1. Oedipus the king: Character Significance
Molly Ellinger
Sarah Elsaim
Nandhitha Natarajan
Kyle Stacks
Reese Allen
5th Period

2. Prompt
“Discuss the significance of all the characters listed in the play. What are their roles and how do they contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole?”
Interpretation:
What role does each character play in the tragedy? Why did Sophocles choose to include each character and how is each character relevant to the mystery surrounding Oedipus’ birth and the murder of Laius? What message is Sophocles trying to present to the audience and how does each character contribute to the ultimate purpose of the play?

3. Possible Questions to Consider
What character archetypes are present?
How do the characters compliment and oppose each other (foils, mirrors, etc.)?
How are the characters present in the play typical of those seen in other Greek tragedies of Sophocles’ time?
Why did Sophocles choose to leave out the background information on most of the characters?
How does the timing of the introduction of certain characters build suspense and contribute to Oedipus’ fall?
Possible Questions to Consider

4. Characters Oedipus: King of Thebes
A priest of Zeus: Told Oedipus the horrors of the plague in Thebes
Creon: Brother of Jocasta
A Chorus of Theban Citizens: A representation of the citizens
Tiresias: A blind prophet
Jocasta: Queen of Thebes, mother and wife of Oedipus
Corinthian Messenger: The person who told Oedipus Polybus died
Shepherd: A meek and merciful character who told Oedipus the last piece of his origin
Messenger: The character who reveals the truth of Oedipus and Jocasta
Antigone: Daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta
Ismene: Daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta

5. Literary Device: Cosmic Irony
Quotes
“I was met by a herald and a man riding on a horse-drawn wagon” (56)
“…in no time at all he was hit by the stick I held in my hand and rolled backwards from the center of the wagon” (57) 
Explanation
Throughout his life, Oedipus has lived without his biological father, Laius. When he is an adult, however, he meets him and kills him at a crossroads. This is significant because it shows the longing between both individuals and the unfamiliarity in their relationship. Ultimately, by killing Laius, Oedipus reveals how his separation and banishment from his father's life led to Laius's death.

6. Literary Device: The Fall (Symbolic Archetype)
Quotes
“I am in power here” (43)
“I stand revealed—born in shame, married in shame, an unnatural murderer” (89)
Explanation
These two scenes in the novel depict “The Fall” archetype because Oedipus descends from the highest social ranking as Thebe’s divine ruler and king to an outcast and traitor who gets exiled from his own city. This, however, reveals Oedipus's compliance and acceptance of his own curse. Although he killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus was fated to mandate the oracle; his actions were destined to occur. However, his decision to follow through with his promise to banish Thebe's murderer (even though it was himself) proves his nature as a man of his word.

7. Literary Device: Visual Imagery
Quotes
“There we saw Jocasta, hanging…” (93)
“…he raised his hands and struck his eyes again, and again” (93)
Explanation
This visual imagery shows the extent to which the revelation of the prophecy’s truth impacts Jocasta and Oedipus. Not only are they upset, but rather truly traumatized, as Jocasta proceeds to hang herself and Oedipus blinds himself. This reveals the contradiction in the characters' actions because of the digression from their true nature.

8. Example from Text
"We must atone for a murder which brings this plague-storm on the city." (pg. 7)
Oedipus, the central figure, is forced to evaluate the situation of Thebes. As his city is becoming infected by the horrors of the plague, it is his duty as King to help his people. However, it is this duty that unravels Oedipus' history and marks him in shame for the crime that he has unknowingly committed. Oedipus, as a character, transitions from a savior who helped rid the challenges and perils Thebes encountered to a broken, guilty criminal-like figure who is the very embodiment of the perils and challenges he was working so hard to fight against. This quote further proves the idea that the plague of Thebes is none other than Oedipus himself. 

9. Example from Text
"She was calling the name of Laius, so long dead, remembering the child bore to him so long ago – the child by whose hand Laius was to die, and leave her, its mother, to bear monstrous children to her own son. She wailed in mourning for her marriage, in which she had borne double offspring, a husband from her husband and children from her child." (pg. 92)
Jocasta plays the role of a maternal wife to Oedipus by acting as his anchor to the challenges and perils the prophecy was fated to deliver. She serves as the peacemaker between Oedipus and other members of the royal family and even to the citizens of Thebes when he begins to argue with them about the prophecy and his true role in it. Jocasta also serves as the reflection of Oedipus' downfall after slowly coming to realization that her husband was actually the son that she abandoned several years ago. She never truly took responsibility for her son and rather than facing the prophecy head on, she abandoned the child and foreshadowed the fate that he would soon possess. As a character, her downfall was the ignorance she carried with her as she transitioned from a protective woman of her family by leaving her child at the mercy of the gods to a wife who has now contributed to the downfall of her child and to Thebes.

10. Significant Moment #1: Tiresias tells Oedipus he is the Murderer
Towards the beginning of the novel, the old prophet Tiresias reveals that Oedipus is the murderer that the city is searching for. However, Oedipus and the citizens of Thebes do not believe him. Oedipus believes that this accusation is a plot by Creon to take the throne, and loses his temper. 
This moment is significant because it shows the transition of Oedipus from a strong, courageous king – the literal savior of his city – to a man who stands accused of committing atrocities. Moreover, Oedipus' reaction to the accusation, to lose his temper and discredit his allies, displays his inability to make sound, rational decisions at this point. 
This moment also displays the wisdom of Tiresias as a prophet of Apollo. Though nobody believes him, he stands firm in his words and reveals the truth. In this way, Tiresias is the first person to reveal the actuality of the situation to the characters of the play and the audience. 

