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Recommended: Character and fate in oedipus rex

“Oedipus the King” is a play write written by Sophocles. I chose to write about this play because I have a fascination with Greek and Roman mythology and this play is a very tragic and famous play. “Oedipus the King” is a very religious play in the Greek world. It can be compared to the biblical story “Jobe”. A tragedy happens when a person, usually a man who is at an equal or higher social status, falls from a high place to a low place.
“Oedipus the King” was a tragic play that wasn’t written for amusement or for humor; it was written as a life lesson. The Greeks would go see this play for reference in their lives. The way Greek plays were written reflected the stages they were preformed on. Most ancient Greek theatres were built out of a mountainside. The setting was painted in the background; therefore their plays took place in one spot. “Oedipus the King” takes place out front of the temple during the whole play and it is written without stage directions.
The protagonist in “Oedipus the King” is King Oedipus. Oedipus is a man of quick action and great insight. At the opening of “Oedipus the King”, we see that these abilities make him an exceptional ruler who foresees his peoples’ needs. When the residents of Thebes beg him to do something about the plague, for example, Oedipus is already ahead of them—he has already sent Creon to go to the oracle at Delphi for instruction. Later, we see that Oedipus’s tendency of acting quickly has a hazardous side. When he tells the story of killing the gang of travelers who tried to shove him off the three-way crossroads, Oedipus shows that he has the ability to act thoughtlessly.
The major conflict in “Oedipus the King” is the conflict between fate and himself. He hears that his fate ...

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...Sophocles doesn't want us to judge him for that, but pity him. This happened to Oedipus because of an ancient curse on his family for a crime committed by an ancestor. Oedipus actions, though show that he managed to remain honorable and brave through all of this. He was a brave man during his life, and a good king. When he found out the truth, he didn't commit suicide, like his mother did, but punished himself by plucking out his eyes. He left his kingdom and lived as a beggar in the mountain Cithaeron, so that his subjects wouldn't have to suffer because of his crimes and so that no one would be able to see his shame. He also left his children, because he didn't want them to live a cursed life in shame with him. In the sequel to Oedipus Rex, Oedipus in Colonus, Oedipus is absolved because of his honorable behaviour, his endurance and his stoicism during his ordeal.

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