Oedipus the King by Sophocles Essay

to influence or direct people 's behavior or the course of events. In the novel Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, a primary question that arises in the mind of readers is the scale of control one has on the actions of their lives. Aristotle believed human actions to be led by seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion or desire, of which three causes are not in the control of a being. For one, Sophocles explains the element of compulsion in relation to his pride. Correspondingly,…

Oedipus the King, one of the three plays from Sophocles stories, a story full of mysteries and thrillers.. From the passage provided (208-210), Jocasta, questions her own morals and religion with the Gods after she find out about her own husband and son, Oedipus. The importance of Gods and their prophecies play an important role just as wisdom in knowledge in this passage. God’s decide prophecies and prophecies decide the characters fate, whether or not to carry out this fate is partially in the…

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…

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…

to all people even if they possess the ability to "see". People tend to avoid realizing the truth or completely understanding a situation. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses blindness as a motif by making Oedipus blind through his refusal to see the prophecy has come true, while Teiresias' physical blindness allows him to realize or “see” the truth. Oedipus begins his life with the prophecy that he will kill his father in order to marry his mother, he will later go on to have kids with her. He…

In Sophocles’ Greek play Oedipus Rex, the King of Thebes and the protagonist of the play, Oedipus, suffers from arrogance, stubbornness as well as capriciousness and his yearning for power leads to his exile as well as his downfall as king; he encounters a mystery in regards to his plagued kingdom and its danger of extinction which leads to the investigation for the man responsible for the annihilation of the land. During the investigation, Oedipus is confronted with the mystery behind his past…

experience pity and fear. In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King,…

Oedipus the King and Memento Meet the Sophists Halfway “You don’t know who you are … maybe it’s time you started investigating yourself,” says Teddy to Leonard in the critically acclaimed neo-noir film Memento (C. Nolan, 2000). As a result of anterograde amnesia, Leonard does not know that he himself is the very culprit he seeks to punish for killing his wife. The multiple and seemingly conflicting roles of Leonard as detective, criminal, and avenger correspond to those of Oedipus in Sophocles’…

Sophocles’ plays, Oedipus Rex and Antigone, and Euripides’ play, Medea, share the same three motifs: tragic flaw, betrayal, and self-righteousness; which create the conflicts in each of the three timeless Greek plays, and these motifs are rooted in way people behave. Oedipus’ tragic flaw is how he avidly seeks the truth, even to the extent that his wife would commit suicide and he blind himself. Compassion, which is usually predominant in women, causes Antigone’s downfall because she felt…

written. Sophocles play Oedipus the King, written in 496 BC is similar to J.D. Salinger’s short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” published in 1948 in many ways. Both the play and the short story have many coinciding ideas such as the struggle of finding out who you really are in the world. Many people struggle with this problem, like the main characters, Seymour Glass in “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger and Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Oedipus, the King of…