Oedipus Journal #3

Point of View/Characters: From whose point of view is the story told? Does this change? How reliable is the narrative voice? How well does the reader get to know the characters? How credible are they? How are they presented? How does the writer persuade us to like/sympathize with some characters and dislike others?

The story of Oedipus the King is not told by any one character's point of view. Rather, the play is told in a more third person limited point of view. The audience can see the actions of the characters, but they don't know the thoughts of the characters unless they directly state them, either through dialogue or a monologue. This third person limited point of view is consistent throughout Oedipus the King, as none of the characters' actions become hidden and their thoughts remain unknown by the audience unless expressed somehow. This "narrative voice" is fairly reliable, as Oedipus and others learn more about his past, so does the audience. Oedipus' past is misrepresented at the beginning, but as the audience would already be familiar with the plotline, it's unclear whether that would make the narrative voice unreliable. The audience comes to know some of the characters well, while others remain estranged. Oedipus is one such character that the audience comes to know well through Oedipus' conversations with the Chorus and his monologues. Other characters, like Antigone and Creon, are less known in this play, but become more familiar in other plays like Antigone. Jocasta, Tiresias and other minor characters are less familiar to the audience simply because they are not onstage as much as the other characters. Several, like the messenger and shepherd only serve to move the plot along. The major characters like Oedipus and Creon are mostly believable, but their actions sometimes seem exaggerated. For instance, when Oedipus blinds himself or becomes angry with Tiresias, his actions and emotions seem forced because of the words he uses. Sophocles causes to feel pity for Oedipus through the internal conflict he feels about circumstances that are somewhat out of his control. At the end, when Creon takes away Oedipus' children, Oedipus cries out, saying "No- / don't take them away from me, not now! No no no!" The intense sadnes Oedipus feels as he pleads for his children to stay is shown through how he repeats "no" three times. This despair causes the audience to pity Oedipus.