Harold Kushner, an American rabbi, once said: “I consider life to be a good book. The further you go, the more it starts to make sense” (Harold Kushner Quotes). The goal of any great tragedy is to produce a cleansing or purging of feelings called catharsis, which serves as an emotional release for spectators. The Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex was written to be a play designed so that the reader would be blindfolded, turned around several times, and thrown headfirst into the middle of a plot. The drama begins in medias res, which is Latin for “in the middle of things,” and, interestingly, Oedipus, the main character, cannot metaphorically see the truth at first either. Oedipus' kingdom of Thebes opens under a horrible curse and Oedipus discovers that the only way the city can be exonerated is if the murderer of the former King Laius is found and banished from the city. Oedipus decides to find the killer and punish him in the harshest way possible. The audience follows Oedipus in his winding investigation into the affair and shares his moments of discovery. By beginning his tragedy in media res, Sophocles makes his audience experience all of Oedipus' revelations alongside him, thereby producing an intensified sense of sympathetic catharsis and a strengthened bond with the main character. With each shocking discovery, the audience not only relates to Oedipus' trauma, but also to his own astonishing paralysis. Although repeatedly advised against it, Oedipus stubbornly insists on pursuing the case and will not rest until the murderer is found. When he calls Tiresias for more information, the first horrific notice is revealed when the blind prophet tells Oedipus: "...you are the mud... middle of paper... the emotions." Through various techniques, such as fragmented disclosure and simple sentences, Sophocles succeeds in creating a magnificent tragedy while maximizing the impact of his play. He forces the audience to see the situation from Oedipus' point of view by literally providing them with the same knowledge of the truth as Oedipus: none. It is said that true appreciation of a story only comes when the listener becomes one with the main character; Oedipus Rex facilitates this and might be the reason why it is one of the most revered tragedies of all time. Works Cited “Harold Kushner Quotes.” BrainyQuote. Xplore and Web. November 9, 2013. .Sophocles. Oedipus the King. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Paul Davis et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2004. 899-951. Print.