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Fate and free will the drama of oedipus
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destiny, fate, and free choice in oedipus the king
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Oedipus – A Puppet on a String
Gather closer around the fire, children; tonight is the night I tell my tale, of queens and kings, huge she-monsters and evil gods. You all know that story, the story of Oedipus, the man doomed to kill his father and marry his mother, his life a twisted strand in the ball of the Fates. But do you know what happened afterwards?
Oedipus drifted, feeling his way through Greece, filling his remaining four senses with the delicate scent of the olive tree, the rough touch of the rocky outcrops, the sound of waves crashing and the tangy bitter taste of wine. After a time he found himself in Crete, home of the famous Labyrinth of King Minos, although by this time both King Minos and the Minotaur had long since left this world. Minos' daughter, Ariadne, ruled the rocky isle.
Oedipus winced at the sharp stones under his feet and followed the ever increasing babble of the city. Suddenly he felt a sharp stone sting his side. "Ja, beggar, we don't need any more of the likes of you around here!"
Oedipus cringed. "Please sir, forgive me," the once proud king murmured. He moved towards the palace where he hoped he would receive a more hospitable welcome.
A wealth of scents greeted Oedipus' nose as he ambled down an alleyway: the tang of citrus, the bitter scent of unwashed people and the crisp smell of linen drying. As he approached the palace gates, Oedipus began to wonder how he would gain entrance. In answer to his thoughts, a male voice said, "You'll never get in here, you filthy peasant. Best go beg for a crust amongst the other sewer rats."
The swish of linen followed, a scent of delicate perfume, and a female voice saying, "Antikretes, shame on you! Be hospitable. Why, this could be Zeus Himself in disguise."
"If that's Zeus then I'm Aphrodite's girdle."
"That's enough. I don't usually do this but there's something different about him. Show him to a room."
"Yes, Majesty."
"Oh, Your Royal Majesty," began Oedipus, suddenly realising whom he was talking to, but he was already being led away.
That night Oedipus had a strange dream. He could see again, and he was sitting on a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea. Beside him was a beautiful woman with strange but wonderful eyes.
Also, he learned from speaking with Alypius in the garden that refusing to accept Jesus as his savior will lead him into a destructive path (Russo 15). After having a conversation with Alypius, he feels remorseful and ashamed of his behavior because he was not able to resist his immoral habits of participating in sex, obtaining wealth, and power, and chasing fame (Russo 16). Moreover, he questioned if he was capable of not indulging in of those immoral activities. As a result, he is uncertain if he is able of accepting Jesus Christ as his savior, and live a righteous life. In fact, in an attempt to justify his actions, Augustine believes that if he was not able to refrain from his mundane, sinful habits then God, and Jesus are “the ultimate source of delight” (Russo 17). While in the garden, feeling despair by his actions, and not being able to forsake his immoral lifestyle, he begins self-harming by ripping his hair out of his head and crying out because of his lack of self-control (Russo
Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy. "Oedipus the King." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed. New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 887-924. Print.
“The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf and “The Death of a Moth” by Annie Dillard are two personal essays that are on the same topic, yet very different. Virginia Woolf was a pessimistic woman who was very serious and admired the simplicity of life, while Annie Dillard is an independent woman who is curious about life and finds it humorous. Life and death are perceived differently by these two authors; Woolf believes that death overpowers life and Dillard believes that death isn’t the final step of the life cycle
Curiosity to appear more grown up may be the reason why most adolescents take their first drink of an alcoholic beverage. The ability to seen more grown up can intensify drinking at a younger age. Consequently, as alcohol is seen as the “Forbidden Fruit,” it encourages the want to drink for people under the age of twenty-one.
Oedipus the King is a great epic, written by Sophocles that discusses Oedipus’ journey to find his own identity. Most importantly, this epic challenges even the noblest of human beings by portraying a theme between personal convictions versus the force of fate. Throughout his journey, Oedipus encounters these challenges through several oracles, in which he has a difficult time interpreting and accepting. Nevertheless, King Oedipus, being a man with great curiosity and determination, seeks for these answers and makes an attempt to alter his own fate. Consequently, Oedipus fails, and is met with the horrific events that he was so determined to escape from.
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
Summary: Today we have seen the reasons on why a home economics class should be required. It would create a stronger future for our children, helps teach quality, and helps the parents that do not have the time to teach their children these things.
Divorce is becoming a worldwide phenomenon, significantly affecting children’s well-being. It radically changes their future causing detrimental effects. According to (Julio Cáceres-Delpiano and Eugenio Giolito, 2008) nearly 50% of marriages end with divorce. 90% of children who lived in the USA in the 1960s stayed with their own biological parents, whereas today it makes up only 40% (Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan, 1999). Such an unfavorable problem has been increasing, because in 1969, the legislation of California State changed the divorce laws, where spouses could leave without providing causes (Child Study Center, 2001). This resolution was accepted by the other states and later, the number of divorced people has been steadily growing. Such a typical situation is common for most countries in the world, which negatively affects children’s individuality. However, remarkably little amount of people can conceive the impact of marital separation caused to offspring. (? passive) Many children after separation of parents are exposed to a number of changes in the future. They have to be getting used to a further living area, feelings and circumstances. Their response to divorce can vary and depends on age, gender and personal characteristics. This essay will show the effects of divorce on children under various aspects such as educational, psychological and social impact. In addition, it will contain data about the divorce rate in the US and present disparate reactions of children. It will also include adequate recommendations for parents as to how act to children after divorce, in order to minimize the adverse effect on children.
