Oedipus Rex Reflection

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of reading and studying Oedipus Rex. Greek mythology
has always held a special place in my heart as I have grown up reading about and studying the
ancient Greek gods. However, I discovered many new topics and characters upon reading
Oedipus Rex. I enjoyed learning the myths behind Tiresias and Oedipus, and I found Sophocles
accounts of Greek life new and interesting. Like many ancient tragedies, the hyberbolic plot
features scandals from incest to murder. I found these concepts overwhelming at times, but
ultimately realized that reading mythology requires suspending all disbelief and immersing
oneself in the story. By the end of the play, I felt empathy for the title character and had a better
understanding of the reasoning behind each characters actions.
Developing a solid introduction and conclusion to go along with Oedipus Rex proved a
complex and arduous task. In years past, I had written these elements of an essay as quickly as
possible, with little attention to detail. I did not fully understand the purpose of an introduction or
conclusion. After reading Oedipus Rex, I spent multiple weeks formulating and editing these
paragraphs and by the time I finished, I had a deeper understanding of the work that should go
into an intro and conclusion. Most importantly, I discovered the extreme significance and
usefulness of the funnel technique and peer editing.
Unexpectedly, the process of sculpting a tragic hero narrative required immense amounts
of brainstorming and planning. Writing the story took much less time than mentally developing a
tragic hero that displayed all of the characteristics of an archetypal tragic hero. I had never
explored the tragic hero archetype until reading Oedipus Rex. When I took a deeper look at the
complex archetype, I realized that it still exists in modern entertainment forms because the
themes of flaw and free choice remain prominent in modern culture. Once I had formed a basis

for my own tragic hero story, I began to write the narrative and attempt to accurately portray the
characters relationships and the profound, sometimes contradictory, facets of the tragic hero. I
tried to make the narrative unique by routinely switching the tense, giving context and exposition
in the past tense and describing the characters and setting in the present tense.
Overall, I feel a strong connection to the characters and themes that Sophocles
incorporates in Oedipus Rex. The literary devices such as motifs and diction make it easy to
engage in the setting of ancient Thebes. Sophocles establishes the enduring concept that
everyone shows vulnerability to their flaws and no one can evade fate and prophecy. While the
theme has evolved over time as society and religion has modernized, the core message of faith in
ones destiny has transcended centuries.