The play “Oedipus Rex” is an interesting piece of literature. It is full of mystery right from the start. Oedipus is faced with trying to run away from his fate. Can one really control their own fate, though? Or does fate itself control an individual? That is the true mystery the reader must determine within the play.
The mystery of Oedipus is not one, but a couple of different things. The simple mystery is who killed King Laius? Oedipus goes out to find the king’s killer, so that the kingdom may be rid of a plague. The reader is aware that Oedipus is after all the killer, they see how his parents tried to avoid his fate then watched it all fall into place, but it still remains a mystery to all the characters, except for the prophet who told of Oedipus’ fate. The major mystery of Oedipus though, is indeed his fate. Does Oedipus control his fate or does it control him? It is told that the fate of Oedipus is to murder his father, marry his mother and be the father of his own siblings/children. His parents feared his fate when he was born and tried to kill him to avoid it. Then Oedipus himself tried to run away from his fate by going to Thebe’s. Little did he know he was unintentionally setting himself up for this disastrous fate. It seems as if Oedipus’ fate takes control of his life from the very start. His fate could be seen as unfair and undeserving as he was trying to do what he thought was honorable in leaving behind his family to save them, but only ended up doing what was intended of him in the first place.
Though finding the solution to this mystery with fate is a big deal, it is still not as important as the knowledge that is gained in the process. While trying to discover the unanswered questions to these mysteries, a larger knowledge is revealed. It is revealed to Oedipus that the man and woman who raised him are not his real parents, but he was left to die with his feet bound together and this couple found him and raised him as their own. He realizes that his fate had indeed been fulfilled. Oedipus could not control his fate and in his willingness to ignore the prophet, he was blinding himself to the truth. Having sight is used metaphorically for having knowledge and literally for having clear
Adam Gross Oedipus Essay “Life is nasty, brutish, and short.” This quote is written by a man named John Locke. Locke was philosopher from the 18th century. But enough about John Locke, you came here to learn about Oedipus Rex didn’t you? Well, Oedipus’ life was doomed from the moment he came into this world. There once was a great Oracle of Thebes, who prophesized that King Laius (Oedipus’ father), and Queen Jocasta (Oedipus’ mother), would have a child named Oedipus. The Oracle stated that the…
The Decline of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex Oedipus began Oedipus Rex as a king, only to end the tale as a blinded beggar. Oedipus' fall from his kingly status was not by accident or because of some other person. Oedipus is the only one that can be blamed for his misfortune. Oedipus' character traits are shown most clearly during his spiraling downfall, thinking he is "a simple man, who knows nothing", yet knowing more than he realizes by the end of the story. Throughout the…
audience on a journey that keeps them emotionally attached to the characters and the story right to the last page. In Sophocles’ Oedipus The King, it is evident that Sophocles wrote the play with the intentions of keeping his audience emotionally attached to the characters. His motive for doing this is that he wanted to leave the audience impacted by what they saw or read. Oedipus, being the tragic hero in this Greek tragedy goes through this devastating journey where he starts off ruling Thebes as king…
English Literature: 2 02 October 2014 Oedipus Essay Sometimes, we as human beings, are unable to see the most apparent truths. Sometimes, even the blind can see more than the sighted. Sophocles demonstrates this in his famous play, Oedipus Rex. Oedipus, whose name means “swollen foot” is cursed from birth. His parents receive a prophecy that states that Oedipus will grow up to kill his father so they leave him in a mountain to die. However, Oedipus is saved by a shepherd. Furthermore, the…
prevalent theme in “Oedipus the King”. Usually, people equate knowledge with sight. Expressions like “I see” and “seeing the truth” are used to express the understanding of something, but in this case, seeing is not the same as knowing. Oedipus, who is not literally blind, is blinded by the ambition to find the killer of Laius. All the while, Oedipus is the one who killed Laius. His ambition and his blindness is what eventually lead to his downfall. Teiresias however, is a foil to Oedipus. He is a prophet…
Oedipus the King In this Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, Sophocles leaves a lot of inconsistencies or realistic problems within the whole tale completely unexplained in order to compose a process of revealing Oedipus Rex’s guilt. This leaves the Greek tragedy to seem unrealistic because with the thought of the other elements not told by Sophocles, the story is not possible. One of the realistic problems is why would Oedipus or Jocasta marry someone that was much older or much younger than them…
Journal 3 Antigone goes against Creon because she does not want to see her brother rot in the desert. She believes that he should be buried, and considering he is family, how could she bare to know that he is going through such “pain?” She happens to not even care about whether Creon will execute her or not, because she believes that if she dies, she will be dying in honor. That she will be proud of her actions, because she decided to do the right thing. She figures that, she’d rather die now…
Oedipus Rex: Question 1 Oedipus Rex is considered one of the greatest tragic plays to come from any of the ancient Greek playwrights as its lessons mirror societal troubles of the era. It projects certain cultural values and morals onto the Athenian audience of the time through many different tragic conventions. Sophocles, the writer, was born near Athens between 497 and 495 BC and is considered a conservative as all his plays supported the idea of a polytheistic society and that we should not…
Oedipus Rex The tragedy of Oedipus the King is a classic representation of irony in a Greek play. Oedipus, king of Thebes emerges as a powerful ruler after solving the riddle of the Sphinx and is initially regarded as a concerned leader. The story of Oedipus Rex Centers around what caused the events before the play begins and the tragedy of what happens after Oedipus opens his eyes to the truth. The exposition of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex occurs seamlessly. At the beginning of the play, we learn…
Aristotle defined Oedipus Rex by Sophocles as the perfect tragedy. In this tragedy, King Oedipus has to face a hamartia, which is the tragic hero’s downfall due to his tragic flaws. King Oedipus plays an important role in the concept of fate. Oedipus falls form his status from being a powerful noble king by not following his fate, his overbearing pride, and his assault that makes him a disgrace towards others. Although, Oedipus is considered a classic Greek tragic hero, he has several tragic flaws…
