In a quest to find a way to integrate this quote “Attack the evil within yourself, rather than at attacking the evil that is in others”(Confucius). I decided to go after one of the characters that lead to the downfall of Oedipus the Messenger to see where it really went wrong of Oedipus. So I will give some background to the story to see where it went wrong and analyze what the Messenger was thinking during the play. To see if he knew his actions held consequences he knew of or was he just trying to help without knowing what would actually happen. But those actions lead to Oedipus tearing himself apart when he realized what he has done in the end. Now let's see how the Messenger made Oedipus attack the evil within himself. …show more content…
With a request that Oedipus will be the next king of Corinth by the people's choice. He explains what had happened to the old king that lead to his downfall “It takes so little to send an old man to his rest. Then the poor man died of sickness. Yes. He had lived a long life”( Part II, 90-93). After Oedipus was informed he celebrated the death of his father as he defied what the oracle predicted what would happen to him. But he falls back into a depression when he remembers the rest of the prophecy. The bit about him sleeping with his “mother” Merope and fears what would happen to him. With great curiosity the Messenger asks what Oedipus why is he so afraid Merope still living and learns of the prophesy and why he left. “Apollo once prophesied that I would lie with my own mother and with these hands kill my father. That is why for all these I have stayed away from Corinth. I traveled far but always longed to see his parents’ faces.”( Part II, 126-129). With this information the Messenger condemns Oedipus to his fate without knowing what he is …show more content…
As he was found in the forest with a pin bolting his feet together when the Messenger was just a shepherd. When he was found he was given to him by another Shepard one that was of Laius’ household, he was a herdsmen they sent for more information. When the Shepard arrived the Messenger awakens his memory, “ My king, I'm not surprised…but I will awaken his memory. I'm sure he remembers when we herded our flocks on Cithaeron. … when winter came I drove my flock home, and he drove his to Laius’s folds”(Part II, 255-261). Then they learn that Oedipus was the child of the prophesy. Then king dams himself for doing what the prophesy told, kill his father and marry his mother. To end this essay on the Messenger I must bring back the reason this was made in the first place. I wanted to find a way to see how the Messenger made Oedipus attack the evil within himself. As we went over the events leading to his downfall that included the Messenger, seeing how Oedipus realized he killed his own father and married his mother. But also try to get insight on what the Messenger was thinking during the event, did he think he was going to help
A messenger hurriedly arrives at a palace to tell king Oedipus, that his father, Polybus, the king of another town, has died at an old age of natural causes. The message's receptor and his queen, therefore, assume that Oedipus has escaped his fate as told by the oracle at Delphi that he should murder his father and marry his mother. There is reprieve of worry until it is revealed that the man who died was merely Oedipus' adoptive father and that Oedipus had indeed once killed his father and was married to his mother. Oedipus was not the king of his fate.
passing messenger to take as his own. When Oedipus was older he learned of this
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 play, Oedipus is faced with the truth and fails to acknowledge it. He is first told by the drunk at the party, but he dismisses it as just something said by an ignorant drunk. He then visits the oracle and is told his fate determined by the gods and believes he can escape it by fleeing to Thebes. On his way, he carries out the first part of the fate by killing his father. He then makes it to Thebes and marries Jocasta, unknowingly fulfilling the fate.
Two of the minor tragic flaws that lead to Oedipus downfall were his arrogance and short temper. Trough out the book we are able to see how Oedipus humiliates and gets into arguments with the people that telling him the truth about his real parents and that are trying to help him to find the “unknown”
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.
tells the priest and the suffering people of Thebes. If Oedipus did not care for
Oedipus was born with a terrible Prophecy. From the start it was foreseen that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. His parents, Laius
Poor Oedipus discovers that he had killed his father and married his mother at the climax of the play when the Shepard is questioned. He states "I stand revealed at last - cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!"³ He then finds his mother after she has committed suicide and proceeds to gouge out his own eyes with her brooches.
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
The myth of Oedipus is one of a man brought down by forces aligning against him. Over the years, different playwrights have interpreted his character in various fashions. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a man who is blind to the path on which his questions take him and exemplifies the typical tyrannical leader in ancient times; in Senaca’s Oedipus, it is the fear of his questions that give Oedipus a greater depth of character, a depth he must overcome if he is to survive his ordeal.
Oedipus was a victime of fate, his futur was foretold by an Oracle, he had no way of knowing that his wife was his mother nor that the stranger he killed was his father. Oedipus could not prevent his own downfall. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, he became king when he cured the city of a deadly plague. He cured the plague by solving the riddle of the mythical creature, the Sphinkx. Now the city is suffering from another plague and as king Oedipus must solve the riddle of this one.
Oedipus the King has the ingredients necessary for the plot of a good tragedy, including the peripeteia. According to Aristotle, a peripeteia is necessary for a good plot. Peripeteia is "a reversal in his fortune from happiness to disaster" (Abrams 322). Oedipus's reversal of fortune occurs when he realizes that he is the son of Laius and Jocasta. The messenger comes to Oedipus assuming that he will relieve the King of the fear that he will kill his own father as predicted by the Oracle. But by revealing the secret that Oedipus is not who he thinks he is and he was found and he was given to his father Polybus, the messenger does the opposite. The messenger makes Oedipus more fearful instead and he reverses Oedipus' life. The Chorus says, "You are my great example, you, your life your destiny, Oedipus, man of misery - I count no man blest" (1318-20). The Chorus states that its idea of human happiness is now destroyed by Oedipus's reversal of fortune.
The impetus for the downfall of Oedipus, "Known far and wide by name" (Sophocles, 1), is his anger. Enraged he slew King Laius and in anger he hastily pursued his own ruination. From the aforementioned recriminations of Tiresias to the conflict with his brother-in-law Creon (his ill temper again displayed - "Tempers such as yours most grievous to their own selves to bear,... .(Sophocles, 25); through the revealing exchanges with his wife/mother Jocasta and her slave (whose pity saved the infant Oedipus), damming insight grows in a logical sequence, all the while fueled by the Oedipal rage. Realizing the heinous nature of his actions, Oedipus blinds himself in a fit of anger and remorse - now, as Tiresias, he can see.
Throughout the play, Oedipus tries to change his fate. When he confirms through two messengers and an oracle that he is destined to marry his mother and kill his father, he completely panics. He knows that is something he definitely wants to avoid, so he decided he would attempt to change his fate. But at that time, he did not realize that your fate is your fate and it will not change.