11. Significant Moment #2: The Corinthian Messenger and the Shepherd
The Corinthian Shepherd and the Messenger force Oedipus to accept the truth of what has happened – that he has killed his father and married his mother. The Corinthian Messenger initially arrives to tell Oedipus that Polybus, the man believed to be his father, has died. This provides momentary relief for Oedipus, who was entirely distraught by the thought that his prophecy would come true. However, when the messenger confirms that Oedipus was not, in fact, the true son of Polybus, the reality of the situation begins to unfold before Oedipus. The Shepherd is summoned to confirm that he was the son of Laius and Jocasta, abandoned on a mountain. 
This moment is significant because it forces Oedipus to understand what has actually happened, piecing together the scattered puzzle of his life. The Messenger and Shepherd are the evidence that Oedipus needs to connect his history to that of Laius and Jocasta. These two characters therefore serve as the catalyst for the revelation of the mystery of the play. 

12. Significant Moment #3: Jocasta Commits Suicide, Oedipus Gouges Out his Eyes  
When Jocasta realizes that Oedipus is her son, she rushes into her chambers and hangs herself with a rope. Once Oedipus fully understands the truth, he rushes to her side, finding her dead. In a moment of frenzied despair, he takes her clothing pins and gouges out his eyes. 
This moment is significant because it shows the utter fall of the hero. Oedipus has officially lost everything at this point – his parents, his eyesight, his kingdom, and his honor. Oedipus is not only removed from his place of glory by the revelation that he killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, but he is utterly destroyed as a person. From this point forward, Oedipus must live knowing he is abhorred by the Gods and knowing the full truth of what he has done. 

13. Additional AP Prompt
2011: In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life "is a search for justice." Choose a character from "Oedipus Rex" who responds in some significant way to justice or injustice. Then analyze the character's understanding of justice, the degree to which the character's search for justice is successful, and the significance of this search for the work as a whole.

14. Analysis!
Oedipus Rex is a book of both justice and fate.  Humans tend to prefer the former to the latter, for justice is rational and dependent on our own actions and decisions.  Even if horrible things happen to people directly or indirectly because of bad decisions they made, we are able to rationalize their bad fate that was a result of their bad actions.  In this scenario, justice becomes fate.  Injustice occurs when fate and justice are separate entities, with fate acting as an apathetic force out of our own control.  "Oedipus Rex" starts with the Oedipus believing in a world governed by justice, with fate as the dependent result.  We see this by the fact that Oedipus fled his homeland to flee his fate, and that the fate of Thebes can be determined by restoring the scales of justice and finding Laius's killer.  By the end of the play, the second world order is revealed to be true, as Oedipus, his actions and fate predicted before his conception, fulfills his prophesy.  Oedipus's search for justice is successful in the sense that he accomplished his goal, which was finding and banishing the killer of Laius and thereby saving Thebes, but his banishment is an injustice according to Oedipus's point of view, for he did not determine the actions that led to it, but some entity known as fate.  Therefore, by Oedipus bringing "justice" to Laius's killer, he proves his own form of justice irrelevant in a world where actions are governed by fate, which cannot be punished.

15. 2000 AP Prompt
In “Oedipus Rex,” identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.

16. Mystery and Meaning
The original mystery presented in the beginning of the play is the murder of the former king of Thebes, Laius. Oedipus proclaims to his people that he will rid the city of the plague by finding the murderer and avenging Laius’ death. He sets a curse on the man, or men, responsible. With each new character and conversation, Oedipus gets closer and closer to uncovering the truth. Early on, the audience begins to suspect that Oedipus was murderer, and so the play morphs more into a journey to uncover Oedipus’ mysterious origins than actually freeing the Thebans from sickness. Throughout the play, Sophocles presents several themes that contribute to the message of the play. The most obvious message deals with man’s pride. Sophocles was deeply religious and his writings often contain messages that relate to the traditional Greek views about the nature of man and living a virtuous life. In Oedipus’ struggle to understand his birth and reveal the murderer, his temper gets the best of him and his pride clouds his judgement, and, until the prophecy is confirmed, he remains prideful and turns on those closest to him. In the end, Oedipus is made the tragic hero because he sets his pride aside and accepts the full reality of his fate, apologizing to the people of Thebes and vowing to live a life in darkness because of his. In relation to pride, another message present in the play deals with understanding the power of divine forces and understanding one’s place in the world. At one point, the Chorus proclaims that “the gods are defeated.” The Chorus has so much respect and praise for Oedipus, that they are even willing to question the power and truth of the gods; they don’t think Oedipus could ever be at fault. Essentially, the people of Thebes place Oedipus above the gods, and, in the end, ultimately learn that the gods were right all along and rethink the situation of all men. On similar note, Jocasta’s attempt to escape her fate by banishing her son eventually leads to her suicide because she is overcome with both guilt (feels responsible for the plague) and disgust. Ultimately, Sophocles constructs this play for entertainment purposes, obviously, and also to tell his audience to remain humble and reiterate the truth that the lives of men are governed by inescapable, divine forces.

17. Citations/Source Information
Oedipus the King