Hey! for school i have to explain how the past follows you in the books oedipus rex, oedipus at colonus and antigone. I have written this from a poster i created to go along with the books.
Please help me edit this and allow this mini essay to make sense.
thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glogster Essay
12 October 2010
The Past Always Follows You...
There are certain events in the past that affect the future. Whether or not it is noticeable, the future has been affected in different ways and amounts by every occurrence in the past. Certain events are of course much more noticeable then others, but in Sophocles' plays, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, each explore how the past always affects the present.
In Oedipus Rex, Jocasta mentions some important facts about the death of Lauis. She says, "An oracle was reported to Lauis once/ that his doom would be death at the hands of his/ own son-/ his son, born of his flesh and of mine'' (38)! These memories allowed Oedipus to recall some "shadowy memories" about his past. Later, these memories were repeated from the shepherd when he says, "For God's love, let us have no more questioning!/ Is your life nothing to you?/ My own is pain enough for me to bear" (56). When the shepherd tells Oedipus about his past, Oedipus now begins to understand the prophecy that he has fulfilled. He asks his wife whether the prophecy is true and she refuses to tell him the truth. This explains how the past always follows you to the future because Jocasta knew about the prophecy and tried to cover it up. It resembles that the past never leaves you; it is always by your side. The picture of the following footsteps in the sand demonstrates that every action you make, there is an outcome. Since, Jocasta and Lauis attempted to kill Oedipus because of his prophecy, the outcome led to the prophecy coming true. The picture of the question mark represents the questions Oedipus asked his mother wondering if the prophecy was true.
In Oedipus at Colonus, Polyneices has come to ask his father to bless him. Oedipus refuses to bless Polyneices because Polyneices betrayed him in the past. Oedipus says, "You drove me into exile;/ me, your own father: made me a homeless man,/ Insuring me these rags you maunder over/ When you behold them now- now that you, too/ Have fallen on evil days and are in exile" (154). This explains how Oedipus felt after the betrayal of his own son. Polyneices refused to stick up for Oedipus when he wanted to stay in Thebes and now this situation has backfired on him. Another time in Oedipus at Colonus where the past is reflected on the future is when Oedipus is sent off the holy ground in Athens. The stranger says, "It is not to be touched, no one may live upon it;/ Most dreadful are its divinities, most feared,/ Daughters of darkness and mysterious earth" (87). The stranger knows about Oedipus' past and tells him to leave because the holy grounds cannot be disturbed. The prohibitory sign represents the refusal of help from Oedipus when his son asked to bless him.
In the play Antigone, the past of the characters has reflected on the present. The chorus speaks about Antigones' past when they say, "So lately this last flower of Oedipus' line/ Drank the sunlight! But now a passionate word/ And a handful of dust have closed up all its beauty" ( 215). The chorus remembers when Antigone disobeyed Creon's rules of not burying her brother. The right and wrong sign represent which choice was accurate when Antigone decided to bury her brother. Was it wrong because she was disobeying Creon? Or was it right because she wanted her brother to die in peace and be blessed?
All three plays explore how the past affects the future. Each action of the characters came with an outcome. Therefore, one must be aware of what they are doing now before it can backfire on their future.
That first para needs another sentence added to it! Add a thesis statement that expresses, in a single sentence, the main message of the essay. What does it all amount to?
When there is an exclamation mark, the punctuation can go inside the quotes:
and of mine!'' (38)
It is a funny exception to the rule.
In Oedipus at Colonus, Polyneices has come to ask his father to bless him, and this supports the argument made in this paper because _____________. (Make each topic sentence clearly support the main argument of the paper.)
That last para needs to be longer, too. Develop the paper's main idea with the first and last sentences of paragraphs. :-)
