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Character analysis of oedipus
Analysis of the characters of the tragedy oedipus the king
Analysis of the characters of the tragedy oedipus the king
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Although it is widely alleged that destiny is by choice, there are a vast number of people who believed that it is by fate. Those who believed it is by choice follow the directions and guidance of their elders. For example, they will try to hold on to the values that their parents instilled in them and use them to guide their entire lives. Others who believed that destiny is by fate, believe that the outcome of their lives is determined by luck, and that no matter what they do or how careful they are, whatever has to happen to them must happen. These proponents that emphasize that destiny is by fate may have gotten their belief from myth such as the story of Oedipus, which is a perfect illustration of how destiny is by fate. Just like most mythical stories, the characters in this story tried unsuccessfully to change fate to suit them. However, as you are about to see, fate cannot change. It can only be redirected, but will still eventually achieve its objective.
At the beginning of the plot there were the king and queen of Thebes: Laius and Jocasta. It’s been stated that Apollo told Laius that if he wanted to save his kingdom, he must die without offspring (Parada). Being as stubborn as all mythological figures do, he and his wife still wanted children. So they went to the Oracle of Delphi about their childlessness. It was prophesied that if he had son, the son would kill him and marry his mother. Laius didn’t take this warning seriously, but when his son, Oedipus, was born, he knew he had to kill him (Fun Trivia). So he pinned his feet together and gave him to the shepherd to do his dirty work. The shepherd took pity on Oedipus (that’s how he got his name, by his injury) and gave him to Polybus and Merope, king and quee...
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...f, your family, and your upcoming family generations a lot of problems. And this is why I considered that destiny is by choice.
Works Cited
Berg, Stephen, trans. Oedipus the King. Library of Congress and Cataloging, 1978. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. 2nd ed. Chelsea House Publications, February 2007. Print. Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations.
"Oedipus." Fun Facts, Questions, Answers, Information. Fun Trivia, Apr. 2006. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. .
"Oedipus." Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Dec. 2006. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. .
Parada, Carlos. Oedipus. Maicar Förlag, 1997. Greek Mythology Link. Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology Biographies, 1997. Web. 2 Dec. 2009.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Fagles. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack et al. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1992.
Dodds, E. R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays.
Sophocles. The Oedipus Cycle. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Harvest/HBJ-Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1939.
Dodds, E.R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Greece & Rome, Second Series 13.1 (1996): 37-49. Jstor. Muntz Lib., Tyler, TX. 21 Mar. 2009.
Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.
...that fate. Events that lead to other events will eventually lead one to their fate. “Oedipus the King” is a great play that sets an example of what fate is. Oedipus chooses to flee from home, in attempt to avoid the god’s statement of his fate from coming true. However, Oedipus’s decision for fleeing is what was necessary to make his fate come true. Undoubtedly, this is what was meant to happen because Oedipus allowed it to. Perhaps if Oedipus ignored the god and never did a thing then perhaps the outcome could have been different for Oedipus. However it did not turn out that way and the choices that Oedipus made is what led him to his doom.
The "Oedipus the King." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed.
Fate is the belief that a person's life is being controlled by destiny while free will is the belief that a person's life is being controlled by themselves where they choose how to live their life and without an external force. Although this topic has divided people for many centuries, many famous poets and authors have used this to their advantage. One example of fate versus free will is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus Rex should be considered to be categorized as a free will drama because of several events that happen that shows Oedipus free will, such as the example of the messenger telling Jocasta the good news, 2“MESSENGER: The people of Isthmus will choose Oedipus to be their king. That is the rumor there.” (1061-1062) The Messenger
Dodds, E. R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Michael J. O'Brien.
What does it mean to have free will? From my perspective it is the ability to make your own decisions when confronted with problems in order to have an outcome you desire. According to dictionary.com it is “the doctrine that the conduct of human being expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces.” Even with humans being capable of choosing their own destiny, is it possible to over come fate no matter how hard you try? There is a theory of life that is summarized as everything happens for a reason because that is your destiny. My confusion is, can free will come into play and change your destiny? Can you actually have the free will to change the outcome of what fate has in store for you. Free will and fate are continuously demonstrated in Oedipus the King the play, how ever only one brought Oedipus towards downfall and ultimately to his death. An analysis of Oedipus reveals that no matter how we try to avoid our fate, it will happen.
Dodds, E.R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Michael J. O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice, 2005. Print.
Works Cited:.. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.
O’Brien, Micheal. “Introduction.” 20th Centruy Interpretations of Oedipus Rex. Ed. Micheal O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 8-10. Print.
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.
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 where ever 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.