1. On page 1286 line 156 what does the " ie!" mean?
This is also on line 167 " io!"
2. Why did Oedipus' real parents pierce and tie his feet together when they left him as a baby. What was the purpose for doing this to a baby who could not walk?
3. Do you think Jocasta, Oedipus' wife, figured out the truth before he did but was afraid to say so. Do you think he would have blamed her for what happened? Is that why she killed herself?
4. Was the curse lifted on Thebes when Oedipus finally discovered that he had killed the king, his father?
5. Who took Oedipus' place as king?
6. What happened to Oedipus' children?
7. Would you like to know your fate in life today? Or are you better off not knowing? Would knowing your fate change the way you live, think and treat others?
8. Could you leave your only child alone to die just because someone told you his/her fate was bad?
Yes, I wonder why Oedipus' parents tied his feet too? I guess because they thought he was going to get killed so he won't be able to escape.
ReplyDeleteI think Jocasta figured it out before Oedipus, because while Oedipus was still seeking answers to all his questions, he was also telling her that if the witness at the crime scene of King Laius says what matches Oedipus' situation where he killed one man, then it could be him. She was figuring it out as he was thinking openly about the situation and that's why she ran off to kill herself because she couldn't face the fact that she did that and didn't have the courage to tell him that she was his mother! She was going to kill him as a baby, and he was still alive.
I think the other stories in this trilogy explains who takes over, and I believe that is Creon, Jocasta's brother.
I know today I would never leave my child alone to die or get killed just because someone said something about their fate. I know people back at the time cared about prophecies and the gods and believed in them, but it's just crazy today!
Creon took Oedipus place as King.
ReplyDeleteNo I would not like to know my fate, my future, my destiny. It would take the flavor of life to a zero. If I knew my fate, it would not change me, in the fact that your fate would not change by your actions.
The play ends with a lot of unanswered questions. I do not recall being told that the plague ended. I do remember that Creon took Oedipus' role as King.I feel that when Jocasta was trying to get Oedipus to end the search, she was well aware of the relationship she and Oedipus had, that would explain her running to her room in torment and hanging herself. The guilt had become too much to bare.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been impossible for a newborn baby to go anywhere if it were attacked. It takes a baby months to develop enough control over their bodies to move when they want to. I found this part to be completely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would like to know my fate either though. It would be horrible to know that much information in advance. It would take away everything from your life and you would be branded from the beginning.
I also wondered if the curse on Thebes was lifted. I would imagine since the original prophecy came true in its strongest form that this one would also come true. I've ordered Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus, the plays that bookend Oedipus the King, and hope to find out. It seems that classic Greek plays are like Disney movies: there really are not a lot of surprises. When an oracle says something is going to happen it does. It may not always unfold the way we expect but the original message is still definitely there.
ReplyDelete1. Io n : (Greek mythology) a maiden seduced by Zeus; when Hera was about to discover them together Zeus turned her into a heifer
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-io-mean
2. Maybe he was a baby of walking age. Most parents still call their one year olds babies. Toddlers were not a word used since in older days children were perceived as an adult earlier on. They did not go through the name stages such as toddler, preschooler, preteen, or teenager like the children do today.
3. I think Jocasta did know. That is why she kept insisting for him to let it be and told him that is was a dream of most men to sleep with their mothers. She did not want him to realize and not love her anymore. Women are strange and some will stay with men for all the wrong reason no matter the circumstances.
4. I do not think the curse was lifted because I believe Croan misinterpreted the task. I think since they were afflicted with this plague that they were supposed to get rid of the sick to keep it from spreading anymore. That’s how this plague was cured before antibiotics were discovered.
5. I think his brother-in-law Croan would have been next in line since he said that he was third in rule. Oedipus was first with the King duties then Jocasta then him.
6. They sure didn’t go into foster homes like all of the children in the US do when their parents go crazy! Croan probably helped raise them.
7. Knowing your fate would cause you more turmoil. You would fight so hard to change it even if you knew that no matter what it could not be changed. You would fear everyday and even if you thought you had won over fate it would still hit you ten times worse. I do not care to know my fate. I fear getting older everyday and if I will be one of the sick feeble ones in a rest home where no one cares. You know when they were young they never imagined that happening to them!
8. I personally couldn’t but working in childcare and seeing many foster children it is something that happens every day. I have seen children who have almost been beaten to death, burnt with cigarettes, had their hands submerged in boiling water, been abandoned and never looked back upon. It’s a sad fact that happens around us and it’s not only in plays from long ago. Turn the news on and you will hear it happening and for some in Hickory it was practically happening in their back yard.