Oedipus/oates Compare&contrast

11 Pages 2789 Words

Where Are You Going, Oedipus?
Oedipus, the protagonist of Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, goes through a transition in his life. He experiences a life altering change, just as Connie, the protagonist of Joyce Carole Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” does. Connie and Oedipus undoubtedly have contrasting qualities. Initially, Oedipus is looked upon as a hero to the people of Thebes because he solves the Sphinx’s riddle which free the people the Thebes from the Sphinx’s terror. The people then crown him King of Thebes. Connie on the other hand, is merely a vain naïve sixteen-year-old girl growing up in the 1960’s. Being too absorbed with how she appears on the surface, Connie never attempts to get to know who she is on the inside, as a soul. Whereas Oedipus searches diligently and years to learn the truth about him even though, at one point in the play, he knows that the truth night have ill effects on his life and ruin him. Frank Magill feels the same way about Oedipu!
s, stating “it is Oedipus’ nature to be confident and desirous of the truth” (5:1808). Without a through investigation of these tow stories, one might find that they seem to have little to no similarities. Although the characters may seem to have no similarities, the two stories do. Both of Connie and Oedipus’ parents push them toward their unpleasant fates. Both of these stories have involved figures of psychic abilities that approach the protagonists in each story.
Carter 2
In Oedipus the King, Tiresias is a blind prophet that has the ability to see the truth and predict the future. Not so likeable Arnold Friend in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” also uses his psychic abilities. A close reading of Oedipus the King and “ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” reveals that despite the fact that Connie and Oedipus have differences in character, the two stories to have simila...