In perhaps one of the most well known stories in the Western world, Oedipus the King, innocence and guilt are two of the most discussed aspects. The implications surrounding the guilt or innocence of Oedipus can not only be applied to this play, but to almost all stories told throughout the Western tradition. Within Oedipus the King, no one character carries the guilt of the events in the play, rather it is a culmination of humans trying to avoid their fate that create a paradox of individuals who are all at once guilty and innocent, with the different acts of individuals ultimately bringing about the fate that Oedipus suffers. While reading Oedipus the King one may be tempted to place the blame entirely upon any character, perhaps Oedipus …show more content…
In attempting to leave Corinth and prevent the prophecy to the best of his abilities Oedipus alleviates some of the guilt that he could carry. Oedipus’s true defense is his ignorance in not knowing that “Polybus was no kin. . .in blood” (1016), believing that he was doing the right thing to prevent the prophecy and leave Corinth, he hurt himself and unfortunately put into motion the elements needed for the prophecy to come true. One may also be tempted to blame Jocasta for her role in the prophecy coming true, however that is also unfair. Firstly it is important to remember that women had little to no power in ancient Greece, even if they were queens. It is a fair assumption to make that Jocasta had no choice in the matter of marrying Oedipus when he came to Thebes, he was the new king so she would marry him to maintain her power. In considering Jocasta’s innocence it is also important to remember that she did try to kill Oedipus as a baby, which, while morally is a grey zone, shows that she should not be held solely responsible for the prophecy coming true. Jocasta’s innocence could be …show more content…
Oedipus did kill a man, and although he was not aware of his identity at the time, it could still be argued that he is not innocent because he was aware that a prophecy existed and he should not have killed anyone. In the context of an Ancient Greek audience, his act was justifiable, however reading this play in a modern context one must consider the culture of violence in Ancient Greece that could condone such an act. Oedipus’s act in the beginning of the play of cursing whoever Laius’s murderer was to “wear out his life/in misery to miserable doom!” (248-249) by cursing Laius’s murderer, he did curse himself and one could argue that by making this curse, he did somewhat bring upon himself all the tragedy at the end of the play. Jocasta is also not entirely innocent in that she did try to kill her child, which would have cleared her of any guilt in regards to the prophecy but for human morality raises more questions, and in trying to kill her child to prevent the prophecy she would defy the gods, which does not have positive
The authority which Oedipus and Jocasta defy is the same. Both the king and his mother defy the authority of the gods by trying to evade their edict. The edict states that a son would be born to Jocasta who would marry his mother and kill his father, as Oedipus says, “How mating with my mother I must spawn a progeny...having been my father's murderer.” (OEDIPUS, Oedipus, 44). When Jocasta hears of this, she attempts to kill the baby Oedipus, thus trying to escape the prophesy. Similarly, when Oedipus, as an unmarried adult, hears that he would kill his father, he runs away from his home town, Corinth, never to return. Oedipus and Jocasta both defy the gods' authority, which in this case comes in the form of running away from a menacing prophesy. In the end, however, Jocasta dies and Oedipus is overthrown and ruined.
...ead the play or who has assisted to play in person. Oedipus blinding himself at the end of play proves his innocence and that he is misfortunate to be the man who was able to solve the Sphinx's riddle and the man who became Jocasta's husband committing incest by doing so. Oedipus committing the crime against his own father
Justice in Oedipus the King & nbsp; After reading Oedipus the King, one may think that in this story, there was no justice, and nobody could avoid their fate. King Laius and Queen Jocasta. fearing the prophecy of the Delphic oracle, had the young Oedipus left on Mount. Cithaeron dies, but the father dies and the son marries the mother anyway. Oedipus, seemingly a good person, also tries to avoid the second prophecy, only to be resurrected. to fulfill the first. But even through all this, I have done some research and feel that there was justice in Oedipus, The King, and their fate wasn't.
When Jocasta enters the play, the subject of Laius’s murder is heavily discussed. Oedipus’s denial suddenly tries to catch up to him (726-727). However, throughout explaining everything to Jocasta, his denial still prevails by claiming he couldn 't be the murderer (843-848). Throughout both displays of denial (the beginning and Laius’s murder), the text is deeply furthered. His denial furthers the plot and is focused on heavily throughout the text.
First off, Teiresias is hinting at the fact that Oedipus’ relationship with Jocasta is a “sinful union” (Sophocles 36). Oedipus is unable to make the connection between what Teiresias is saying and his own prophecy. Oedipus does not want to acknowledge the fact that he has committed a sin and he avoids learning the truth by remaining ignorant of his true parentage. On top of this, when Teiresias outright tells Oedipus that “the killer [he is] seeking is [himself]” (Sophocles 36). Oedipus refuses to believe this and instead accuses Teiresias of lying and plotting against him. Oedipus, as a known intelligent character, should have listened to Teiresias, who is known for being a wise man; instead, Oedipus puts the blame on Teiresias. Teiresias then goes on to foreshadow that the “taunts” (Sophocles 36) Oedipus is throwing at him will “someday [be] cast at [him]” (Sophocles 36). Oedipus does not take the warning of Teiresias seriously instead he continues to insult Teiresias. Oedipus’ inability to face the truth will result in him being banned and blinding himself for his ignorance. Similarly, Jocasta attempts to prevent Oedipus from gaining knowledge by explaining that “[i]t makes no difference now” (Sophocles 55) and to “[f]orget” (Sophocles 55) what has been told to him. Jocasta not only tries to stop Oedipus from learning the truth, she also tries to stop herself from verifying the truth, this later results in her unfortunate suicide. Also, Jocasta’s ignorance and inability to discover Oedipus’ true past causes her to commit incest, a major sin. Jocasta and Oedipus committing this sin then result in the God’s punishing Thebes. Showing that, ignorance leads to
Since Oedipus had no knowledge of his birth parents, he cannot be accused of knowingly fulfilling the prophecy. He had no understanding of Laius as his birth father upon killing him. One might say that Oedipus is then guilty of murder regardless, but if he had killed in self defense, that cannot be true. Likewise, if Oedipus had no understanding of Jocasta as his birth mother, then he cannot be guilty of incest. Neither can he be guilty of defiling Laius’s marriage bed, as he did not know that Jocasta was the wife of the man he had murdered.
