“Fate has terrible power. You can not escape it by wealth or war. No fort can keep it out, no ships can outrun it.” (Sophocles) “Oedipus the King,” written by Sophocles, is one of the greatest play writes in history. It tells about a king in the land of Thebes, who tries to avoid his fate. In the beginning of the play, Oedipus is confronted by the citizens to help with the plague. Oedipus sends his brother-in-law, Kreon to the oracle at Delphi to learn how to help the city. Kreon returns with a message from the oracle: the plague will end when the murderer of Laois, former king of Thebes, is caught and banished. Oedipus then promises to solve the mystery of Laois’s death, vowing to curse and drive out the murderer. Guo Yuehua, journalist
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On the journey to Thebes, Oedipus runs into Laois and they begin to quarrel; however, Oedipus is unaware that he just murdered his father. In this scene, he has already completed part one of his fate without knowing. When the chorus asks Oedipus to help rid the city of the plague he sends for Tiresias, the blind prophet, and asks him what he knows about the murder. Tiresias reveals that Oedipus himself is the murderer. Oedipus naturally refuses to believe Tiresias’s accusation. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of conspiring against his life, and charges Tiresias with insanity. After being told of his fate, Oedipus tries everything in his power to avoid it; however, his wife Jokasta, who he does not know is his mother tries to convince him that it would be impossible for him to be Laois’s killer because she and Laois had their baby killed as an infant. She is unaware that the people that were supposed to kill Oedipus as a baby never went through with it because they felt sorry for him. Yuehua states “It seems that Sophocles employs the oracles not for the sake of worshipping the Gods, but rather, for the presentation of the man’s inner strength to seeking the truth about the conditions of life or about human characteristics based on the truth.” (Vol. 2, No. 4) This means Oedipus had the power to avoids his fate, if his
On the journey to Thebes, Oedipus runs into Laois and they begin to quarrel; however, Oedipus is unaware that he just murdered his father. In this scene, he has already completed part one of his fate without knowing. When the chorus asks Oedipus to help rid the city of the plague he sends for Tiresias, the blind prophet, and asks him what he knows about the murder. Tiresias reveals that Oedipus himself is the murderer. Oedipus naturally refuses to believe Tiresias’s accusation. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of conspiring against his life, and charges Tiresias with insanity. After being told of his fate, Oedipus tries everything in his power to avoid it; however, his wife Jokasta, who he does not know is his mother tries to convince him that it would be impossible for him to be Laois’s killer because she and Laois had their baby killed as an infant. She is unaware that the people that were supposed to kill Oedipus as a baby never went through with it because they felt sorry for him. Yuehua states “It seems that Sophocles employs the oracles not for the sake of worshipping the Gods, but rather, for the presentation of the man’s inner strength to seeking the truth about the conditions of life or about human characteristics based on the truth.” (Vol. 2, No. 4) This means Oedipus had the power to avoids his fate, if his