Quote #4

"Never bring them down to the level of my pains.
Pity them. Look at them, so young, so vulnerable,
shorn of everything- you're their only hope.
Promise me noble Creon, touch my hand!" (1651-1654).

Analysis: Oedipus is getting his daughters taken away, which at this point, considering what he has left, is the worst thing that could happen to him. He has lost everything- both of his parents, and now all he has left is being taken away from him. He is asking Creon to take care of them for him and demanding that they never face through a pain equivalent to what he has just been through. They are so young and so naive and they have a long life ahead of them and in they have yet to learn valuable life lessons and to have everything taken away at such a young age is much too early for something so painful to happen to them. Because they are "so vulnerable" they have so much to learn and a long life ahead to experience things that may not always be good. Oedipus won't be able to be there to help  guide them through life but he is putting his trust and faith into the hands of Creon, which is all they have at this point. Oedipus can't see so he reaches for Creon's hand to reassure him that Creon can be trusted with something as important as his daughters.

Readers Response: The drawing I made represents what I feel Oedipus is going through. There is so much agony and having his daughters taken away is almost too much for him to deal with at this point. His eyes are bleeding because of what he has done to them because of the pain he feels after learning what he has done, but he is also crying because of the pain he feels from everything that has happened, now also having his daughters taken away from him.

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. The Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Classics, 1984. Print.