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Compare and contrast oedipus and antigone
Compare and contrast oedipus and antigone
Compare and contrast oedipus and antigone
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When I was a little girl, I absolutely adored Sesame Street. Within my large collection of Sesame Street paraphernalia was a book titled The Monster at the End of This Book and it featured the blue, furry monster that was actually Grover instead of another famous blue monster who had a soft spot for cookies. I remember curiosity always getting the best of me and finally reaching the end of the book only to find that the monster was just “little ol'” Grover. Although it was a children's book, it had a message that was applicable to everyone. Do not fear fate because of it's sheer inevitability. Instead, fate should be embraced. There are instances in reality where some aspects of life are completely out of man's control and, despite our greatest efforts to contravene this tacit law, are bound to occur. Due to the fact that we never truly acknowledge this truth, literature has the responsibility of reflecting this fact of life to the world. Luckily, we had authors like Sophocles, who wrote Oedipus the King, and Gabriel García Márquez, and his novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, that reminded us of the futility in going against fate.
Fate, in both reality and literature, is viewed as something that can not be rectified or remedied through any type of action. When Gregor Samsa turned into that humongous beetle, Kafka made it clear that, with no remedy in sight, he was destined to be in this form. Both Sophocles' and Márquez's books also discuss fate but in different ways. Although both books were very tragic in the way they ended, Sophocles' Oedipus the King approached the topic of fate in a way that lacked much suspense. The audiences would have already known the story of Oedipus and his destiny that included murdering his fathe...
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... truth that eventually destroyed him instead of leaving things be as they were; these actions came to manifest by his own free will. In contrast, Márquez actually did include free will in Chronicle of a Death Foretold but in a way that was detrimental to Santiago Nasar. Instead of going down the honorable route and making the characters act, Márquez chose to make characters that chose to be inactive, out of their own free will. Márquez, by deciding to make some of his characters intentionally choose to not act due to their own afflictions or simply because of their mistakes while in action, may have thought that free will was predetermined and an aspect of fate as a whole. Márquez and, similarly, Sophocles were saying that it would not matter what we did or, in the case of Santiago Nasar, what we did not do would not affect fate at all, whether positive or negative.
Oedipus the King, a tale of one man’s hubris, paranoia, and willingness to sacrifice his own happiness for the happiness of others. Does one man’s fate designate who he will become? Is it possible to change the fate we are given? Or no matter how hard we try, deep down, it is our qualities that force us to make our fates a reality? In Sophocles’s play Oedipus the King we see a man who tried his hardest to change his own fate at all cost, but because of his human qualities he actually forced his fate upon himself.
When establishing whether it was fate or free will that determined the outcome of Oedipus’ life we must take in to consideration each side. Some people can say that he brought all of his suffering on himself but then again some people can say that it was his destiny that bad things were to happen to him.
About 60 years ago, our society here in the United States was different then it is now. African Americans suffered from injustices by law after the abolishment of slavery. Great leaders stood up to these injustices as their lives took precise paths that lead to a revolution they had a vision in. In the first two volumes of the March trilogy by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, we see their fate's play out in peculiar ways and their dreams of justice eventually fulfilled. Fate and Dreams play key roles in several events in the text that has resulted in society as we know of today. The concept of being “woke” is emphasized throughout the text, Lewis’ destiny had the opportunity to go awry at critical points in the text, and John Lewis and Dr. Martin
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
The elements of a character’s true personality and attitude make that fate. a reality and force the destiny to become the destination. The stories of Gilgamesh, Oedipus the King, and The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam. all teach the readers that destiny and character are intertwined. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, destiny and Oedipus’ actions.
In Oedipus The King, Sophocles presents a view of life fixed by fate. This fate, predetermined by the gods, is the sole factor in deciding human destiny. Tiresias expresses his understanding of the unchangeable fate of Oedipus, laid out by the gods, as he argues with the King about revealing the truth of all the Theban troubles. When Oedipus, frustrated by the lack of cooperation, insults Tiresias, he responds "I pity you, flinging at me the very insults / each man here will fling at you so soon."(322) Even more telling of the fated existence of Sophocles' characters is Jocasta's revelation of prophecies given before Oedipus' birth which foretold all that the gods had in store, which had indeed come to pass (332).
The role of fate is the classic perpetrator just by example: "There had never been a death more foretold," the narrator tells us (p.46). To Marquez, fate seemed to be dominating the life and ultimate death of Santiago Nasar. The bad omens, dreams, sighs in the weather, all appeared to be telltale indications that Santiago Nasar was destined to die from his
In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus ' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King.
Hence, Santiago Nasar died in order to serve as his society’s sacrificial lamb. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is able to develop this message in Chronicle of a Death Foretold by incorporating a multitude of theological symbols, imagery, and allusions.
...ir own storyline of life, a life that already has a written ending and that is destine already to you. By the end of the play the audience is left with two facts, Oedipus fate is destine for downfall, and indeed Oedipus does fulfill his destiny. Nevertheless, the truth of the situation is that the path in which Oedipus’ ultimately takes is what leads him to fulfill the prophecy. If the audience choose to see the play from this prospective, then Oedipus’ the king will become much more significant, by doing so, giving the play a far better interpretation. Although Sophocles never clearly mentions in the play that Oedipus fate is due to his poor choices, the suggestion of the storyline is full with indication that the only person responsible for his own fate is Oedipus himself. Through his play Oedipus the King, Sophocles demonstrates to his audience the outcome of
We are all condemned to death; it is inescapable. Even if a person doesn’t believe in the concept of destiny, it is undeniable that every person is fated to die at some point. Most people, however, are not aware of when exactly the inevitable will approach. Often in works of fiction, the reader, or sometimes even the character, is aware of their fate. There are many different understandings of destiny, which is one of the reasons why it has played such a large role in so many different literary works throughout the world and history. Fate is one of the principal literary devices used in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, Shakespeare’s tragic play, Antony and Cleopatra, and Tolstoy’s pedagogical novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych.
The idea of fate has existed for a long time and exists even today. Fate revolves around the idea that people's lives are predetermined and that no matter what is done it cannot be changed. With the gods it was used to explain events that seemed strange. Sophocles expands on this idea by introducing Oedipus' fate. The thought of fate is strong considering no matter how hard he struggles he still receives what was predetermined. As a baby he survived the elements on Mount Cithaeron. As Oedipus was destined to live, it shows the dominance of fate. Having fate play such a large part of the play is certainly an insight into the Greek's idea that fate controls us no matter how hard we struggle against it.
Webster defines fate as a “ a power thought to control all events and impossible to resist” “a persons destiny.” This would imply that fate has an over whelming power over the mind. This thing called fate is able to control a person and that person has no ability to change it.
Fate and freewill are two sides of the same coin. The differences are that fate is the uncontrollable force that shapes one’s destiny, while freewill is the power one has to mold his own future. The confounding mystery is, which of the two governs life? The famous tragedian, Sophocles, in his play, Oedipus the King, illustrates the perplexity of the question. Oedipus’s life is one of great tragedy and he experiences many things throughout his life, but the essence of the play is comprised up of the battle of fate versus freewill.
In Oedipus Rex, fate is something that unavoidably befalls two characters. The gods decide Oedipus and Jocasta’s fate, even before they know it. Trying to avoid destiny is pointless because no matter what, it will catch up to you wherever you are. It is often thought that you can change your destiny, but in reality our fate was put into action the day we were born. Throughout the play, Oedipus tries to change his fate.