April 12th, 2022 
Write a 3 page paper (minimum 750 words) on Oedipus Rex with MLA in-text citations and a works cited page. Please adhere to the guidelines in the earlier handouts Information About Essays and the rubric.
Please remember that the primary focus of the essay is the story or drama itself. Formulate a thesis about the work based on one of the questions below and provide evidence for that thesis using selected parts of the work. Brief quotations and paraphrase of the work can be used to prove your ideas. If there is a particular quotation that you would like to use for your essay, copy it down on a piece of paper, and give it to the instructor before the test to return to you during the essay test.
You will be using an article from the OCtech databases from among the ones Ive chosen for you. If youd like to choose your own article from the OCtech databases, please send it to me for my review first before you start writing.
Please remember that your essay should conform to the conventions that we have discussed in class and that are listed on the rubric. For in-text citation, you may include the line number instead of the page number. Also, please make sure that you formulate a thesis with the three points that demonstrate your plan of development throughout the essay. Ive included some basic questions that might help you develop your thesis on the back of this handout.
Essay questions for Oedipus Rex
1) What is the nature of justice? Does Oedipus receive justice at the end of Oedipus Rex?
2) Are the gods just to Oedipus? How or how not?
3) Are the gods to blame for the actions of Oedipus? Does he share any of the blame? What is the paradoxical nature of the prophecy?
4) How is Oedipus admirable? Was he a good leader? Does it seem fair for Oedipus to call himself the worst of men? Why or why not?
5) How does this play communicate both of the ideas of human limitation and the greatness of humanity?
6) Many a man before you, in his dreams, has shared his mothers bed. The significance of Jocastas statement can be interpreted as an instinctual or primordial parent child relationship. What are the details of this relationship, and how does this play demonstrate Freuds idea of the Oedipus complex?
7) How is Oedipus Rex a tragic hero that conforms to Aristotles descriptions?
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