Classical literature is filled with stories of capricious deities playing with human lives as if they were only toys. The Greek tradition of tragedy is based upon celebrating this very aspect of the nature of the pantheon of Greek gods. Sophocles finds a perfect example of this celebration of fate, in the tragedy Oedipus the King. Conversely, the Story of Job uses the dramatic tension of a "wager" between God and Satan on the sincerity of Job's devotion to God. Where Oedipus' life, regardless of personal choice, is bound up by fated situations and their fated outcomes, Job's story is one of choice in the midst of supernaturally imposed difficulties. While both strive to teach resignation to the will of God, they each espouse quite different attitudes in resignation. 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). An interesting and important aspect of this Greek notion of fate is the utter helplessness of the human players. No matter the choice made by the people involved in this tragedy, the gods have determined it and it is going to come to pass. T... ... middle of paper ... ...is beginning…"(58). Again, the reader sees similar goals in finding resignation, but vastly different paths and attitudes in that resigned state. The personal choice of a righteous life is taught by Job, while a fated beginning and a fated ending, regardless of human choice, is the sad lot of Oedipus. These two men were given separate fates by separate gods and were forced to live with the outcome. From the beginning Job is given the opportunity to survive. Even in the midst of all his pain and suffering there does exist the opportunity for success. Oedipus on the other hand is fated from the beginning, from birth. The gods decide his fate and there is no escape from the gods. Both of these stories focus on the idea of resignation to the will of a god or gods. However, they leave the reader with two different views of the idea of fate and suffering.
When the plans of the gods, or God, are against them, neither Odysseus nor Job have control over the direction their lives take. They can only contemplate why it is happening and wait for it to end. Of course, once peace is made with the gods, agency is restored and Job and Odysseus return to the lives waiting and watching, for it is the divine that controls their agency.
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.
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.
Since the beginning of time epic tales have been passed on from generation to generation as a form of entertainment. Even though each epic is different in its plot, every epic has certain features in common. The prime example of their similarities is their main character, the hero of the epic. The hero's behavior changes from the beginning to the end of the tale. Since the plot revolves around the epic hero, in most cases, they are made to seem God-like, or larger then life, in their capabilities and strengths. The hero constantly has to conquer major obstacles to achieve their initial and final goal. Usually the hero is tremendously suspicious of other characters intensions. Also, this character usually demonstrates examples of hubris throughout the tale, which ultimately makes his journey more difficult. The epic heroes differences vary but in the epic tale, The Odyssey written by Homer, and the Greek drama, Oedipus The King written by Sophocles, the differences is what makes Oedipus fail and Odysseus succeed. In both these tales, the powerful gods enormously affect their decisions and the consequences they eventually have to face.
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.
“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” In other words, the connotation of this anonymous quote states that despite whatever one chooses to decide, the outcome of their choices and decisions will still result to their predetermined fate. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, demonstrates this statement throughout the play in the role of his tragic hero Oedipus. In the course of Oedipus’ actions of trying to escape his predestined fortune, his fate and flaws of being human played major roles to bring about his downfall.
...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
In both of these tragic plays, “Macbeth” by Shakespeare and “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, a catastrophic fate transforms the lives of the protagonists and ultimately becomes a sad reality for both of them whether they flee from it or pursue it. In this way, the authors present fate and destiny as the unavoidable reality every human will have to face, and whether it is a simple statement made by strangers or satirical act of unmerciful gods, it shows life is not in our hands but rests in the power of outside forces.
Tiresias, from “Oedipus the King” by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, is a blind prophet and whilst he is only on the stage for a little time he plays a major role by what he does and what he represents. Tiresias enters the play after being summoned by Oedipus to tell him of the murderer of Laius, the recent King. Tiresias for the sake of Oedipus does not tell him the truth at the start saying that “what will come will come. Even if I shroud it all in silence”. In is conversation, Sophocles, uses Tiresias as a turning point in the plot as it is the beginning of Oedipus’ downfall. As well as that Sophocles uses Tiresias to represent many of the key ideas in the play. Tiresias represents the idea of fate and how
The tragic drama Oedipus the King is regarded as one of Sophocles (495 and 405 B.C.) greatest and surviving plays. Written between 420 and 430 B.C., the Greek tragedy tells a story about an immortal’s attempt to defy the ill fate that his gods bestowed upon him. He became a fugitive, only to later uncover the roots of his birth, and find himself in the ruins foretold. From murder to vengeance, a stranger to the land he rules, proves to be native, and turns out to be the son and husband of the woman who borne him, and the father and brother of his very own children. Sophocles incites that the Olympian gods do exist, and that we cannot fight their decrees. We follow the fate they have devised for us, and all efforts to change their plans will prove useless, for we cannot escape our destiny.
Tragedy is like a roll of the dice. Although you may feel like you are in control, there is nothing you can do to control the outcome. Fate cannot be changed, and in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus Rex learns this the hard way when he tries his best to avoid and change the tragedy that was prophesied when he was born. Oedipus ends up living a life full of fear of a prophecy he cannot stop, however, he ends the play nobly and tries to fix the wrongs he had done by giving himself punishment by gouging his eyes out and exiling himself from his own kingdom, as well as ensuring that his daughters will not follow the same fate that he did.
Oedipus stresses not so much man's guilt or forsakeness as his ineluctable lot, the stark realities which are and always will be. The Greek tradition is less nostalgic and less visionary---the difference being in emphasis, not in kind. There is little pining for a lost Golden Age, or yearning for utopia, redemption, or heavenly restitution. But if it stresses man's fate, it does not deny him freedom. Dramatic action, of course, posits freedom; without it no tragedy could be written. In Aeschylus' Prometheus Kratos (or Power) says, "None is free but Zeus," but the whole play proves him wrong. Even the Chorus of helpless Sea Nymphs, in siding with Prometheus in the end, defy the bidding of the gods. Aeschylus' Orestes was told by Apollo to murder his mother, but he was not compelled to. The spirit with which he acquiesced in his destiny ( a theme which Greek tragedy stresses as Job does not) is of a free man who, though fated, could have withdrawn and not acted at all. Even Euripides, who of all the Greek Tragedians had the direst view of the gods' compulsiveness in man's affairs, shows his Medea and Hippolytus as proud and decisive human beings. And, as Cedric Whitman says about the fate of Oedipus, the prophecy merely predicted Oedipus' future, it did not determine it.
In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles affirms that the gods ultimately have the final say to control one’s destiny; however, an individual is solely responsible for the decisions he makes. Approaching near the climax, Sophocles sets up a fundamental conflict of the play, the need for Oedipus and Jocasta to perceive the immutable state of prophecy through the consequences that deliver itself when the gods fulfill their plans for one’s destiny. The messenger even describes the omnipotent power of the gods, and witnesses the augury of death proposed by the supernatural, finally stating:
The ancient story documented in the writing Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles follows the story of a clever and strong hero who has tragedy befall him. He is fated to kill his father and marry his mother as a result of his father not heeding a warning from the gods. Upon discovering this, Oedipus blinds himself in excruciating guilt, to cut off his senses from the world around him. This guilt is not deserved by Oedipus because he committed the heinous crimes unwittingly he thus, making him innocent of the actions that spurn on the tragic events that occur. While Oedipus possesses some character flaws, they were not conducive to the tragedies that transpire. Rather, he is a heroic and just man who suffers for no fault of his own because of a curse
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.