Free Essays on Oedipus The King

The fall of Oedipus, in â€Å"Oedipus the King†, by Sophocles is caused by a combination of destiny, fate and free will. The gods do not force him to do these exact actions but they do influence him by telling him the prophecy. It was foretold that he was to kill his father and marry his mother but not how he was to commit the crimes of murder and incest. Destiny and fate decide how it all ended but it is his own free will that would decide how he would fulfill it. The events in Sophocles â€Å"Oedipus the King† illustrate the relationship between mortal free will and the looming fate, or â€Å"great plan.† The Greeks believed the universe was guided for some larger purpose of the gods. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Both the concept of fate and free will played a large part in Oedipus’ very own destruction. Even though he is a victim of his own fate, he isn’t controlled by it. Oedipus is destined from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father. This prophecy, as warned by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was unconditional and eventually would come to pass, no matter what he may have done to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, he did so of his own will. The idea that we, as human beings alone, have the capacity to determine our own life (whether we turn toward sin or virtue) is the idea of free will in our lives and in Oedipus’. From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus takes many actions leading to his own downfall. Oedipus could have waited for the plague to clear, but out of compassion for his suffering people, he had Creon go to Delphi. When he learned of Apollo's word, he could have calmly investigated the murder of the former King Lauis, but in his hastiness, he passionately curses the murderer, and in so, unknowingly curses himself. "Upon the murderer I invoke this curse- whether he is one man a... Free Essays on Oedipus The King Free Essays on Oedipus The King The fall of Oedipus, in â€Å"Oedipus the King†, by Sophocles is caused by a combination of destiny, fate and free will. The gods do not force him to do these exact actions but they do influence him by telling him the prophecy. It was foretold that he was to kill his father and marry his mother but not how he was to commit the crimes of murder and incest. Destiny and fate decide how it all ended but it is his own free will that would decide how he would fulfill it. The events in Sophocles â€Å"Oedipus the King† illustrate the relationship between mortal free will and the looming fate, or â€Å"great plan.† The Greeks believed the universe was guided for some larger purpose of the gods. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Both the concept of fate and free will played a large part in Oedipus’ very own destruction. Even though he is a victim of his own fate, he isn’t controlled by it. Oedipus is destined from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father. This prophecy, as warned by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was unconditional and eventually would come to pass, no matter what he may have done to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, he did so of his own will. The idea that we, as human beings alone, have the capacity to determine our own life (whether we turn toward sin or virtue) is the idea of free will in our lives and in Oedipus’. From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus takes many actions leading to his own downfall. Oedipus could have waited for the plague to clear, but out of compassion for his suffering people, he had Creon go to Delphi. When he learned of Apollo's word, he could have calmly investigated the murder of the former King Lauis, but in his hastiness, he passionately curses the murderer, and in so, unknowingly curses himself. "Upon the murderer I invoke this curse- whether he is one man a... Free Essays on Oedipus The King -means new paragraphI thought Oedipus the King was a good story. I think it was smart of Sophocles to pick out the most significant, life altering phase in Oedipus’ life to bring to the stage. I also really respect how Sophocles took the myth of Oedipus and put all of the details of the story into it. I think it’s somewhat amazing how he took something that supposedly happened and gave the people exact dialogue and specific feelings. I realize that Oedipus the King is only a myth and that all Sophocles needed was a creative mind, but I still respect him. Being as Oedipus the King’s storyline was already laid out, I can’t blame Sophocles for some of the events I didn’t agree with. First of all, I know I shouldn’t laugh at this myth because the ancient Greeks actually believed it, but I did. The Sphinx was a monster with the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of a bird. I just think it’s weird that someone would actually make up a story with something like the Sphinx in it. It sounds like something out of a science fiction story, and I just don’t like science fiction. Next, why did Oedipus gouge his eyes out? I understand why Oedipus would do something so drastic in the instant he learned the foul deeds he committed, but I thought he would have killed himself just as his mom/wife Jocasta did. That is, until I realized in a way he wanted to suffer because he believed he deserved it. Finally, there was one part of Oedipus the King that I didn’t like and can blame on Sophocles. That was the part where the chorus seems to go on and on about the gods and how Apollo and Zeus should save them. They chanted on about how they would never go to Delphi or another temple if Oedipus’ story wouldn’t come true. I did not like reading that part at all and