Fate In Oedipus The King Essay

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When you think of a tragedy, what comes to mind? A sad story? A terrible fate? Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, is a Greek play that Aristotle regards as “the perfect example of tragedy”. The play follows the fall of a man running from a terrible destiny. However, due to his pride and arrogance, he blindly rejects the truth that could have prevented his terrible fate from occuring. Once all details are uncovered, everyone, including Oedipus, struggles to come to terms with what has passed. As a result of Oedipus’s unyielding pride, he eventually resorts to the attention-seeking act of blinding himself as an attempt at atonement for his actions and as a way to gain pity from the people. After fully understanding what he has done, Oedipus frantically searches for an act of atonement he could carry out as punishment for his actions. In devastation at the sight of his dead mother/wife, he murmurs to himself “You will not see… the horrors I have suffered and done” (73), as he strikes his eyes “again, and again.” (73). After all details of his fate and story, Oedipus …show more content…

With this statement, the villagers pronounce the excess with which Oedipus needed to be punished with. Additionally, Oedipus calls out to his subject “Pity Me!” (74), to which is replied with “I am moved to pity by your misfortunes and your understanding of them, too” (75). Within these quotes, Oedipus’s motive becomes clearer. He wishes to obtain pity from his people so that they might feel obligated to help the man that plagued their land. He hopes to obtain pity to use for the protection of his children, whom he could bear to see no more. In the longer run, the burden of blindness effecively moves the people while also presenting an appropriate atonement for his terrible