Many people can prove to the fact that sickle cell originated in Africa. Going by different names related to tribal languages but in 1910 a young dental student came to the office of Doctor James B. Herrick, a cardiologists complaining of black problems Herrick wanted nothing to do with young kids. So he referred him to Dr.Ernest Irons after drawing flood and examines it. Dr.Irons notice that the red blood cells had a sickle shape at that moment he immediately informed Dr. Herrick and he later wrote many medical journals able the sickle shaped cell. In 1927 Hahn and Gillespie realized removing oxygen individuals that were inflected red blood cells could form the sickle shape. So they came up with the term trait but,
In this class one key point kept coming up in the readings for me, and that was fate. Fate is an idea that nothing you do will change your final out come in life. Are we able to truly have free will in the way we live and die? Or is it fate and our life’s outcome is out of our control? Is the characters desire to go against fate what truly lead them to this path? In the readings I was never able to say either way but I lean in favor of fate. My three examples of this are the charters Loki, Odin and Oedipus. These three are said to have been fated on how they live, die and even kill in a way that is predestined.
...in of Laius in order to deliver the city from its horrible plague. Through his quest Oedipus arrives at his self-discovery, revealing aspects about himself that had never crossed his mind. It is here that Oedipus has to confront and learn to accept the truths about his infancy, the killing of his father, and his marriage to his mother, although these truths are terrifying to face. In the end Oedipus scratches out his eyes, and then leaves the city of Thebes to wander aimlessly until his death.
When a woman gets pregnant, she and her partner make a serious decision whether they should give birth to the unborn child or abort it. However, sometimes every couple can have a different outlook about giving birth or aborting because every male and female has his or her ways of thinking. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” the author, Ernest Hemingway tells a story of an American man and his girlfriend, Jig, who have a disagreement in the train station on the subject of whether to keep the unborn child or to abort. However, the author uses binary opposition of life and death to portray the polemic argument a couple encounters regarding abortion. As a symbol for the binary opposition of life and death, he represents the couple’s expressions, feelings, and the description of nature.
Kind Oedipus started life with a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. In an attempt to avoid this fate, his parents, Laius and Jocasta, sent him into the mountains to die. However, a shepherd saved Oedipus. This shepherd gave Oedipus to Polybus and Merope. When Oedipus learned of his prophecy, he fled his home, thinking these people were his real parents. On his flight, he met Laius. He ended up killing Laius. He continued on, answered a riddle of the evil Sphinx, and ended up king of Thebes. With this kingdom, Oedipus married Jocasta. He had lived out the prophecy without even knowing he had. Thebes fell onto bad times, and a prophet put the blame on a polluter of the lands. Oedipus called on Teiresias, and Teiresias informed him that the polluter was the King. As Oedipus searched further and further, he discovered that he was the polluter and that the prophecy had come true. When Oedipus finally discovered the truth, he was so distressed that he ran pins into his eyes, blinding himself. He had been blinded to the truth for so long.
But his wife Jocasta urges him not to go on further in fear that he will not be able to handle the truth. The chorus echoes his thoughts about his demand in finding out who he truly is. When Oedipus finds out the truth that he killed his father and married his mother everything goes downhill. The prophecy that he tried so hard to resist ended up coming true. Of course the concession is right there with him when he finds out this truth. They sing about disbelief and sadness over this tragedy that came upon their beloved king. To them their Oedipus is a perfect example of a bless-less man that will live in misery for the rest of his life (Sophocles 496). This shows the sorrow and anguish that the citizens have for the king upon knowing of this unfortunate
As a result of underage drinking, 5,000 adolescents under the age of 21 die annually due to intoxication (taking motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides, and other injuries while intoxicated into consideration) (paragraph 2). Later in life, underage drinkers are more likely to develop alcoholism, poor performance in school, and risky sexual behavior (paragraph 43). Although this research is not opposed to my argument, there is an importance to acknowledging it as proof of dangerous, underage drinking occurring significantly regardless of whether it is illegal. More importantly, this research stems from adolescents drinking without the supervision of adults and in uncontrolled quantities. Since adolescents must wait a long period of time to drink legally, I believe they fear they must take advantage of drinking opportunities by excess drinking and risk of safety due to their restriction to alcohol. Based on this mindset, I believe exposure to alcohol at a younger age in controlled environments would not only decrease underage drinking in large quantities, but injury and death related to intoxication, as