Oedipus Essay

Oedipus the King has remained a contentiously debated literary work for a multitude of reasons. Arguably, the most important debate encompassing this work relates to the relationship between how individuals exercise free-will and how fate, and sometimes the Gods, influence their actions and their lives. In an article of literary criticism, entitled Tampering With the Future: Apollo 's Prophecy in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex by Christopher Nassaar, Nassaar focuses on how Oedipus fulfilled Apollo 's…

about the nature of the future and the gods, reminds Oedipus that the only the gods cause his downfall; he is only their messenger. Oedipus is ignorant of the fact that his fate lies in the hands of the gods, not in the control of mortals. Tiresias, despite his blindness, sees past Oedipus’ naïve understanding of fate and into the cruel mechanism of the gods. The gods ordain a punishment to Oedipus since birth, while he is blameless. Even though Oedipus is guilty of the crimes the prophecy…

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is about the life of Oedipus the king of Thebes and how his fate effects the man he becomes. Fate holds a role that changes the course of events throughout the play and effects the outcome of the lives of the characters and to some extant Oedipus is equally a victim and an investigator of is fate because of the actions that he and his parents both biological and adopting parents have taken. Fate plays a major role in Oedipus the King. Fate affected the lives of…

Oedipus’ pride affects his decision making. He is a prideful individual and wants to solve the murder, making him easily angered. Any accusations made towards him ends in impulsive decisions and threats. Threatening Creon, Oedipus gives an ultimatum that if Creon is proved of treason that he will, “Certainly, kill you, not banish,” him, (Oedipus Rex. I. 725). In this scene, Oedipus’ anger over throws his rational decisions, if they were even…

cases they have dealt with. Oedipus Rex is a play where the protagonist, Oedipus, is clearly affected by the injustice he plays himself. Oedipus’ justice beliefs are what sets him off to create a bunch of injustice around the actions he takes. Oedipus searches for justice all along the play but does not realize all the injustice he had created and had been affected. Oedipus believes that people should feel justice and that it should be enforced. For example, Oedipus wanted for the murderer…

In Sophocles’ Greek play, Oedipus Rex, events like Oedipus’ parents’ attempted infanticide, Oedipus abandoning his adoptive parents out fear of a prophecy, and the murdering of an innocent old man on his way to Thebes negatively causes Thebes to be plague-stricken and ill, as well as Oedipus’ tragic fate. Oedipus’ personal fate of ending up as a blind hermit has been determined by the gods since before he was even born, but it is ultimately his actions and the actions of those around him that…

How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work (Oedipus Rex) developed through the interactive oral? Through the interactive oral presentations, the class learned the many components that combined to form Oedipus the King and other Greek plays from the time. The myths that came before Oedipus helped lay the path that Oedipus the King would follow. These different myths explain how Thebes and the Oracle were developed. This information is pertinent in the…

In the book Oedipus the king, Oedipus tries to solve the murder of King Laius and is faced with the prophecy of killing his father, and also marrying and killing his mother. This prophecy does not allow for there to be much free will as it influences Oedipus as he will need to face the burden of killing his mother and father which takes away a lot of his free will as he will be influenced a lot by the prophecy. In the play, Oedipus’ entire life was controlled by the gods as Sophocles…

your father and marrying your mother without knowing? Oedipus lived through this humiliation. His stubbornness forced the truth to be revealed about his crimes and he lost his noble title of king and hero of Thebes. The combination of Oedipus’s noble stature, fatal flaw, and downfall make him a prime example of a tragic hero. “Great Oedipus, O powerful King of Thebes! You see how all the ages of our people cling to your altar steps.” (16). Oedipus gained popularity and honor amongst the Thebans…

One mistake Oedipus and his birth family make during the tragedy Oedipus the King is trying to avoid fate. By trying to avoid what was foretold to him and his family, they tried to run away from the problem, which only Oedipus’s fate come true. Had they not listened, not believed in "fate", the question is whether he would have ever made any of that come true. Though the main question throughout the tale is; can we control our fate, or are we not in control of the outcomes in our life? In…