Oedipus Rex- Prologue and Scenes 1&2

Abstract
     Oedipus is is the King of Thebes, and ruler overall. He orders Kreon to visit two different shrines and see what the gods want him to do about his town. Oedipus needs answers from the gods because his city is dying from a plague. Kreon is days late from him travels and this worries Oedipus. Once Kreon gets home he tells Oedipus that they must kill everyone because they need to avenge the death of Laios and figure out who killed him. Oedipus doesn't agree with this thought completely.
       Oedipus demands that any people that know about Laios's death must speak up. If they do they'll receive an award. Oedipus is determined to find the murder. He expresses that the penalty for killing Laios is that the murder is not allowed in any homes in the city of Thebes. The murder will also not be allowed in the church and never be spoke to by Oedipus Rex.
       Oedipus orders all his workers to be under oath and tell what they know about Laios's death. Kreon doesn't show up to this which makes Oedipus suspicious because he was the one who spoke of the murder in the first place.
      Oedipus then talks to Teiresias and begs him to tell Oedipus who the murderer is, but Teiresias refuses to talk. Oedipus figures out that Kreon made all this up so that he could get the throne, which angered Oedipus even more. Kreon says he didn't kill Laios, but Oedipus doesn't believe Kreon. He talks to his wife, Iokaste, about it and she says that Kreon never lies. This just make Oedipus even more angry because his wife isn't on his side of this fight. Kreon claims that Oedipus killed Laios which is actually his father. The reason why Oedipus did this is so he would be with his mother. Oedipus can't believe that Kreon would say something like that and wants him killed.



Response
    This whole story is based on the thoughts that Oedipus is thinking. Everything that he does is based on his emotions even if has nothing to back up his belief. I feel that Oedipus's anger is what gets the best of him. Just because Oedipus is ruler means he can do whatever he wants no questions asked. Most people in the city of Thebes don't challenge his decisions, except for Kreon. Kreon feels as though he really knows whats right and the indeed Oedipus is the murder of Laios. Kreon says this because he knows that this will anger Oedipus and get him off topic of thinking that Kreon killed Laios. All the tactics used by Kreon are psychological. He wants Oedipus to have to think deeply and maybe even have self doubt so then Kreon won't be killed. This is just one instant when the psychology comes into play in this story.
      As I began to read even more I found that the theory that Sigmond Freud developed is represented. Kreon claims that Laios was indeed Oedipus's father. So he believes that Oedipus killed his father, Laios, so that he could be with his mother. It just so happens that his mother is that one that his is also married to and had a son with. So as you can see Freud's theory is present in this story.