Sophocles Oedipus the King
“The destiny of man is in his own soul”-(Herodotus). In the play, “Oedipus the King” Sophocles depicts the Greek gods as evil and destructive with his use of Apollo. The play demonstrates the tragic fate of Oedipus by making the gods appear evil and powerful. This is crafted in such a way that it shows the forces that sentence the character to a miserable and terrible life based on his regrettable actions. King Oedipus’s life is hence instantly changed when he kills King Laius. The writers Christopher Nassaar and Fosso Kurt’s interpretative claim strongly states that this naive ruler of Thebes Oedipus, is the sole bearer of his own tragic fate; evidently, the sun God Apollo uses his powers to manipulate and create …show more content…
“Upon the murder I invoke this curse- whether he is one man and all unknown, or one of many- may he wear out his life in misery to miserable doom!” (260-263). Oedipus insists that a murder is going to face a miserable fate in the future; however, he actually knows that he will have the horrible fate as well because he is a murder. Even though he knows that he killed someone and he is a murder, he does not want to reveal the truth because he has a pride and arrogance. Since he does not want to believe the reality, he tries to frighten others by talking in an imperative tone. His tragic flaw definitely leads himself to a miserable fate. Moreover, in the play. he defends himself by showing his powers to others. “Or if he knows the murder, another, a foreigner, still let him speak the truth. For I will pay him and be grateful, too” (242-244). From this passage, Oedipus is seen as a great king who has a strong power to control other people. However, the more he makes efforts to find the murder, the closer he gets to the path of the tragic fate. He is the one to blame because even though he knows that he killed someone at the crossroads, he does not tell the incident to anyone. If he tells the truth before seeking the murder, he might be able to end up with a better fate. His action of defending himself only causes his fate more miserable and inescapable. Therefore, his tragic fate is caused by his own regrettable actions, not because of the unnatural power of
“The destiny of man is in his own soul”-(Herodotus). In the play, “Oedipus the King” Sophocles depicts the Greek gods as evil and destructive with his use of Apollo. The play demonstrates the tragic fate of Oedipus by making the gods appear evil and powerful. This is crafted in such a way that it shows the forces that sentence the character to a miserable and terrible life based on his regrettable actions. King Oedipus’s life is hence instantly changed when he kills King Laius. The writers Christopher Nassaar and Fosso Kurt’s interpretative claim strongly states that this naive ruler of Thebes Oedipus, is the sole bearer of his own tragic fate; evidently, the sun God Apollo uses his powers to manipulate and create …show more content…
“Upon the murder I invoke this curse- whether he is one man and all unknown, or one of many- may he wear out his life in misery to miserable doom!” (260-263). Oedipus insists that a murder is going to face a miserable fate in the future; however, he actually knows that he will have the horrible fate as well because he is a murder. Even though he knows that he killed someone and he is a murder, he does not want to reveal the truth because he has a pride and arrogance. Since he does not want to believe the reality, he tries to frighten others by talking in an imperative tone. His tragic flaw definitely leads himself to a miserable fate. Moreover, in the play. he defends himself by showing his powers to others. “Or if he knows the murder, another, a foreigner, still let him speak the truth. For I will pay him and be grateful, too” (242-244). From this passage, Oedipus is seen as a great king who has a strong power to control other people. However, the more he makes efforts to find the murder, the closer he gets to the path of the tragic fate. He is the one to blame because even though he knows that he killed someone at the crossroads, he does not tell the incident to anyone. If he tells the truth before seeking the murder, he might be able to end up with a better fate. His action of defending himself only causes his fate more miserable and inescapable. Therefore, his tragic fate is caused by his own regrettable actions, not because of the unnatural power of