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Fate In Sophocles Oedipus The King

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How does one go from wealthy and powerful to nobody? Is it due to bad choices or is it fate that cannot be changed. In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is the great and smart king of Thebes who defeated the sphinx but he ends up as a beggar wandering the land alone. Oedipus should have known that he could not escape his fate given to him by the oracle in Delphi by fleeing his home in Corinth. Oedipus wanted the truth but when he was given it, he refused to believe it. When he finally realizes the truth about himself he cannot bare living among the people of Thebes anymore.
“What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening? Man.” That was the riddle that defeated the sphinx and got Oedipus all his fame. Since Oedipus saved the people of Thebes he became the king. Oedipus made it well known that he was great, “ I came to be your messenger myself, Oedipus, whose name is greatest known and greatest feared.” (6-8) He may seem arrogant but he did defeat the sphinx, which nobody else could. The fate of Oedipus was to kill his father and marry his mother. When he first learned of his fate he decided to leave his home and stay away. He says, “I must never go where my …show more content…

To show the transformation the mask is split into two sides. The left side is the before the truth. The left side is painted purple because it is a royal color to represent Oedipus as a king. His left eye is blue because that color represents truth. Oedipus was looking for the truth but that was his downfall. On the other side of the mask is black to show that after he found the truth he entered into a dark place. He could no longer live in Thebes and see his family and people. His eye on the right will be red to represent blood because he removed what lead him to the truth. Even when he could see he was blinded from the truth so he must leave Thebes and punish

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