Is Oedipus Guilty Or Innocent Essay

Imagine a life where you are guilty of killing your father and marrying your mother. In Oedipus the King, this is the unfortunate reality of the main character, Oedipus. In the tragedy by Sophocles, written around 430 b.c., the question of whether Oedipus is guilty or innocent of these things is presented. However, he is both guilty and innocent. Oedipus is innocent of his behaviors because he isn’t aware that his parents are the victims of his actions, but he is also guilty because he fulfills the prophecy saying he would kill his father and marry his mother and for trying to outsmart the gods and place himself above them. Oedipus is both guilty and innocent for his actions. He is innocent in the sense that he was unaware that it is his father that he kills and his mother that he marries and has children with. In other words, Oedipus suffers from hamartia, a lack of knowledge or failure to see. In the play, Oedipus inquires for more information while trying to figure out who the Laius’ killer is, so he can end the plague in Thebes. He is unaware that he is actually searching for himself. When Oedipus experiences agnorisis, he says: “Oh, oh then …show more content…
Oedipus is innocent of his behaviors because he isn’t aware that his parents are the victims of his actions, but he is also guilty because he fulfills the prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother and for trying to outsmart the gods and put himself above them. In this tragedy, a clear observation about the human condition can be seen. It is that just because a person can physically see, does not mean he or she is not blind. Just like Oedipus, people tend to overlook things and fail to see the truth about a matter. Humans only want to see good things, so they may be blind to bad things that they should know about. Let us all hope that we don’t end up like Oedipus, who was too blind to see the