1. Oedipus Rex
Writing Prompt

2. Prompt:
Frequently, the tension in a literary work is created by the conflict between a character and society. Using the play Oedipus the King, discuss the nature of the conflict, its effect on the character, on society, and on the resulting thematic implications.

3. Opening Paragraph: Sample A
“Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know!” So concludes Oedipus in the Exodus of Oedipus the King by Sophocles. While physically blind in this scene, Oedipus’s emotional blindness and pride ultimately lead to his city’s suffering, and finally, his downfall. This conflict enables Sophocles to develop both the character of Oedipus and the theme.

4. Opening Paragraph: Sample B
At some point in everyone’s life, we turn a blind eye to the problems we have, even if it makes things worse for us in the long run. In much the same way, the character of Oedipus in Sophocles’s Oedipus the King has a blindness to his fate that brings disaster to his people and his own life that directly affects characterization and theme in the text.

5. Opening Paragraph: Sample C
In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, a conflict between the main character and his fate becomes a nightmare for his family, his society, and himself. Sophocles develops his theme of destructive pride through Oedipus’s willing blindness to acknowledge the truth, which ultimately ruins him.