Comparing Shakespeare s Oedipus The King And Death...

COMPARING TRAGEDIES THROUGHOUT TIME By Daniel Konshak What is a tragedy? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines tragedy as a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force, such as destiny, and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror. Two such examples of literary tragedies are â€Å"Oedipus the King† by Sophocles and â€Å"Death of a Salesman† by Arthur Miller. Although written over 2000 years apart, there are many similarities between the two literary works, but with varying degrees of differences as well. Some of the key areas to be examined when making this comparison are: the social status of the main characters, the psychological mindsets the characters are in, their respective lack of self-awareness, whether their fate was deserved or not, and the main fatal flaw of each main character. Let’s begin by first examining the social status of the two main characters from each literary selection. In â€Å"Oedipus the Kin g† by Sophocles, the main character is, of course, Oedipus. As the story unfolds, we find that Oedipus has been plagued by the prophecy that said he â€Å"should lie with his own mother† and â€Å"be his father’s murderer† (Sophocles, 385). Oedipus, in trying to break this prophecy, flees from the city to escape this fate. However, unbeknownst to Oedipus, he was actually born in Thebes and not in the city of Corinth as he originally believed. So, instead of escaping the city and the fate of theShow MoreRelatedSeminar: Literary Theory Applied to H.P. Lovecraft-Notably â€Å"the Beast in the Cave†6821 Words   |  28 Pages(Lovecraft, H. P. Supernatural Horror in Literature). Even when wrote with such debatable simplicity, it is an excellent self-description of Lovecraft’s writing style and a backdrop to understanding his most re-occurring theme. Since the time of his death, over seventy-five years ago, H.P. Lovecraft has been criticized with iron teeth or not at all, yet his work continues to spread vast influence over a subculture and will continue to do so for years to come. I, being almost awestruck at the lack ofRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesbuilt-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore