Tragedy in Oedipus the King and Dolls House Essay

Faults Written in the Stars During the Ancient Grecian time periods, tragedy meant death because one defied against an outer prophecy. Modern day tragedy was simply realism, the unspoken way of life. In Sophocles Oedipus the King and Ibsens A Dolls House, the main characters - Nora and Oedipus, are both constructed to illustrate flaws in society and how naive people are. Ibsen and Sophocles both developed tragedy into a central idea that all people surreptitiously understand. Nora and Oedipus make incompetent decisions that assist in discovering their fundamental nature as tragic heroes and provoke sorrow and pity among the audience. Oedipus lived his entire life in a dark shadow of ignorance, just like Nora. Oedipus†¦show more content†¦In A Doll’s House, Nora makes a blind decision that she truly believes will make her actions more appreciated, since she’s â€Å"a wife with a bit of sense for business†¦ a wife who knows her way about things.. ..† (Act I 1116). Nora, just like Oedipus acts on a rash decision to outrun fate and keep the truth hidden. By acting on her inner thoughts, Nora mirrors Oedipus’ journey to discover the truth. Oedipus will uncover his inner-truths by seeking revenge, while Nora tries to conceal hers, then ends up discovering her true condition. At the end of both plays, Nora and Oedipus discover their blindness of reality and undergo an emotional breakdown that causes the audience to feel overwhelmed and piteous. Sophocles uses self-blinding, to establish true freedom of the individual while Ibsen simply creates Nora to lead a blind lifestyle that ends up opening her eyes. â€Å"Does there exist, is there a man on earth who seizes more joy than just a dream, a vision?† (Oedipus 966), both Oedipus and Nora seek to live the dream life, but realize it can’t exist. Oedipus takes the act upon himself, â€Å"You’ll see no more the pain I’ve suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know!† (Oedipus 969). In A Dolls House, Nora Helmer transforms from believing that she is happily married to realizing that she is a mere possession for her husbands entertainment, â€Å"You don’t understand me. And I ha veShow MoreRelated Tragedy in Oedipus the King and Dolls House Essay example1057 Words   |  5 PagesOnly Peace in Death Tragedy has been apart of human history since the dawning of civilization. Man has been plunged into terrible tragedies for ages. But not until the Greeks and prominent playwrights such as Sophocles did tragedy take on into its own on the stage. Out of this rebirth of tragedy came what has been considered, even by Aristotle himself, the greatest tragedy ever written, Oedipus the King. 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