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In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the age-old confusion of the impact of the free will of man on their seemingly unchanging destiny manifests itself in the scattered emotional war zone that is our protagonist. Oedipus is directly responsible for the fiery mass of rubble that his once joyous life became because he allowed his excessive ego and self worth lead him to a reckless lifestyle of impulsivity and arrogance. Throughout the tragic tale, the troubled young Oedipus is faced with many opportunities to give in to fate and throw his life away- all of which he accepted and executed proudly. After having been informed of his undesirable fate, the young man finds himself at a crossroads, pestered by another traveler. In a blinding flash of rage, Oedipus murdered the very man he was trying to avoid, as he later recounts to his wife and mother, “My stick had struck him backwards from the car and he rolled out of it. And then I killed them all”. While fully aware of the possibility that he may know not the true identity of his parents, he was not at all concerned that he may fulfill his prophecy in any violent act he commits. Oedipus took the prophecy seriously enough to uproot his life and leave his home in Corinth, but not seriously enough to even attempt to take up a life of pacifism. His misplaced efforts placed before him a choice between a bruised sense of self worth and uncalled for brutality, his inability to discern the difference between a necessary evil and an absurd liability lead him to begin fulfilling his prophecy. Since first discovering the foul outcome the divine had planned for him, Oedipus was disgusted with the thought of marrying and taking to bed his mother, but in a moment of excitement and thoughtlessness he mar... ... middle of paper ... ...ty of the killer was revealed to Oedipus, he accused Creon of conspiracy even though Creon was the one to give Oedipus power to begin with, and lived with equal power but lesser responsibility. Oedipus’s immediate reaction of contempt towards his brother-in-law drowns the seriousness of the predicament. Instead of using Creon’s power and influence to his use, Oedipus was only convinced at the great turning point and realization of who he really is. It is important to note that even after the catastrophe unfolds, Creon is the one to take Oedipus into private to care for him. Oedipus was thoughtless and blind to the potential impact of his actions, and made decisions based on immediate emotional responses. His impatience and flawed character lead him to commit murder, incest, blasphemy and tyranny and is completely responsible for the terrifying outcome of his life.
Many times in life, people think they can determine their own destiny, but, as the Greeks believe, people cannot change fate the gods set. Though people cannot change their fate, they can take responsibility for what fate has brought them. In the story Oedipus, by Sophocles, a young king named Oedipus discovers his dreadful fate. With this fate, he must take responsibility and accept the harsh realities of what’s to come. Oedipus is a very hubris character with good intentions, but because he is too confident, he suffers. In the story, the city of Thebes is in great turmoil due to the death of the previous king, Laius. With the thought of helping his people, Oedipus opens an investigation of King Laius’s murder, and to solve the mystery, he seeks advice from Tiresias, a blind prophet. When Laius comes, Oedipus insists on having the oracle told to all of Thebes showing no sign of hesitation or caution. This oracle states that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus must learn to deal with his terrible and appalling fate the way a true and honorable king would. Because...
The selfishness that Oedipus possesses causes him to have abundance of ignorance. This combination is what leads to his father’s death. After fleeing Corinth and his foster family, Oedipus gets into a skirmish with an older man. The reason for the fight was because, “The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord’s command” (1336). Oedipus is filled with a rage after being insulted by the lord and feels the need to act. The two men fight, but Oedipus ends up being too much for the older man, and he kills him. What Oedipus is unaware of is that the man was actually his birth father and by killing him, Oedipus has started on the path of his own destruction. Not only does Oedipus kill his father, but also everyone else, “I killed them all” (1336). The other men had no part in the scuffle, but in his rage, he did not care who he was killing.
The question has been raised as to whether Oedipus was a victim of fate or of his own actions. This essay will show that Oedipus was a victim of fate, but he was no puppet because he freely and actively sought his doom, although he was warned many times of the inevitable repercussions of his actions.
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that the events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, are the result of the hero’s self determination and restless attempt to escape a terrifying destiny predicted for him by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. My intention is to prove that although the Fates play a crucial part in the story, it is Oedipus'choices and wrong doing that ultimately lead to his downfall.
The first oracle in Oedipus the King is heard at the Oracle at Delphi, where Creon comes back to the land of Thebes with a solution to the people’s concerns. Specifically, Creon informs his king, Oedipus, that the only way to stop the plague is by finding and punishing the murderer of the late, King Laius. Oedipus initially treats this oracle with excessive curiosity and begins to interrogate Creon about the death of their late king. When Oedipus is met with answers, he vows that he will find the murderer. However, there is great irony in his vow because he doesn’t know that he is the actual murderer of the great King. With this, it’s clear that Oedipus misunderstood this oracle off of sheer ignorance. Oedipus’ reactions toward the first oracle reveal the immediate qualities of Oedipus. At this stage of the narrative, it is apparent that Oedipus lacks knowledge of his own identity. Specifically, his ignorance of the murder indicates that he does not truly know who his real father is. Similarly, his notion for curiosity indicates that he lacks knowledge not only of the murder b...
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex has fascinated readers for over two millennia with its tale of a man who falls from greatness to shame. The enigmatic play leaves many questions for the reader to answer. Is this a cruel trick of the gods? Was Oedipus fated to kill his father and marry his mother? Did he act of his own free will? Like the Greeks of centuries past, we continue to ponder these perennial questions. Part of the genius of Sophocles is that he requires a great deal of mental and spiritual involvement from his audience.
