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Innocent Or Guilty In Oedipus The King

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The topic of Oedipus being innocent or guilty for his acts is contemplated amongst many. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is on a search to take revenge upon whoever murdered King Laios; however, throughout the course of the play, Oedipus discovers that the assassin is himself, fulfilling his destiny. Through my eyes, Oedipus is innocent because he committed such acts unknowingly. He proves himself innocent through his continuous honor to himself, the Gods, and his people by fleeing from Corinth because of the prophecy, performing self-defense when encountering the King, and by brutally punishing himself for his unknowing acts. Oedipus is innocent of killing who he believes is his biological father, Polybos, because he flees from Corinth to avoid …show more content…

Both the Messenger and Oedipus prove that Oedipus is innocent for not killing his father because it is clear he was nowhere near Polybos when the misfortune occurs. It is evident that Oedipus is innocent in this specific situation because he did what any innocent person would do; he flees Corinth because he wants to fight the prophecy and avoid killing his parents. Oedipus does not know any better, and trusts that he is running away from his biological parents, but is rather running right towards them because he is unaware that his true parents are in …show more content…

During Oedipus’s quest to “know thyself”, the Messenger from Corinth tells Oedipus that, “Polybos was not your father” (1333; 3.101). Next, the Shepherd becomes the last person to finally give Oedipus the last bit of honesty to complete his search of his origin. The Shepherd exposes that it is Oedipus wife, Jocasta that gave the baby to him and was told to get rid of it due to the oracle. In this moment, the world is set back in order. Although, ashamed for her dishonesty, Jocasta hangs herself and takes her own life away. On the other hand, Oedipus brutally punishes himself for his unknowingly wrong doings, proving that he is innocent because he simply did not know any better since the truth had been hidden from him all along. To punish himself, Oedipus rips the golden brooches from his wife’s clothing, “…and plunged them

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