Harold Kushner, an American rabbi, once said: “I think of life as a good book. The more you delve into it, 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 known as catharsis, which serves as an emotional release for viewers. The Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex was written to be a play in which the reader is blindfolded, spun around several times, and thrown upside down in the middle of a plot. The play begins in medias res, which is Latin for “in the midst of things,” and interestingly enough, even Oedipus, the main character, metaphorically cannot see the truth at first. Oedipus' kingdom of Thebes opens under an abominable curse, and Oedipus discovers that the only way to exonerate the city is for the murderer of the former king Laius to be found and banished from the city. Oedipus decides to find the murderer and punish him in the harshest way possible. The audience follows Oedipus in his tortuous investigation of the case and shares his moments of discovery. By beginning his tragedy in medias res, Sophocles makes his audience experience all of Oedipus' revelations alongside him, thus producing an intense feeling of empathetic catharsis and a strengthened bond with the main character. With each shocking discovery, the audience not only relates to Oedipus' trauma, but also experiences a surprising paralysis of it. Although he has been advised against it several times, 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 terrifying notification is revealed when the blind prophet states to Oedipus, “…you are murder…middle of the paper…emotions. Through a variety of techniques, such as portioned disclosure and simple sentences, Sophocles successfully creates magnificent tragedy while maximizing the impact of his work. It forces viewers to see the situation from Oedipus' point of view by giving them literally the same amount of knowledge of the truth that Oedipus has: none. It is said that true appreciation for a story comes only when the listener is one with the main character; Oedipus Rex makes this simple and may be why it is one of the most revered tragedies of all time. Works Cited “Harold Kushner Quotes.” Clever quote. Xplore and Web. 9 November 2013. .Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Paul Davis, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2004. 899-951. Press.