How does each character in "Oedipus the King" handle grief? Provide textual evidence for support.Importance of family grief, and how each character...

Oedipus handles his grief in a physical sense by gouging
out his own eyes with the golden brooches of his wife/mother Jocasta. Obviously, he is
consumed with misery as the entire weight of the situation has crashed down around
him.

However, he is not completely without reason. He
thinks of his children, especially his girls, and pleads with Creon, “I pray you, care
for them.”

Jocasta, as the reality of the situation begins
to dawn on her, tries to get Oedipus to stop questioning the messenger. She says to
Oedipus, “For the gods’ sake, if you have any care for your own life, forbear this
search! My anguish is enough.” When Oedipus refuses to stop questioning, she runs in to
the palace and hangs herself.

The chorus, speaking for the
Theban people, after literally singing Oedipus’ praises, says, “Alas, thou child of
Laius, would, would that I had never seen thee!” They feel they would have been better
off if Oedipus had never come to Thebes, despite all the good he
did.

But at the end the chorus, considering the
unpredictability of life, advises the audience to keep their thoughts focused ahead,
“Therefore, while our eyes wait to see the destined final day, we must call no one happy
who is of mortal race, until he has crossed life’s border, free from pain.” This softens
the grief-stricken ending by relating the idea that we will all suffer in this life, but
not in the next.