Use Of Irony In Oedipus Rex Essays - Operas, Oedipus The King

Use of Irony in Oedipus Rex Many sources tell us that Sophocles wrote more then one hundred plays, but only seven of them have survived the centuries in their entirety. Certainly the best known of his surviving plays is Oedipus Rex. The plot of the play hinges on the element of irony. Irony can be defined as a combination of circumstances or a result that is the opposite of what is or might be expected or considered appropriate, (Guralnik, Webster's, 1968, p. 745). Irony is one of the prevailing and defining characteristics of the play. The first event that sets the whole tragic tale in motion is when Laius, King of Thebes, is told by a prophet that any child that is born to him and his queen, Jocasta, will murder him. Therefore, when a child is born to him, he pierces the baby's ankles with a spike, ties them together, and has a servant leave the child on Mount Cithaeron to die from exposure. This is ironic because if Laius had not attempted to murder his own child, Oedipus would not have been found and raised by strangers. He would have known Jocasta was his mother. Ironically(and disgustingly, Oedipus marries her and produces several children). Also, without his violent temper, he would not have killed his father on the road to the Oracle if had had been aware of his identity. As a baby, Oedipus is found by a shepherd, and taken back to Corinth where he is raised as the son of King Polybus, and his queen, Merope. After he is grown, Oedipus is told by a drunken man at a banquet that he really isn't the son of Polybus. Confused, Oedipus is determined to learn the truth. H visionary oracle. The horrified woman sends him away saying that he will murder his father and marry his mother. The prophecy disturbs Oedipus so much that he doesn't return in the hopes of preventing the prophecy from coming true. But, in so doing, he defied the will of the gods, and sealed his fate. This is, of course, ironic because Oedipus is taking the action of not returning to Corinth because he wrongfully considers Polybus and Merope to be his parents. But, here again, a human is trying to avoid what is clearly predestined. In committing the sin of hubris(pride), Oedipus brings down upon himself the rightful condemnation of the higher power. Previous to meeting with the Oracle, Oedipus had met King Laius, and four attendants, at a fork in the road. A fight started, and Oedipus kills King Laius, totally unaware that this is his real father. It's ironic on several many levels. Oedipus, in trying to avoid the prophecy, has fulfilled it. This is also ironic because Laius would not have left Thebes and journey to the Oracle if the city had not been plagued by the Sphinx, a monster with a woman's head and a lion's body, plus miscellaneous other animal features. The city would, undoubtedly, have not been plagued if Laius had stayed in the god's good graces. Having unknowingly killed his father, Oedipus journeys on and encounters the Sphinx. Because he answers the Sphinx's riddle correctly, it kills itself in a fit of anguish and the city is saved. Oedipus is declared King of Thebes. He marries the recently widowed Jocasta and the prophecy is fulfilled. "Oedipus Rex" seems to roll one pieve of irony after another.. Everything Oedipus tries to avoid he ends up doing. The beautiful marriage between the King and Queen is incest. He is also famous for solving riddles but cannot solve the one that concerns the origin, path, and destiny of his own life. Oedipus shows a brutal side when he beats the same shepard that saved him during the interrogation. Some readers interpret the irony differently. Ever since the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, made his famous observations, critics have been using this aspect in this analysis. The Freudian interpretation can be taken beyond the obvious relationship between Oedipus and Jocasta and extended to Oedipus' two daughters. Oedipus and Jocasta had four children-two sons and two daughters. The children are brought in at the very end of the play when a blind Oedipus is pondering their fate. The sons he dismisses because they are able to take care of themselves, but Oedipus frets over the fate of his daughters. Oedipus- "As for my sons, you need not take care of them.They are men, they will find some way to live. But my poor daughters, who have shared my table, Who have never before have been parted from their father-Take care of them, Creon: Do this for me. And will you let me touch them

