One hundred years later, the negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.

what is the literal meaning of this figurative sentence from the passage?

a)
african americans are waiting for someone to rescue them.

b)
the ocean of prosperity contains an island for african americans.

c)
some african americans live on an island in the middle of the ocean.

d)
poverty isolates african americans from the mainstream of american society.

What is the significance of the above statement in relation to the play’s conclusion? oedipus treats his inferiors poorly but ultimately grants them the same respect he grants to nobility. while teiresias appears to be mocking oedipus, the real message is one of warning about the forces working against the king. oedipus earns great fame for answering the riddle of the sphinx but ultimately loses his crown to a common man. just as oedipus is unable to conceive that he has done wrong in the past, he is unable to imagine that his enviable position is impermanent.