Harold Fraser                                                                                                                                                     10-27-99
Ms. Wu                                                                                                                                                              E7TP OEDIPUS     The motif of Blindness vs. Vision plays an important role in "Oedipus Rex." In fact it is the basis of the entire play. The reader has vision, somewhat, throughout the play. It was the characters who were blind.
    The play is based on Oedipus who knew of a prophecy which stated that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. To avoid this, he leaves his father and mother. On his journey he met and killed a group of men. After which he goes on to become the king of Thebes and marries the Queen, Iocaste. What he didn't know was the fact that King Laios, who was one of the men he killed, was his father. He also wasn't aware of the fact that the woman he married was his mother.
    Oedipus didn't start to suspect that something might be wrong with his life until Scene2 p.37. Right after Iocaste told a story of an oracle's prediction that didn't come true, Oedipus started to wonder. The story was about Laios who was told he would be killed by his son. The fact that that was similar to Oedipus' fate to kill his father isn't what disturbed him. What disturbed him was how Laios met his demise. It was said that Laios was killed in a place where three highways met. Upon hearing this a "shadowy memory" crossed Oedipus' mind. He then recounts a story in which he killed a group of men in a place where three highways met. Oedipus then decides to