In the story Oedipus the King and Macbeth, Oedipus and Macbeth show selective blindness. Selective blindness is when a person psychologically can choose "one message from a mixture of messages occurring simultaneously." (**Note from Ms. Whitley - This is a dictionary definition). In the story Oedipus the King, Oedipus shows selective blindness when Tiresias, a man known for his great wisdom, tells him he is the murderer of the king. On page 441 lines 404-405 Tiresias says, "I say you are the murderer of the king whose murderer you seek," but Oedipus chooses not to see the truth in what he says by condemning his knowledge and wisdom because of his physical blindness.Oedipus says, "It has no strength for you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes" (441, lines 416-418).
Macbeth shows selective blindness when the witches deliver his prophecy. Macbeth doesn't take time out to interpret all of the messages being told to him by the witches. Macbeth only sees the surface of the witches prophecy which allows him to be oblivious to the things that potentially took him down. Both characters have the flaw of selective blindness which potentially leads to both of their downfalls.
I completely agree with you. While reading the story of Oedipus, I kept thinking about Macbeth and how they choose to see only what they wanted to see, instead of seeing what is really there. If they would have just opened their eyes and recognize what's really going on maybe their stories could of ended differently.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a wonderful connection! Both characters did know the truth but were not willing to accept it. Even if the truth punched them in the face! Thats exactly what happened to them, the consequences of not dealing with the truth. I want to compare these men to Dimmesdale as well. Very high in the purtian society, and minister of the church. However, his very downfall was not accepting and admitting the truth. Truth is, the very lie was hunting him. Once he revealed his dark secret, it killed him. My point being, the truth can be avoided but the lie will hunt you AND DESTROY the image you were trying to protect. Oedipus lie hunted him down in such a way that he was kicked off the thrown and more. BE TRUTHFUL PEOPLE!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great connection! They both realized the truth but did not want to accept it. Their stories probably would have ended a little better if they wouldn't have ignored their problems in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if Shakespeare used Oedipus the King as a basis for Macbeth. Shakespeare was accused (and still is) of plagiarizing his work and not even being the author of his most popular stories and plays. My term paper is on the comparison of the two stories. Macbeth and Oedipus are both murderers to get to their status, so their downfall can be called "karma" in a way for what they did. Also, the idea that they're kings makes them believe that they cannot be told what to do. They refuse to listen to people who could've helped them. The prophecy of Oedipus happened long ago starting from when he was born, so avoiding the actual prophecy was impossible. However, Oedipus had the power to not reveal the prophecy to himself and he blindly did so.
ReplyDeleteOMG YES! This is a GREAT connection! I agree 100%! And their flaw also leads to the destruction of those around them, just like loved ones, such as BOTH of their wives! Lady Macbeth kills herself, just as Jocasta kills herself, too.
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