Oedipus Vs. Everyman Essay, Research Paper
Elizabeth Kubler Ross, in Death and Dying, discusses the stages one goes through when he or she meets when he or she comes to terms with a death or even his or her own fate. These stages include Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. In Sophocles Oedipus Rex, and the medieval morality play, Everyman, by and anonymous author, both the title characters travel through these stages throughout the plot when they come to meet their fates or misfortunes.
Oedipus, when Jocasta re-tells the details of how Laios was murdered, begins his approach to denial. At first, he searches for more and more information that might prove he didn t really kill his father. This shows the reader that Oedipus seems to know subconsciously that he is the slayer of his father. Everyman, in the first scene, quarrels with Death about going on the long journey. He pleads for even a few more days before making him take this voyage. Both characters argue Not me it can t be! Both also look for a person or reason to displace their burden in order to avoid facing their strife.
The second stage according to Kubler Ross is Anger. Oedipus becomes fierce and defiant upon Jocasta s telling him that he should stop searching for the truth and he doesn t need to know the answers. This is a stage that appears to mix a bit of denial with anger for Oedipus, but the distinctions, do exist. Everyman becomes angry when Death tells him he must travel a long distance. In this scene, Everyman snaps at Death because he cannot be troubled with trite matters when he has more important things to do.
Bargaining is the third step toward achieving Acceptance. It is very evident in Everyman because Everyman bluntly offers Death riches and fortunes just so he may have a few more days. He will pay Death just to allow him to postpone the trip or hopefully even cancel it. This shows a very clear example of man trying to bargain his way out of fate and tries to exchange a token, as stated by Ross, in order to prevent the inevitable, or at least to stall it. This step however, is not as evident in Oedipus Rex and the reader does not really see an attempt to bargain for anything. If one tries hard to stretch things however, we could say that Oedipus attempt to find evidence proving that he did not kill his father could be seen as bargaining.
However, Oedipus did share the common phase of Depression as well as Everyman. This is the fourth stage toward Acceptance. He (Oedipus) began to realize his truth and begins to slightly isolate himself from others in order to take time and think things over. Kubler Ross states that Depression has the potential to destroy a person before ever achieving Acceptance if he or she cannot find it within themselves to overcome it. Everyman finds himself depressed when none of the people he thought would be there for him would go on the journey with him, and again when the left him as he began his approach into the grave. This bothers Everyman because he had believed that his friends were better than that.
Oedipus soon brutalized himself and is left for the reader to decide whether or not he really attained Acceptance, which according to Ms. Ross, is the fifth and final stage. This stage entails a coming to terms with death, loss, or fate. It is also describes ad an inner peace, calm , or sometimes even an absence of emotion. Perhaps Oedipus did obtain Acceptance since as we see in Antigone that he went into exile into the wilderness and lived life as a hermit. This could have meant peace for him. In Everyman, however, Acceptance is clearly shown because Everyman calmly and knowingly walks into his grave knowing that he has finally made peace with himself and done some good in his life, as seen by Good Deeds decent with him.
Everybody must travel throughout the five stages described by Kubler Ross, and these plays are just one way of showing us that we must work to reach Acceptance. It is no easy task, but if we do, we, like Everyman and Oedipus, will be our own Tragic Heroes.