a stand against power. But she believes that it is a duty of hers and that “she is doing what [she] must” (195). Although Creon issued the edict, Antigone thinks the gods are against it. This contrasts with Oedipus in that he is against the gods with the truth while Antigone is with them. She thinks of divine power as a greater universal truth than one of simply a king who came to power by a freak series of events. In other words, the gods hold more merit to her. If there can only be one universal truth, then of course the gods must know it. This was Antigone's thought process. Also, when the Sentry describes the burial to Crean. He does so in a specific way. For example, there were “no marks of dog or jackal neither -- not a scratch’ (202). Does this not sound like the work of a god? In order to push Antigone’s position, Sophocles wanted the burial to appear to be of godly stature. Since she was burning a family member, this bring up another idea that family reigns supreme over the lawe and that it is a universal truth that this is so. The simplest reason for Antigone to bury her is that ‘he is [her] brother still” (193). In her priority hierarchy, family ranks above the law. In Oedipus the King, however, it is the whole Oedipus family that doesn’t see truth leading to incest and murder. Why is Antigone so good at seeing truth when her father was not? It simply comes down to the fact that Antigone is open to listening to what others have to say. Another form of truth not seen in Oedipus the King is honesty. Sometimes, universal truths comer down to personal intentions and beliefs. When confronted by Creon on if she had buried Polynices, she simply responds, “I did. I deny not a thing” (209). By following the universal truth that she believes is from the gods,
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s very act of searching for the truth brings about his demise. The role of truth is for Oedipus and his family to learn a valuable lesson. A lesson to be wary of the future. As Oedipus searches for the truth, he is confronted by Tiresias who is amused by the fact that he ‘sees and still is blind, blind to [his] origins, and to a union in [his] house (23). Oedipus has always wanted …show more content…
When Antigone decides to bury her brother Polynices and give him a proper burial, she is taking a stand against power. But she believes that it is a duty of hers and that “she is doing what [she] must” (195). Although Creon issued the edict, Antigone thinks the gods are against it. This contrasts with Oedipus in that he is against the gods with the truth while Antigone is with them. She thinks of divine power as a greater universal truth than one of simply a king who came to power by a freak series of events. In other words, the gods hold more merit to her. If there can only be one universal truth, then of course the gods must know it. This was Antigone's thought process. Also, when the Sentry describes the burial to Crean. He does so in a specific way. For example, there were “no marks of dog or jackal neither -- not a scratch’ (202). Does this not sound like the work of a god? In order to push Antigone’s position, Sophocles wanted the burial to appear to be of godly stature. Since she was burning a family member, this bring up another idea that family reigns supreme over the lawe and that it is a universal truth that this is so. The simplest reason for Antigone to bury her is that ‘he is [her] brother still” (193). In her priority hierarchy, family ranks above the law. In Oedipus the King, however, it is the whole Oedipus family that doesn’t see truth leading to incest and murder. Why is Antigone so good at seeing truth when her father was not? It simply comes down to the fact that Antigone is open to listening to what others have to say. Another form of truth not seen in Oedipus the King is honesty. Sometimes, universal truths comer down to personal intentions and beliefs. When confronted by Creon on if she had buried Polynices, she simply responds, “I did. I deny not a thing” (209). By following the universal truth that she believes is from the gods,