The Absence Of Truth Leads To Chaos — страница 3

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chaos in his kingdom. The king seeks information that will accommodate his false sense of reality and is blind to the truth. The inability to see obvious truth causes further disorder. In contrast to the disorder created by blindness towards truth, attempts to change destiny directly cause disorder. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the need to accept fated events is conveyed. Oedipus pledges to seek out and abide by the truth. He does not like what he learns and tries to change his fate. As a young man, Oedipus goes to the shrine at Delphi and questions his future. He relates the prophecy learned to his wife: I should lie with my own mother, breed Children from whom all men would turn their eyes; And that I should be my father’s murderer. I heard all this, and fled. And from that

day Corinth to me was only in the stars Am I evil, then? It must be so, Since I must flee from Thebes, yet never again See my own countrymen, my own country, For fear of joining my mother in marriage And killing Polybus my father May I never see that day! Never! Rather let me vanish from the race of men Than know the abomination destined me! (759-802) Oedipus learns his fate and chooses not to accept it. He tries to alter his destiny by removing himself from his homeland. He does not realize that he cannot escape his destiny. After he becomes king of Thebes, and the reality of the fulfillment of his fate is brought to light, he still refuses to acknowledge it. His denial makes the actualization of reality more chaotic. Teiresias recognizes the inescapable nature of the truth.

Before relating the identity of the murderer to Oedipus, he says, “How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be / When there is no help in truth! I knew this well, / But did not act on it: else I should not have come” (305-307). Teiresias’ reluctance to state the truth to Oedipus is due to its harsh nature. He realizes the ease with which the truth can be sought. The true measure of righteousness extends from the ability to accept and abide by the truth, regardless of its unpleasant nature. Oedipus’ refusal to accept reality leads to the queen’s suicide and his public disgrace. The lingering chaos in Thebes stems from his prior and present unwillingness to accept the truth. With the unpunished murder of Laios and Oedipus’ position as king, the gods are unhappy and help

create chaos in nature and the kingdom. Like Oedipus, Edmund refuses to accept his fate. His rejection of his predestination further elucidates the chaotic nature of denial. After deceiving his father in an attempt to assume a higher stature, he says: This is the excellent floppery of the world, that, When we are sick in fortune, often the surfiets of our Own behaviour, we make guilty of our disasters the Sun, moon, and the stars; as if we were villains on Necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion (1, ii, 118-122)” Edgar does not acknowledge his destiny and believes human actions determine future occurrences. He presumes he has the power to change his low rank as a bastard son through manipulation. This leads to more chaos. When Edmund relates his father’s assumption of guilt

to Edgar, he says: I promise you, the effects he writes of succeed Unhappily: as of unnaturalness between the child and The parent; death, dearth, dissolutions of ancient ami- Ties; divisions in state, menaces and maledictions against Kings and nobles; needless diffidences, banishment of Friends, dissipation of cohorts, nuptial breaches, and I Know not what. (I, ii, 143-149) Edmund further deceives his brother with false prophecies about the future state of the kingdom. He uses elements of chaos to describe the chaotic future of Thebes. Edgar accepts these prophecies as the state of the future due to his father’s false suspicions against him. Edmund does not realize that the chaos he describes occurs after he manipulates his brother and father. Chaotic occurrences include

Edmund’s position as Earl, Edgar’s pretext as a beggar and Gloucester’s attempt at suicide. Refusal to accept fate leads to chaotic occurrences. The incapability to pursue the true nature of matters leads to chaos. In Oedipus Rex and King Lear, The characters’ failure to preserve truth precede a state of disorder. The deception of others, blindness to the truth and failure to accept fate cause chaos. The pursuit of reality is not always fulfilling. When damaging truths are learned, the effects provide more harm than prosperity. To live in a false sense of reality may prove to be favorable, but cannot be perpetually maintained. In 1917, Czar Nicholas II of Russia was arrested by V. I. Lenin for his crimes against his country. The Czar believed that hisvarious actions as a