Oedipus Quest For The Truth
...at Polybos and Merope were not his real parents (III 101). He also informs him that Oedipus was given to him by one of Laois’ shepherds (III 122-124) and he in turn gave this baby to Polybos and Merope (III 105) and they raised him as their own. This news hurt Oedipus but he had to know more as it would lead to more answers about his identity. Iocaste calls for the shepherd that was the only surviving witness to the murder (II 333). When the messenger sees the shepherd he informs Oedipus that he is the one who gave Oedipus to him (IV 8). Oedipus forces the shepherd to admit where the baby came from (IV 42). He suspects that it was Iocaste and even though he knows that this news could be very hurtful, he still pursues the answer. Oedipus denies all of the truth that was handed to him but still continues his quest for more answers. This denial begins when a drunken man told Oedipus that he is not his father’s son (II 222). Oedipus “felt anger and a sinking heart” (II 254). He did not want to believe this drunken man’s story so he searched for a conflicting story from Polybos and Merope (II 255-258). Oedipus said “the suspicion remained always aching in my mind” (II 258-59). Teiresias informed Oedipus that he is the murderer (I 134)and he is angered and denies this truth and then accuses Creon of committing the murder (II 22) and conspiring to destroy him so that he could be king (II 23). Creon urges Oedipus to rethink what he is accusing him of. Even when Creon states his case and tries to convince him that his life is good as it is and he has no desire to have the responsibilities of king (II 66-70), Oedipus chooses not to believe him for that would mean that he would have to give in to the idea that Teiresias could be telling the truth. Although he could have had Creon and Teiresias exiled and/or punished, he instead continues on with his quest. Although he denies the truth something in him makes him realize that there were more answers to be found that could lead to more about who he really is. Iocaste informed Oedipus of the son in which she and Laios shared and of the oracle that their son would kill his father (II 185-188) and also the details of Laios’ murder such as the place and manner that it supposedly took place (II 202-226). Although Oedipus more than likely had suspicions, he denied to himself that he could be the son of Laios. He would hold out for the possibility that there could be some explanation. Although the messenger gave more clues that could have opened Oedipus’ eyes to the fact that he could be the son of Laios (III 124), he still did not want to believe it until the surviving shepherd gave the final details of his identity (IV 58) and the case was so strong that it could no longer be denied. Each person who gave Oedipus answers motivated him not only to f...