consider it a waste of Sophocles’ talent. In Oedipus the King, I thought Oedipus ... Free Essays on Oedipus The King Throughout the play Oedipus the King the theme of blindness can be seen. Sophocles uses Tiresias as a major vehicle in establishing this theme. Tiresias’ physical blindness is used to accentuate Oedipus’ blindness to the truth of his past, and present. Tiresias is a prophet of Apollo and can see the corruption of Oedipus’ life despite the fact that he is blind and therefore cannot physically see. Oedipus, however, has physical sight yet is blind to the truth of his life. As the citizens of Thebes are told to find the killer of Laius to end the plague that has fallen on the city, Oedipus issues a curse upon the killer and those who aid the murderer in remaining hidden. He even goes so far as to issue the curse unto himself: â€Å"I curse myself as well†¦ if by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house, here at my hearth, with my full knowledge may the curse I just called down on him strike me!† (Sophocles line 285). Tiresias then informs Oedipus, reluctantly, on the reality of the situation. He tells Oedipus that he is the â€Å"corruption of the land† that is causing the plague upon Thebes. Tiresias practically spells out what Oedipus will do to himself once he realizes the truth of his pa st, and the corruption of the present that it has caused; yet Oedipus still refuses to see reality. It is not until a conversation with his wife Jocasta that Oedipus starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Slowly but surely Oedipus and the rest of Thebes are presented with evidence revealing the truth about Oedipus’ birth and the circumstances leading to his present situation. No longer able to deny the validity of Tiresias’ accusations, Oedipus blinds himself with the pins that had held up Jocasta’s robes. The significance of Oedipus blinding himself in the end is great. He blinds the eyes that did not help him to see the reality of his world. The truth that Oedipus now understands is too much for h... Free Essays on Oedipus The King Oedipus’s Tragedy Through the story of â€Å"Oedipus, the King,† Sophocles illustrates the irony of tragic discovery and fate. The story of Oedipus was well known to the Athenians. Oedipus is the embodiment of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, powerful, rich, and strong willed. Ironically, these are the very traits, which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the Sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus’ life and to further characterize him as a tragic man. The Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of Thebes: â€Å"What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?† Oedipus correctly answered â€Å"Man† and became the king of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers. Also man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and well being. Oedipus was the child of Jocasta and King Laius, who was taken to the mountain by a shepherd to be killed so the omen of the god Apollo that Laius’ son would kill him and lay with Jocasta, would not come true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point. If it has not been for the shepherd sparing his life and giving him to Polybus to rise as his own Oedipus would have died. Man walks on 2 feet when he has matured. This is a metaphor for Oedipus when he reaches adulthood and leaves Corinth to escape the oracle. Oedipus meets up with a band of travelers and in a rage kills them. Inadvertently, Oedipus has killed his own father. Oedipus then answers the riddle of the Sphinx and becomes king of Thebes. By becoming king of Thebes he marries Jocasta the Queen of Thebes, who his own mother. Many years later after b... Free Essays on Oedipus The King What a Tale! Destiny, incest, and irony are just a few words that describe this breath-taking tale. Who would of thought that the story of â€Å"Oedipus the King† would be so interesting. From my research, I discovered that this tale was written by Sophocles between 441-427 B.C.E (Oedipus 2). The meaning of the story simply says that even if one tries to change their destiny, one will not succeed (Oedipus). In this story, the king and queen of Thebes ordered their servant to get rid of Oedipus, their son, because of the oracle of Delphi prophecy (son will marry his other and produce offspring with her). Surprisingly, the servant could not kill the child so he left child to be found by someone. Luckily enough, a shepherd discovered the child and gave Oedipus to the king and queen of Cornith. There Oedipus grew up thinking that the couple was his true family. As Oedipus grew up, he began to question his relation to the king and queen of Cornith. To solve this problem, he visited the ora cle of Delphi. There, Oedipus was told that he would marry his mother and produce offspring with her. Not knowing who his real parents were, Oedipus feared the prophecy and did not return home. In his search for a new home, he got into some trouble. Oedipus mistakenly killed an old, which turned out to be his father. From the altercation he headed for the city of Thebes. As Oedipus journeyed to Thebes he came upon the Sphinx. The Sphinx told him if he answered the riddle correctly he could pass, but if answered wrong the Sphinx would eat him. Oedipus quickly answered the question and the Sphinx died. Soon the city was amazed by his conquest and made him the new king who just happened to be Laius’s thrown. With king Laius’s thrown, Oedipus married his mother Jocasta. Oedipus ruled the kingdom fairly and four children, until one day things went wrong. A plaque took over the city and the townspeople wanted him to put a stop to it. As a result ...