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Analysis of oedipus character
Analysis of oedipus character
Tragedy as a theme in Oedipus
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Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.” According to the belief in Greek philosophy, is the belief that someone’s fate is determined by their actions and decisions that have been made in their life. The Greeks believed that fate is accepted because it is difficult to avoid. According to Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is in control of his own fate, though not until the point at which he seeks out the Oracle’s to ask about his past. He could have gone to the seer, instead, he takes action on his own which entirely changes his fate. The prophecy was destined, for Oedipus, to marry his mother and kill his father. Oedipus’ became a victim of fate. In order for us to determine …show more content…
Oedipus cannot accept the fate that he cannot avoid his fate. He tried with the best intentions and the highest use of his freedom to replace with a different outcome. He does his best to escape the horrific fate given to him, but he fails. He is found by his fate and not his free will. Some people claim that he went to change his fate, with his own actions, was the cause of his downfall, however one would argue the opposite. One believe that because the inevitable of fate, that in fact was his downfall. Despite some of the mistakes Oedipus has made in his life, in this tragedy it becomes true. Oedipus does what he can to avoid his fate and save him from the worse fate but eventually fails because his destiny bounds him to do accordingly. Oedipus, sadly has failed and fate, on the other hand, has won. The role of fate on Oedipus is …show more content…
The fate of Oedipus concludes that Oedipus’ motives for killing his father, Laius, and wedding his mother, Jocasta, it does not take away from the horrific amount of tragedies that had been committed. When he gouges out his eyes, Oedipus is accepting the full burden of his acts and knows that he must be punished by his negligent fate. In addition to the chorus, they conclude this tragedy is by warning the Greeks, that the only way to happiness is through mortality and dignity towards the Gods. They also warn not to take anything for granted, or suffer fates like that of Oedipus. Here we observe that destiny has totally won and the fate has proved that no man can deny his sorrow and
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.
Even though "fate" seems to determine Oedipus' life, he does, in fact, have a free will.
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.
If prophecy were to be real, one could expect what is bound to happen in the future. This is true; at least in “Oedipus the King” in which the protagonist, Oedipus calls forth his doom unwillingly. Fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person. The author of “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, writes a tragic fate that Oedipus was born to experience. Fate is what is meant to happen and cannot be avoided or unchanged. Furthermore, events that lead to other events could be the result for one to meet their fate. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles expresses the nature of fate to be determined upon choices made.
Oedipus was not composed by his fate; he was responsible for his own conduct. From his very birth Oedipus was predetermined to marry his mother and murder his father. His situation was inevitable. Although Apollo exhorted the prophecy in Delphi, this event only drove Oedipus to fulfill his destiny.
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.
“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.
As predicted from the Oracle, Oedipus fate will be to kill his own father and marry his mother, he discovers that he has already fulfilled his fate by his insistent in knowing the truth. Oedipus is given a series of choice in discovering his identity or leaving it to up to fate throughout the play. His egotistical and persistent nature lead him to thoughtlessly make the incorrect decisions, consequently, it is Oedipus’s burden that the tragedy is revealed, not the responsibility of fate. In the mean well Oedipus and those close to him consider “fate” the main reason of Oedipus downfall. To the audience it shows something totally different, Oedipus is ultimately responsible for his tragedy. Possibly the most evident reason Oedipus is accountable is that by the end of the play Oedipus has taken responsibility for his actions. Oedipus states, "Now loathed by the gods, son of the mother I defiled coupling in my fathers bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. What grief can crown this grief? It's mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus!" (Sophocles 1492). Oedipus obviously sta...
The story Oedipus Rex is a ghastly, heartrending story of three people who are being controlled by fate. Jocasta, Laius, and Oedipus try their hardest to avoid their fate that will ultimately destroy them. In the end Laius dies by the hand of his own son, Jocasta kills herself because she can’t bear the embarrassment that she slept with her son, and Oedipus becomes blind because of a curse and is left to wander his days waiting for death. Their destiny won and they are left dealing with the consequences.
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.
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
In fact, Oedipus is doomed to kill his father, marry his mother and finally to be blind. It was his destiny or fate; he has nothing to do with this end or to prevent it. It was his fate which was manipulating him; drive him from Cornith to kill his father and then to Thebes to marry his mother. His destiny made him "his wife's son, his mother husband." By the hands of fate, he turned to be the most hated man in Thebes and "the man whose life is hell for others and for himself."
From the very beginning, Oedipus was destined to fulfill Apollo's prophecy of killing his father. Even though King Lauis tries to kill Oedipus to stop the fulfillment of this shameful prophecy, fate drives the Corinthian messenger to save Oedipus. What the gods fortell will come true and no human can stop it from happening, not even the kings. Oedipus is once again controlled by this power when he leaves the place of his child hood after he hears that he is to kill his father and marry his mother. "I shall shrink from nothing...to find the the murderer of Laius...You are the murderer..." Oedipus tried to stop the prophecy from coming true by leaving Corinth and only fate can make Oedipus turn to the road where he kills his true father. Leaving Corinth makes Oedipus lose his childhood by making him worry of such issues young people should not have to worry about and becoming a king of a strange land. Last of all, Oedipus carries the last part of the prophecy out, marrying his mother. " I would... never have been known as my mother's husband. Oedipus has no control over the outcome of his life. Fate causes Oedipus to have known the answer to the Sphinx's riddle and win his marriage to his mother, Jocasta. Had fate not intervened, the chances of marrying Jocasta would have been small since there is an enourmous number of people and places to go. Oedipus loses his sense of dignity after he discovers he is not only a murderer, but also that he had committed incest.
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.
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.