I thought about it(and not for long because I knew what my answer was from the first page to the very last page), and maintained what I saw as the truth long after I had put the book down. ▶ THE QUESTION WAS 'WHY?' THE ANSWER IS.Īt the time, I thought(and still think) the title of the book: The Gods Are Not To Blame wasn't an assertive declaration by the author - even if it simply presented itself as such - but rather it was the exact opposite, an open question in disguise, delivered for thought.

Oedipus Rex was one of the books I book-napped from my father's shelves and read as a little girl. Did the gods watch in calm amusement as humans tried to undo this monstrous prophecy by decreeing that the boy be killed when he was born? And were they fascinated by the blind confidence of men, and the uselessness of their fumbling schemes as they failed and the boy survived? Did they smile sinister, knowing smiles as the die was cast? I prefer the original from which this story was adapted. A boy who would be the author of many tragedies. A boy destined to succeed, to be a king and be great, to kill his father and marry his mother. But first, If you know this book: Oedipus Rex, then you already have an idea of what this story is about, it's implications, the cruelty of it's tragic plot, and amount of debate the question above presents. Now this is the part where I tell you exactly why this book is memorable for me. The question which was thrown out to us for dissection by our teacher was: Are the gods to blame?

After we had finished reading the book, discussion and analysis were the next things up the list of things to do next. I remember when I read this for my African Literature class in high school.

The gods are not to blame by ola rotimi