Sophocles intentionally gave certain flaws in character type to Oedipus—he intended a downfall. That was the purpose of all ancient Greek drama: it was meant as “a dramatic reminder of [their] own mortality”. Sophocles used his plays in order to force people to learn at other’s mistake. Oedipus is a perfect example. His tragic flaws, persistence and ignorance caused his inevitable doom
This is implausible because, at the time he killed the old man (his father) he had no idea of the prophecy that foreseen this happening. Even if he would have known about the Gods saying that he would do these things, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. For Oedipus thought his parents were different than who they really were. He had no idea that his real parents knew of the phrophecy and had him put in the mountains with pins in his ankles to die. He had no idea that a sheperd saved him and gave him to the King of Corinth. So he had no idea that the old man he met where the tree roads meet, was his real father, and he had no way of knowing that Jocasta was his real mother. So even if he knew that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother, he wouldn't have know that Laius was his real father and that Jocasta was his real mother. Even though the decisions to kill the old man and sleep with the older women were choices he made, he had no idea that these would be his parents. Also if the Gods make a prophecy, how is it that a mere mortal could change his own fate? A mere mortal cannot even see a God it its true form. So how could Oedipus defeat the prophecy made by a God. Although Oedipus may have been wrong to do what he did, I do not think you can use the word guilty to describe him.
Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492)
Oedipus choses to seek the truth about the murderer of Laius, honourably indeed to save the people of Thebes, but through this choice he in a sense administers his own lethal injection. Oedipus is warned about the consequences of his actions by Teresias when he prophesises the outcome of the search for truth. Due to Oedipus' ego which is built up by the pedestal that the people of Thebes have put him on, he does not accept the help of Teresias and continues to search. His opinion of himself being above the Gods leads him to then again shun the help of Jocasta who once again warns him of the consequences of the search for truth. Oedipus' persistence lands him our criticism, at this point we cannot criticise Jocasta as she tries to help him, and warn him about what will happen is he persists.
...is eyes out and Jocasta would hang herself. The people involved were completely responsible for their actions. Technically, everything that happened in the play was outside the realm of the prophecy since the prophecy was fulfilled before the story even started, so therefore, there is no fate in Oedipus the King!
For Oedipus, prophecy is not the main source of his fall towards society; rather, his hubris blinds himself from recognizing his personal sin in the world, thus leading to his demise. Sophocles even skillfully uses a metaphor through the words “ as led by a guide” to further explain the “supernatural being” that ultimately decides the tragic fate of the family of Oedipus. In addition, through the death of Jocasta, the reader is immediately attuned of Oedipus’ raging moment of violence and will be petrified by the overwhelming power of the gods, thus realizing the importance of being cautious before making a final choice. Indeed, after an individual settles on a decision, the gods take control of the person’s fate, hurling numerous consequences to him if he makes the wrong decision. Moreover, as Oedipus suddenly becomes the unintended victim of the gods through his sinful decision to execute Laius, he is forced to relinquish his predominate impetus for pridefulness in exchange for a heart of deep realization and forgiveness. At the end of the play, Oedipus sacrifices everything in order to remove his guilt through the consequences of his atrocious actions witnessed by the gods. After Oedipus realizes the astringent fate he was destined to encounter through his sinful murder of Laius, he immediately attempts to take responsibility for his
To destroy Oedipus, the gods granted the power of prophecy to oracles that delivered these prophecies to Laius and Jocasta. As a result, they kill their child to get rid of him and his terrible prophecies. Unfortunately, these prophecies came true because Oedipus didn’t know his real parents. If he had known his real parents, he wouldn’t have killed his father and married his mother.
In the play Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus the tragic downfall of Oedipus the King brings forth the question was this outcome determined by his predestined fate or his own actions, and if he can be held accountable for his crime. The argument of Oedipus guilt or innocence dates back for centuries, yet there still is not a clear explanation to which side is accurate. King Laius of Thebes Oedipus’ biological father learned from the oracle that if he wed with Jocasta, he would perish at the hands of his son. To avoid the tragic fate Jocasta and Laius abandoned their infant son to the elements as an attempt to kill him. Subsequently, Oedipus is found and raised by King Polybius of Corinth as his own. Only to later return to Thebes in a desperate
It seems that Jocasta suffers many tragedies, possibly more than Oedipus himself. Using our definition of a tragic hero, Jocasta’s fearful deed is that of giving up her son to death. That turns out to be her downfall and destroys her. However, she does not fit the criteria as a tragic hero. Jocasta did not do a good deed turning her into a hero. She goes through many tragedies, but this only categorizes her as a victim of tragedy. While Oedipus is still the “tragic hero,” he is no longer the main victim in the play.