In the story, “Oedipus the King” before Oedipus became king of Thebes, he made choices that led to events that defined his fate. The first event emerged when Oedipus heard a drunken man saying that the ones who cared for Oedipus at Corinth were not his biological parents. The terrible news is what set forth the very first steps towards the beginning of the events that led to his fate. Oedipus confused and interested in the truth, went on to speak with God. However, the God did not answer what Oedipus questioned and instead had his fate foretold. “The god dismissed my question without reply; he spoke of other things. Some were clear, full of wretchedness, dreadful, unbearable: As, that I should lie with my own mother, breed children from all men would turn their eyes; and that I should be my father’s murderer,” (Gioia, 2010). Oedipus still unfamiliar, of who his parents were, chose to flee from home in attempt to prevent the God’s statement of his fate from coming true. Oedipus’ choice of fleeing the country was perhaps a bad decision. It was what led him to experience the first event of his fate. As Oedipus goes his...
It is clear to see that Oedipus is an impulsive and passionate man, which causes Oedipus to fulfill the prophecy that haunts him. He flees the kingdom of Corinthian in order to avoid his fate. Along his journey he comes to a crossroad that is blocked by a chariot, and “in a fit of anger” Oedipus kills the father he never knew (Meyer 1422). Oedipus’ anger causes him to kill the father he never knew and all the men in the entourage. Oedipus’ cannot control his temper and this personality flaw leads him to his fate.
The Oracle told him that he was the killer, that he was married to his mother, and that he was going to die blind and alone. Oedipus was offended and confused. Oedipus was confused because he did not believe the Oracle. Oedipus assumed that Creon and Teiresias were trying to overthrow him and take the kingdom for themselves. Oedipus would not let them shame him, but Oedipus calmed down and his search for the killer continued. “And now you would expel me, because you think that you will find a place by Creon’s throne. I think you will be sorry, both you and your accomplice, for your plot to drive me out. And did I not regard you as an old man, some suffering would have taught you that what was in your heart was treason” (463-470). The Oracle and Creon and in Oedipus’ journey throughout the play. Oedipus positively influences the Oracle. In that Oedipus, at the end of the play, proves the Oracle correct. Even after Oedipus himself slandered the Oracles name and reputation just because he did not want to believe that he could in fact be sleeping with his birth mother and have killed his birth father. Oedipus affects Creon in both a negative way and a positive way. The positive way being that Oedipus has a good and trustworthy relationship with Creon, until dout is planted in his mind by the Oracle. Creon was always there for Oedipus and Oedipus greatly respected Creon. The Negative being that, once the doubt
When Creon, brother in law of Oedipus accuses him of being a murder, Oedipus was really mad. He accuses Creon of betrayal and hypocrisy. In another speech, Oedipus accuses Creon for pointing him as guilty for the murder of Laius. We can see that when Oedipus says:
Oedipus is a story about a few basic human emotions. Among them are rage, passion, humility, and guilt. The Ancient Greeks understood these emotions well; their society was based upon the logical emotions, but always threatened by the violent ones. Oedipus was at first told that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Fearful of himself, he fled showing a lack of humility away from his home, thinking that his problems would be solved. Later on, he gets into a tumultuous fight with a passerby on the road to Thebes. Enraged, he kills the man and his servants; this turned out to be a big mistake. After saving the city of Thebes from the Sphinx, he marries and then passionately sleeps with the queen. Towards the end of the play, he realizes that he has indeed killed his father and married his mother, thus echoing the lack of humility that first drove him away from his adopted parents.
The fallout of the once blissful mother and son, and husband and wife, is inevitable as it was the predestined fate of the glorified king and savior of Thebes. Through Oedipus’s traits and motivations, interactions with others, and language of others it is evident that fate is not something you can run or hide from.
Oedipus the King struggled internally and externally once he discovered that he was the murderer of his own father, and that his mother was also his wife. He demanded exile and knew his death was going to be brutal, but he would not be able to live with himself and his conscious until he was dead. This play has so many intriguing symbols, themes and motifs that it keeps the reader focused at all times. His life as king was his good fortune but his painful undiscovered past led to his death, “Consider his last day; and let none Presume on his good fortune until he find Life, at his death, a memory without pain” (Kennedy 752, lines 297-300).
Throughout most famous Greek literature, a great hero usually saves the day. In the story of Oedipus though, the good man with one minor flaw goes through great pain. This pain in the play Oedipus Rex is the focal point for the whole play. Almost every aspect of the play builds up and foreshadows Oedipus’ fall from power, and entry into pain. Sophocles in his tragedy Oedipus Rex creates a mood of dramatic irony using the dualities of sight and blindness, and light and darkness. This dramatic irony highlights Oedipus’ hamartia and in doing so Sophocles enhances his message that arrogance and is wrong.
Oedipus is depicted as a “marionette in the hands of a daemonic power”(pg150), but like all tragic hero’s he fights and struggles against fate even when the odds are against him. His most tragic flaw is his morality, as he struggles between the good and the evil of his life. The good is that he was pitied by the Shepard who saved him from death as a baby. The evil is his fate, where he is to kill his father and marry his mother. His hubris or excessive pride and self-righteousness are the lead causes to his downfall. Oedipus is a tragic hero who suffers the consequences of his immoral actions, and must learn from these mistakes. This Aristotelian theory of tragedy exists today, as an example of what happens when men and women that fall from high positions politically and socially.