Oedipus the King
461 Words | 1 Pages
“…they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me!” These are the words Oedipus shouted as he blinds himself upon learning the truth of his past. It is ironic how a person blessed with perfect physical vision could in reality be blind to to matters of life and conscience. During his prime as King of Thebes, Oedipus is renowned for his lucidity and his ability to rule with a clear concept of justice and equality. The people loved him for his skill and wit, as he saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx. As a result, Oedipus became overly confident, and refuses to see that he may be the cause of the malady that is plaguing his kingdom. Although physically Oedipus has full use of his eyes, Sophocles uses sight to demonstrate how Oedipus is blind to the truth about his past what it might me for both him and his kingdom. Upon learning the truth, Oedipus gouges out his eyes, so he won’t have to look upon his children, or the misfortune that is his life. Once physically unable to see, Oedipus has clear vision as to his fate, and what must be done for his kingdom and his family
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Oedipus at Colonus
660 Words | 2 Pages
As the play progresses his pride returns and shows that he hasn’t truly changed his old ways. Unlike the first play Oedipus, as well as the other characters, don’t seem important and religious themes are now stressed. The relationship between blindness and exile is also explored throughout the play through the actions and words of the characters. The theme of blindness is continued from Oedipus rex with the people who interacted with him to be blind at seeing him for who he is. From the people of Colonus to Oedipus’ own son and brother-in-law, the people Oedipus interacts with only see his strength and power. As the play begins, Oedipus and Antigone stop to rest on a section of land. Oedipus believes this land to be the place where he will remain until his death. The citizens of Colonus go to this place to inform Oedipus that his desire to remain on this land is impossible because it is sacred to the town, but are convinced otherwise when Oedipus tells them of his prophecy. Also included in Oedipus’ prophecy it is said that the land his body is buried in will be blessed by the gods.
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King Parpus: A Tragic Hero In Oedipus The King
956 Words | 2 Pages
A tragic hero has the capacity to suffer and, because of an error in judgment, will experience a dramatic transformation that evokes a profound pity.
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Fate In Oedipus The King
1129 Words | 3 Pages
Fate is an important factor to life, which cannot be changed or escaped from. In Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, fate can be seen in the protagonist, Oedipus, which led to his downfall. Oedipus is the King of Thebes who killed his father and married his mother because of a prophecy. He became king because he saved the city of Thebes by solving the Sphinx riddle. Though others say that Oedipus created his own fate because he had the free will to handle the prophecies in becoming his own outcome, in the end, there was no chance that Oedipus could escape the prophecy. Oedipus is ultimately a victim of his own fate because an Oracle foretold his future, killed a stranger who was actually his father, Laius, and married his own mother, Jocasta.
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Fate in "Oedipus the King"
1063 Words | 3 Pages
If prophecy were to be real, one could expect what is bound to happen in the future. This is true; at least in “Oedipus the King” in which the protagonist, Oedipus calls forth his doom unwillingly. Fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person. The author of “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, writes a tragic fate that Oedipus was born to experience. Fate is what is meant to happen and cannot be avoided or unchanged. Furthermore, events that lead to other events could be the result for one to meet their fate. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles expresses the nature of fate to be determined upon choices made.
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Sympathy for Oedipus in the Oedipus Tyrannus
2239 Words | 5 Pages
The aim of tragedy is to evoke fear and pity, according to Aristotle, who cited the Oedipus Tyrannus as the definitive tragic play. Thus pity must be produced from the play at some point. However, this does not necessarily mean that Oedipus must be pitied. We feel great sympathy ('pathos') for Jocasta's suicide and the fate of Oedipus' daughters. Oedipus could evoke fear in us, not pity. He is a King of an accursed city willing to use desperate methods, even torture to extract truth from the Shepherd. His scorning of Jocasta just before her death creates little pity for him, as does his rebuke of the old, blind Tiresias. But with this considered, we must not forget the suffering he endures during his search for knowledge and the ignorant self-destruction he goes under.
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Vision and Blindness In Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles
670 Words | 2 Pages
Initially, Oedipus is a confident leader who believes he is educated and knows the truth about himself and the land he presides over, Thebes. This is because he was proclaimed the most famous man alive as a result of his answering the Sphinx’s riddle to save Thebes from a tragic epidemic. However, at the beginning of the play there is another plague causing grief to the members of Thebes, and Oedipus goes so far as to say that he will stop at nothing to rid Thebes of this pollution. He states, "Each of you grieves for himself alone, while my heart must bear the strain of sorrow for all--myself and you and all our city’s people. No I am not blind to it," (p.4). Yet in essence he is blind to it because he is the indirect cause for the epidemic in Thebes. Oedipus finds out that the cause for the Epidemic is that nobody came forth as an avenger in the murder of King Laius. Oedipus then states, "I shall not cease until I bring the truth to light. Apollo has shown, and you have shown, the duty which we owe the dead," (p.5). This is ironic in that Oedipus vows to make the truth come to light so that everybody can see it, including himself. Moreover, th...
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Oedipus: A Victim of Fate
710 Words | 2 Pages
Oedipus was a victime of fate, his futur was foretold by an Oracle, he had no way of knowing that his wife was his mother nor that the stranger he killed was his father. Oedipus could not prevent his own downfall. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, he became king when he cured the city of a deadly plague. He cured the plague by solving the riddle of the mythical creature, the Sphinkx. Now the city is suffering from another plague and as king Oedipus must solve the riddle of this one.
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Influenced by Humans but Beyond Human Control: Fate in Oedipus
776 Words | 2 Pages
Oedipus is a man coming to terms with his own identity, he tries to escape fate but in doing so he allows for the truth to realize itself. This is partly due to his oblivious nature, which does not permit him to see past the superficial level of the prophecy as to who is in control of the events which comprise his fate. Ultimately, the gods and fate triumph, Oedipus being so afraid of the truth which he discovered, due to his predetermined fate. Perhaps his story is meant to show that error and disaster can happen to anyone, that human beings are relatively powerless before fate or the gods, and that the best attitude to have toward life should be one of cautious humility
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Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
671 Words | 2 Pages
...bs his own eyes out so that he will never see again- in the dark forever, where he used to enjoy life, but there is no comfort for him in it anymore. His daughters, young and innocent suffer on a level much greater than everyone. They experience a father coming to them with bleeding sockets for eyes, and a mother still warm within death. By the time Oedipus says goodbye he has nothing but grief to give them. “Where are the public gatherings you can join...What more misery could you want?” (1631-1639) Oedipus takes responsibility for being the cause for their suffering, “Your father killed his father, sowed his mother, one, one and the selfsame womb-sprang you-he cropped the very roots of his existence” (1640-1643). Though Oedipus was ignorant and unaware of the pain he was causing towards his family, he takes responsibility and by doing so it shows his integrity.
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Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
1178 Words | 3 Pages
An overbearing desire to absorb the sins and misfortunes of all his people in Thebes presents Oedipus as the ultimate ruler. Describing the sick children, a priest asks that life and fortune be restored to the city, to which Oedipus responds: “Sick as you are, not one is as sick as I” (63). Defending this statement, Oedipus confesses to the priest that unlike most men in Thebes, who suffer on an individual basis because of their personal anguish, his spirit “groans for the city, for myself, for you” (66). Continuing the metaphor of his suffering, Oedipus states, “Let them all hear it. It for them I suffer, more than for myself” (96). By not covering up the corruption in his household, Oedipus becomes an ideal king.
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The Chorus In Oedipus The King By Sophocles
727 Words | 2 Pages
While he is on his way the chorus intervenes once more to express their feelings. They begin to question why of all people did this have to happen to him. Through the questioning they become curious about several things regarding the situation. But seeing the image before their eyes they fear to act on that curiosity (Sophocles 499). The groups of people serve as a companion through his dark terrible journey to exile for the last time. The irony of the situation was all along Oedipus was the one who was blind to everything and not the blind prophet Tiresias.
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How Does Oedipus Show Internal Human Greatness
442 Words | 1 Pages
“Send me away from Thebes to live/He means to cast himself from Thebes, to stay in this house no more...” (1471-1249), after Oedipus realizes it was his doings that brought a plague upon the city of Thebes, he wants to leave so the city can be free of the plague. Oedipus is taking responsibility for his actions that have brought pain to others. He still has the will to live even though he will suffer from the burden of knowing everything he has done and the pain he has caused. Oedipus knows what he has done has caused everybody misfortune and he is trying to do what’s right and fix that even though it will lead to his own
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Suffering In Oedipus Rex
353 Words | 1 Pages
As Oedipus resides in Thebes, the suffering is upon everyone. Moreover, Oedipus’s tragic flaw is the additional factor that prolongs everyone’s suffering; his unconscious pride towards the gods only makes the suffering worst. Due to his prideful character, he blatantly disrespects the gods’ word by not listening to Tiresias, the blind prophet. To illustrate, Tiresias warns that the truth of the murder will hurt Oedipus, but his just and prideful character forces him to learn the truth. Tiresias tells Oedipus: “Thou art the man, Thou the accursed polluter of this land,” but Oedipus refuses to believe the seer—making the suffering more unbearable. Because the suffering of Thebes, and not just Oedipus’s, Oedipus can strongly be considered “instrument” of the suffering of others. His “man-can-do-anything” mindset ultimately sets Thebes up for a period of great
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The Role of Fate in Oedipus Rex
809 Words | 2 Pages
In Oedipus Rex, fate is something that unavoidably befalls two characters. The gods decide Oedipus and Jocasta’s fate even before they know it. Trying to avoid destiny is pointless because no matter what, it will catch up to you where ever you are. It is often thought that you can change your destiny, but in reality our fate was put into action the day we were born.
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Fate In Oedipus The King Essay

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