The idea of perception versus reality remain critical concepts with regards to the search for truth. Oftentimes, an individual may believe that what he or she perceives is also reality. However, since this is only the perception of the individual, it may actual be false and not reflect the reality of the situation. When examining the idea of perception versus reality, two critical Greek works are Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and The Allegory of the Cave by Plato. Both of these works show situations in which the individual perceives something in the wrong manner and therefore does not understand the true reality. As a result, the person cannot determine actual reality or truth. This paper will discuss the concept of perception versus reality as examined in these two works.
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles tells the story of Oedipus the King. Oedipus seeks the truth regarding the murder of the former king of Thebes, Laius. A blind prophet, Tiresias, indicates that he can see the truth and it will bring Oedipus nothing except heartache. It is ironic that a blind person can “see” the truth and reality more clearly than a seeing person can. Oedipus does not see the reality, but only his view of it. In this way, Oedipus’ perception is not reality. Oedipus believes that he will be able to see the truth if he searches for it and that the truth will set the city free from the plague it is currently experiencing. However, he does not want to recognize that a blind person can see the truth far better than he, as a seeing person, can. He believes that he knows that the king was killed by a person who can be brought to justice. Oedipus continues to seek the truth.
The prophet reveals that Oedipus is the murderer. Oedipus does not believe this can be the truth. Oedipus is informed that the murderer killed his father and married his mother. As Oedipus continues to search, he fails to see the mounting evidence that he is the killer of his father and the former king. He does not want to see the reality because it will be too painful. He does not recognize that he was the child of the former king, and therefore the king’s former wife. Oedipus married the Queen after the death of the king. In this way, he married his mother. Oedipus’ perception of the events was that he merely killed a man at a crossroads. It is not the complete reality and therefore, Oedipus’ perception was blocked by lack of information. He arrived in Thebes to discover the Queen was not married and he married her. His perception of events was far from the reality (Sophocles).
This is similar to the Allegory of the Cave by Plato. In the allegory, Plato described a group of people who were chained together in a cave. They can only see the shadows on the wall of the cave. However, as anyone familiar with reality knows, shadows are merely the illusions of shade created by other images. The shadows do not represent the actual forms that created them. A person’s shadow does not represent the reality of the person. Rather, it is a shallow image of the form and one that cannot be touched. Yet, the people who are chained in line and forced to face the wall of the cave are not familiar with this concept. Like Oedipus, the lack the complete information needed to determine that their perception was not reality. They are not aware of the images that occur behind them and that fire is used to cast their shadows on the wall. Since they cannot turn to discover the reality of the situation, they believe that the perception is the truth of it. In both Oedipus Rex and the Allegory of the Cave, an observer who had the full story could recognize reality. The characters in the story lacked the complete truth to determine reality versus perception. They were observing only their perceptions of reality. They could not be faulted for failing to recognize that it was merely an illusion.
In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, the concept of perception versus reality is a critical theme. In both stories, the characters cannot see past their own perceptions to undercover the truth of the situation. It must be known that perception is far from reality in many cases.
- Plato. The Allegory of the Cave. 380 BCE. 7 December 2015.
- Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. 429 BCE. 7 December 2015.
