The idiom “Black Sheep” is used to represent a member of the family or group who is the least reputable. In other words, the traits or behavior of this individual may not be that of which meet the group’s ideal standards and are therefore considered to be disgraceful.In the case of Oedipus’s twisted relationship with his family, he is the black sheep.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0prophecy stated\u00a0to his parents that he would be the cause of both tragedy and turmoil: \u00a0a son murdering his own father and breeding with his beloved mother. This immediately led to the conclusion of disposing Oedipus as an infant, in order to\u00a0prevent such possibility from\u00a0occurring and\u00a0\u00a0disrupting\u00a0the kingdom and family’s\u00a0opportunity\u00a0to thrive. \u00a0Despite all efforts, the prophecy\u00a0remained and gradually unraveled as Oedipus grew up to be the king of Thebes. Apollo realized\u00a0Oedipus would have a negative influence on Thebes\u00a0to some extent when he described the plague as a “disease that wastes all of you”(p.27). \u00a0Simply meaning, Thebes would continue to be riddled with plague\u00a0and lack the ability to recover so long as Oedipus remained as its ruler.<\/p>\n
When the truth of Oedipus’s origin is revealed, the ridiculousness of the prophecy presented before\u00a0him causes him to pierce his own eyes and become blind. Sophocles describes Oedipus’s blood as a “black storm” (p.82) as if\u00a0his bloodline is to be represented as a curse which\u00a0muddies the host and all those around him. Furthermore, Teiresias calls Oedipus a “murderer” (p.40) which illustrates he is guilty for his lack of knowledge when he first committed incest\u00a0and\u00a0fulfilled the prophecy at last.\u00a0It is\u00a0also ironic and quite tragic how Oedipus\u00a0desired\u00a0“justice and vengeance” (p.291) for all of his people, and yet the truth revealed about his origin was much darker and unfair for his children than his own blindness. While Oedipus carries the burden of realizing\u00a0he is the cause of his own misfortune, \u00a0it is his offspring\u00a0who\u00a0are forced to confront\u00a0the reality of where their bloodline truly originates from. Even after his banishment and the plague vanishes, his children must carry the reputation of being disgraceful products of incest for a lifetime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The idiom “Black Sheep” is used to represent a member of the family or group who is the least reputable. In other words, the traits or behavior of this individual may not be that of which meet the group’s ideal … Continue reading