Oedipus Rex by Sophocles shows the readers that people may want an event to happen, but if it is destined to happen there is no escape or what someone wanted to come out of the event may not happen. When faced with the truth, everyone has options; what matters is not the information revealed, but rather how people choose to deal with reality of how those decisions change lives. Laius and Jocasta’s choices of killing Oedipus on a mountain, and trying to deny his prophecy, that he would kill his father and marry his mother, was dramatically changed when he was saved by a servant. Oedipus wants to be a great king, however his life problems limited his possibilities to rule Thebes. Jocasta tries everything possible so that Oedipus does not find out the truth, however he continues to search and he eventually finds out the truth about his family and childhood, which leads to a lot of tragedy. All of the tragedies that have happened in Oedipus’ life have always started with Laius and Jocasta, and a prophecy.
Laius and Jocasta’s wanting to kill Oedipus was the cause of all of the problems. When Laius and Jocasta heard the prophecy, they were not thinking correctly. Destiny was bound to happen no matter what they did. The servant wanting to keep Oedipus alive rather than dead, made it easier for the prophecy to become true; “I pitied the boy,
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Oedipus had gods that planned for all that happen to him and the people around him, just like we have God that has planned every little part of our lives. As Oedipus has shown the readers, there is no escape from destiny. Destiny will happen no matter what events try to interfere with it. It is better to accept destiny rather than trying to fight it. If Laius and Jocasta would not have tried to fight destiny, then life later on might have been easier for the people of Thebes, and the people in Oedipus’
Oedipus was cursed when he was a baby and found out his destiny when the god Apollo showed him a vision saying “You are fated to couple with your mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see- you will kill your father, the one who gave you life!” (Sophocles 873-875) However, Oedipus did not know that the ones who found him and raised him as his son were not his parents. After the prophecy, Oedipus decided to run away to try to change his fate even though it was already set to kill his father and sleep with his mother, unfortunately he couldn’t do anything about it. “Its mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus!”
Truth is one of the most desirable things. Yet, often times humans can not tell the difference between lies and reality. Living under a falsehood would seem normal to people living on a lie for it is the truth to them. Sophocles and Steven Spielberg emphasize this point in their literature: Oedipus the King and Minority Report. The truth can shatter a human's illusion about the world they are living in .
Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, is really a story about the necessity of placing more faith in others and their counsel than in oneself and one’s own beliefs. Repeatedly the titular character is pleaded with to listen to and accept the advice of those around him and each time he refuses to obey. Ultimately, Oedipus’ tendency to do perform the actions he would prefer to do rather than to allow his family to help guide him leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. A common characteristic of Greek tragedy is the “fatal flaw” of the main character and how this flaw leads to the character’s misfortune.
From the beginning Oedipus was destined to fulfill a terrible prophecy, but through particular events that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey, Oedipus becomes a powerful king of Thebes, only to be destroyed by the prophecy that should have ended his life as a child. The Hero’s Journey typically leads to self-confidence and power, however; the Hero’s Journey of Oedipus leads to his tragic demise. The Hero’s Journey lays out the steps of Oedipus’s future actions, which create suspense, fear, pity, and other emotions that captivates the audience. Similar to many famous stories, Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles in 430 B.C., follows the Hero’s Journey path, which is evident in Oedipus’s departure, initiation, and return.
Imagine being told your future fate without knowing if it’s true, when it will happen, or even if you can prevent it. One king, Oedipus, in particular, was living that very reality. His fate was uncovered early on by a prophecy, so he lived life trying to run from that fate. Yet, he unknowingly lived that very life later on. He led a life of incest, committed a heinous crime, and was burdened with suffering after the acts were revealed.
Oedipus’ tragedy as a result of his freely made decisions Are people truly responsible for their actions or they are just puppets in hand of Gods or people and executors of the fate that is pre-recorded? The question of determinism towards free will has occupied humankind almost over the centuries. Usually fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls the individuals and influence their decisions and actions. In ancient Greece the religion played important role in everyday-life of the Greeks. The concept of fate had the prominent place in the Greek religion.
In Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, the conflict of Man vs. Fate along with values such as pride and determination for the truth present in Oedipus can be witnessed throughout the story. The conflict of Man vs. Fate is very apparent throughout the story. Prior to the birth of Oedipus, his birth parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes received a prophecy from Apollo’s oracle that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. In hopes to avoid fate the prophecy foretells; Laius and Jocasta send Oedipus with a shepherd servant with orders to leave him for dead on Mount Cithaeron.
In the playwright “Oedipus the King”, by Sophocles, the protagonist Oedipus has learned that his prophecy is destined for him to marry his mother Jocasta
Due to Oedipus being oblivious to his life story and his surroundings, his downfall could have perhaps been avoided in the end. This just shows how one wrong choice can bring a life filled with pain and misfortune. Oedipus was a very well-liked and admired individual; who was unfortunately never meant to live. After being born, his mother was warned that he could one day grow up to kill his own father; and at that moment it was decided that Oedipus needed to face death in order to prevent such an awful thing from taking place.
Introduction The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.
Niya Kebreab King Oedipus: Moral Ambiguity In the play King Oedipus, Sophocles depicts Oedipus’ inevitable downfall, which represents man’s struggle between free will and fate. In an attempt to use the audience’s knowledge to his advantage, Sophocles opens the play seventeen years after Oedipus murders his father, Laius and marries his mother, Jocasta. The sequence in which the story unravels reveals the strong psychological focus towards Oedipus’ character. In search of his identity, Oedipus’ enigmatic quality and moral ambiguity compels readers to question whether his ignorance renders him morally blameless.
Oedipus fulfilled his prophecy but through Jocasta, his agent of demise, he finds refuge. When Oedipus is exposed to being abandoned by his parents, Jocasta admits that Oedipus will be miserable if he keeps searching for answers. Oedipus's tragedy is caused by Jocasta but is made through his ignorance. In Aristotelian tragedy, the hero must go through a peripeteia, a reversal of fortune, instead of dying in order to learn a lesson. “For the king ripped from her gown the golden brooches… raised them, and plunged them
Oedipus was getting hints of his prophecy and knowledge. King Oedipus hears Laius prophecy, thebes is looking for laius murder to bring healing to the city. Jocasta doesn't want him to keep searching because she is afraid. “I feel that my own curse now begins to descend on me.” (line 703, part 2)
Truly, Oedipus sets out to change his destiny. His self determination proves he has pride in himself and confidence that he can somehow change the future. When Oedipus killed his father he allowed his pride and arrogance to control him. He was thinking with his pride and did not use self control. This hubris that is instilled in Oedipus is a serious flaw of his.
The destiny that Oedipus was attempting to avoid, was the destiny that he was also fulfilling. Fate is defined as a destined outcome; nothing can alter that no matter what is tried. Anyway, it was too late for Oedipus to do anything about it, for the many factors that contributed to his death were irreversible and dormant until the very ironically tragic end. Oedipus tried to master fate and it ultimately mastered him.