How Fluorescent Lights Affect You and Your Health

How Fluorescent Lights Affect You and Your Health Fluorescent lights are a common light source in office buildings and shopping markets. With the advent of compact fluorescent lights, they are becoming commonplace in most homes as well. Fluorescent lights are less expensive to buy compared to how long they last (about 13 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs) and they are much less expensive to operate. They require a fraction of the energy that incandescent bulbs use. But they can have negative impacts on your health. The Problems There were hundreds of studies done over the last quarter of the last century that showed causal links between elongated exposure to fluorescent lights and various negative effects. The foundation of most of these problems is the quality of light thats emitted. Some of the theories about negative effects or dangers stem from the fact that we evolved with the sun as our main source of light. It is only relatively recently, with the proliferation of electricity, that humankind has taken complete control of the night and interior spaces. Before that, most light came from the sun or a flame. Since flames dont give much light, humans usually woke along with sunrise and worked outdoors or, later in our history, by windows. With the light bulb, we had the ability to do more at night and to work in enclosed rooms without windows. When the fluorescent lights were invented, businesses had access to a cheap and durable light source and they adopted it. But fluorescent bulbs do not produce the same type of light as the sun gives us. The sun produces a full spectrum light: that is, a light that spans the entirety of the visual spectrum. In fact, the sun gives a lot more than the visual spectrum. Incandescent lights give off a full spectrum, but not as much as sunlight. Fluorescent lights give off a rather limited spectrum. A lot of human body chemistry is based on the day-night cycle, which is also known as the circadian rhythm. Theoretically, if you do not get sufficient exposure to sunlight, your circadian rhythm gets thrown off and that, in turn, throws off your hormones with some negative health impacts. Health Effects   There are a number of negative health effects that have been linked to working under fluorescent lights that are theorized to be caused by this disturbance to our circadian rhythms and the accompanying body chemistry mechanisms. These negative health effects may include: MigrainesEye strainProblems sleeping, due to melatonin suppressionSymptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder or depressionEndocrine disruption and poor immune systemsFemale hormonal/menstrual cycle disruptionIncreases in breast cancer rates and tumor formationStress/Anxiety, due to cortisol suppressionSexual development/maturation disruptionObesityAgoraphobia (anxiety disorder) Flickering The other main cause of problems with fluorescent lights is that they flicker. Fluorescent light bulbs contain a gas that gets excited and glows when electricity is passed through this. The electricity is not constant. It is controlled by an electric ballast that pulses on and off really quickly. To most people, the flicker is so fast that it looks like the light is on constantly. However, some people can perceive the flicker even if they cant consciously see it. This may cause: MigrainesHeadachesEye strainStress/Anxiety Additionally, fluorescent bulbs, especially cheaper bulbs, may have a green cast to them, making all the colors in your environment more drab and sickly looking. There is some theory that this, at the least, affects mood. The Solutions If you are forced to work/live beneath fluorescent lights for extended periods of time each day there are a number of things you can do to combat the negative effects. The first is to get out in the sun more. Getting sun exposure, especially for stints in the morning, midday, and late afternoon, can help maintain your circadian rhythm. Putting in some windows, skylights, or solar tubes to bring sunlight into your interior environment can help as well. Short of bringing in sunlight itself, you can bring in a light source with a fuller spectrum. There are some full spectrum and daylight spectrum fluorescent lights on the market that have a better color temperature spread than regular fluorescent lights, so they do help, but they dont replace sunlight. Alternately you can put a full spectrum light filter over your fluorescent bulb or light fixture lens that alters the light coming out of the fluorescent bulb and gives it a fuller spectrum. These tend to give off more Ultraviolet (UV) rays that may cause skin problems, prematurely age materials like plastic or leather, and cause photos to fade. Incandescent lights do a decent job of providing a good spectrum of light that most people respond to well. Another benefit of incandescent lights is that they are a constant light source that doesnt flicker. If you perceive the fluorescent flicker, having a single incandescent light bulb on in the room can be enough to cover the flicker and keep it from affecting you. These bulbs can also balance out any green tint given off by the fluorescent bulb. In some cases, phototherapy, or light box therapy, can counteract lack of sunlight exposure. This is a common treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder and it uses an incredibly bright light for a limited amount of time to help keep your body chemistry regulated. Optometrists have long prescribed glasses with a very light rose-colored tint on them to counteract the effects of working under fluorescent lights, especially in women who are experiencing hormonal problems. Finally, flicker problems can be improved by using fluorescent light fixtures that use electronic ballasts as opposed to magnetic ones.