Drake DeWildt
World Literature
Ms. Duncan
8 January, 2023 Oedipus The King by Nicholas Rudall In life many events are bound to happen, but along with that you are able to make many choices of your own. In Oedipus The King the main character Oedipus is forced to make decisions while Teiresius unveils his fate. The king accuses others for the cause of the previous kings death with the only intent to have the people favor him for avenging his death, but his fate reveals the truth. The play Oedipus The King by Nicholas Rudall explores fate versus free will in order to demonstrate the fact that some events in life cannot be controlled while others can be. This is shown through Oedipus living out his prophecy, or fate, by killing his father,
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Life sets this and it can never be changed. Oedipus was born with a prophecy, he would kill his father and marry his mother. His father was King Laius and his mother was Jocasta. This was to be his fate for life. He cannot change this in any way. Before Teiresius leaves, he ends off by saying, “To his children he will be both brother and father. To her who gave him birth both son and husband. And to his father he will be both killer and the man who shared his bed” (Rudall 5 Part 1). This quote shows that Oedipus was destined to murder his father and marry his mother. He cannot escape this …show more content…
We can make many choice such as what to eat or what outfit to wear. You also have a choice on who to accuse when there is a problem, but you should do this with proper evidence. Oedipus decides to accuse others of murdering their previous king, King Laius. He does this with no evidence and brings much trouble upon himself. While struggling to understand why Teiresius was accusing him, Oedipus then chooses to accuse Creon, “He then suspects that Creon is behind the plot: Creon is jealous of Oedipus’s power and wants to overthrow him, Oedipus says” (Rudall 4 Part 1). This shows that Oedipus is choosing to accuse another person without any evidence that they murdered the former king. In conclusion, Oedipus choosing to accuse others leads to bad consequences for the new
Oedipus sees what he wants if it makes him innocent. Oedipus’ altercations with others
Fate is the predetermination of the events in one’s life by the gods in the way of Greek mythology. Mortals are subject to their fate and are left with no choice but to let it play out in their lives. The idea of challenging fate and the gods will is a recurring theme in greek mythology, such as in The Theban Plays, by Sophocles. Sophocles uses the main characters in The Theban Plays as key examples to the audience of people whose overzealous hubris and overwhelming curiosity inevitably lead them down the path of their misfortunate fate. Oedipus’s life is bombarded with challenging decisions that lead to the exposure of his few flaws that every human possesses.
Creon did not want to rashly banish Oedipus from the land. He was going to await an answer from the god. However, Oedipus was not satisfied with that answer. Despite Creon’s desire to wait for a response, Oedipus felt convinced that he deserved banishment from the kingdom at once. Oedipus believed he deserved to suffer for everything he did and only sought to torture himself rather than appease the gods.
Although he was ashamed of the life he had been living, he realized that the mistakes were his own, and no one can bear the weight but him. He even said it himself “No one but me can bear this weight.” The grave consequences which Oedipus suffered in the end consisted of the loss of his mother/ wife by suicide, as well as his grief becoming a threat to himself, as he stabbed his own eyes out, blinding him permanently. After suffering dreadful pain from these actions in grief, Oedipus went on to face the other consequences given by the gods and Creon. He cursed himself many times in the book saying that whoever killed Laius should be banished or killed, and he would even go on to be cursed by his wrongful actions of incest.
In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and agency are very strong throughout the play. Both sides of the argument can be greatly supported. The attributes of a person have either a positive or negative affect on the choices that they make. For Oedipus, his main attribute was the desire for knowledge and understanding about his own life. Because of this strong will and desire, this was Oedipus’ driving force in the play to lead him to the truth of his beginnings.
Background Information: In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus was told that he would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. However, Oedipus doesn’t believe that he killed Laius but was blind to the truth for him accept it which led to his demise. 3.Thesis Statement:
Jackson Gemmell Ms. Allen English/World Literature 13 January 2023 “Oedipus the King” Essay The play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a play about how people should not mess with fate. The play by Sophocles displays the tragic life of Oedipus and his struggle of having to accept his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus tries so much to take steps to stop his fate but fails because he can not change fate and he is completely powerless against his fate. The play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles explores fate vs free will in order to show that fate always overpowers free will.
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.
Teiresias offers a harsh critique of how Oedipus behaves when he entered Thebes, seeing him as cocky and ignorant when the king refuses to accept Teiresias's prophecy. Teiresias emphasizes the ability of free will by encouraging Oedipus’s decision to let him go. Teiresias is an obstacle at the beginning of the play as he tests the idea of free will by being the personified representation of fate since he is a prophet. The argument between Oedpius and Teirsias also represents the conflict between fate vs free will. Oedipus is a representation of free will and the consequences of making bad decisions, bad decisions that were led by his sour judgment.
Furthermore, people have contemplated the impact/control of divine or heinous power as determining the freedom of humans in making principled choices. The two major themes in Sophocles ' Oedipus the King are fate and free will, although only one of the two led to his atrophy and death. The Greeks widely recognized the role of Fate as something that represented a frightening, unstoppable force. It was deliberated to be fundamental in one’s daily life.
First, he was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta, he was so blind that he got mad at anyone that would even suggest an idea such as that. As the story went on though, Oedipus could no longer run from the truth; he was forced to open his eyes to the reality and truth of his life. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother; he is the brother to his own kids and the son of his own mother. Oedipus was the one that was causing all of the downfall and bad times in Thebes.
In many people’s eyes, it is seen that fate is something that one can not escape. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus gives a speech to the citizens of Thebes, about the murder of their previous leader, Laius. And in this speech, he explains the hardship that the murderer will have to eventually face. In Oedipus’s speech from Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses the literary device of dramatic irony to develop the central idea that fate is destined to happen, and can possibly bring more intensified consequences when avoided. If one tries to escape their fate, the conflicts that occur can be more severe than they were supposed to be. One can infer that what Oedipus is stating will eventually happen to him in the end of the play, if he is classified as the murderer.
The Freedom of Oedipus is the Freedom of Thebes: Why Oedipus Cannot be Free Until the Truth is Exposed In Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus, the theme of human fate versus free will is explored in the age-old tale of the king of Thebes who inadvertently murdered his father and married his mother. The play opens with Oedipus, a strong man and compassionate leader whom the audience can easily admire. By the closing of the play, a journey of self-discovery has lead Oedipus to his fall from kingship and exile from the city he loves, as well as the suicide of his wife and his self-blinding.
So in the end, Oedipus no longer thinks of himself. Thinking of his children 's impending marriage, Oedipus begs for his children and no longer can think of himself as anything more than a creature that embodies what it means to be pathetic: “When you come to the age ripe for marriage, who will he be who will run the risk, children, to take for himself the reproaches that will be banes for my parents and offspring alike? What evil is absent? Your father slew his father; he ploughed his mother, where he himself was sown, and he sired you in the same fount where he himself was sired.
Since the earliest of times, there has always been debate over the concepts of fate and free will. The most frequent dispute is whether or not man truly has free will, or if fate is the ultimate determinant of how one's life will turn out. One play that depicts this concept is Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. In this tragedy, Oedipus receives a prophecy that he would bed his mother and murder his father. After learning of this prophecy, Oedipus attempts to undo fate and utilize his free will to escape what would be his destiny.