Oedipus, our ironic hero, suffered many tragic events that led to his fate foretold in the play Oedipus the King. Why he suffered so much pain and what could be learned from such a taboo work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Unfortunately, Oedipus was a victim of the concept of “willful blindness,” as almost all humans are. Every aspect of the work lends its hand to its psychological term. Our hero goes from being blissfully ignorant to thrusting himself into the reality of his true identity. “Willful blindness” is an innate human mechanism that keeps our minds in the dark and usually manifests itself in almost everything we do. This can be seen in the common example of the phrase “How could I have been so blind?” which you often hear on television or in everyday conversations. Willful blindness is caused by many factors, and our brain's capacity simply cannot absorb everything it sees and hears. With this in mind, it would make sense why a lot of data is processed only to be changed or filtered into what we actually want. This can also be reflected by the fact that darkness and light are closely linked to the theme of sight and blindness in Sophocles' work. Oedipus and his loyal citizens are unaware of their origins and the murder of their past king. After Oedipus finds out what happened, he sadly accepts the truth about how everything actually "came to light." The information we let in usually reflects what makes us feel good about ourselves, or even worse, what makes us feel good. the most comfortable. This means that much of what upsets our fragile being is usually left out without a second thought. The arrogance Oedipus experienced that led to his symbolic and physical blinding was tied to how the people around him treated him. He was surrounded by people who were familiar to him and these citizens and closest friends made him feel safe and happy. The natural need to feel good is innate in human nature, we are bound to seek pleasure and security in every way possible. This can be clearly seen when Oedipus stated: “Here am I myself: you all know me, the world knows fame. I am Oedipus." But with that comes everything else that does not provide us with such sensations. Everything else can be described as a blind spot. In the play, Oedipus was blind to all the danger signs during his travels. He refused to see, due to his human nature (and his arrogance). Ultimately, when he was forced to face his inconvenient and taboo fate, he blinded himself, leading him to be exactly as he was at the beginning of the work in a figurative sense. We as humans are driven to find and protect relationships that help us bring out our key “feel good” chemicals in our brains, such as endorphins, dopamine, or oxytocin true main purpose, is to reflect our self-esteem identity. Keep in mind: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Yet, I believe this curse of willful blindness is not This is intended to lead to our ruin, as happened to Oedipus. Readers of all ages who have followed the sad hero on his journey to meet his destiny face to face can take this as a warning sign to be more aware of what information we take in and why. Willful blindness might be a natural tendency, but it can tend to become a faulty trait with the right combination of attention and willpower.