Discussion on Literary Topics: Themes and Ideas
When Tiresias and Creon tell Oedipus the truth about what happened to Laius, Oedipus becomes extremely angry. This anger causes him to make wild accusations that have no reason behind them, and when Tiresias, Creon, and even the Chorus use reason to convince him to calm down, it is no use. This develops the idea of how anger can cause one to be irrational and impossible to reason with. When Creon is questioning whether or not Oedipus actually accused him of plotting against him, the Leader says "True, but a slur might have been forced out of him, by anger perhaps, not any firm conviction." (188) This shows how the words spoken by Oedipus were said out of an immediate angry response, before he knew what really happened. Once everyone else tried to convince him of how irrational he was being, reason had no place in the angry Oedipus, causing him to dig himself in an even deeper hole. When Creon asks Oedipus, "What if you're wholly wrong?" (195), Oedipus responds with, "No matter- I must rule." (195). This shows how reason will not convince Oedipus because he is blinded by his rage. He wants to kill Creon over something that clearly did not even happen. This theme is a timeless one that can be learned from forever. Because anger causes such irrational and borderline crazy actions from a person, one must step back from a situation that has upset them before making bad decisions that will come back to haunt them. In this story, this occurs when Oedipus is so sure that Tiresias and Creon are plotting against him, that when he concludes that it was in fact he who killed Laius, he must punish himself as harshly as he intended to punish Creon.
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