Destiny & Character - Discuss in relation to the stories of Gilamesh,
Oedipus the king, and The Tradegy of Sohrab and Rostam.
Destiny can be defined as a predetermined course of events that is
beyond human power or control. It is considered a force which
creates, shapes, guides, rewards, and afflicts human life. The
elements of a character’s true personality and attitude make that fate
a reality and force the destiny to become the destination. The stories
of Gilgamesh, Oedipus the King, and The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam
all teach the readers that destiny and character are intertwined.
In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, destiny and Oedipus’ actions
determines the ultimate fate. Oedipus tells the Messenger: “Apollo
told me once – it is my fate – I must make love with my own mother /
shed my father’s blood with my own hands” (418). Oedipus learns this
at a young age and desperately attempts to change his fate. He leaves
Corinth, where he believes his real parents reside at, thinking he is
escaping his unwanted future. Oedipus says, “I heard all that and
ran. I abandoned Corinth” (413). Instead of running away from his
troubles, he puts the element of fate into motion. As a reckless,
hot-headed youth, Oedipus ends up inflicting immortal wounds on his
own father after a mere quarrel. He is obviously ignorant of the fact
that the victim was his own father. Later, he successfully solves the
riddle of Sphinx. Again, without knowledge, he marries the widow queen
of Thebes and his very own mother, Jocasta. If he had taken the
prophecy more seriously, he would have avoided conflicts or
interactions with older people. Instead, he acts in a rash manner.
Later, Oedipus says, “Some man at a banquet who had drunk too much
shouted out…that I am not my father’s son. Fighting words!” (413).
Once he heard that rumor, he should have investigated it deeply. By
not paying attention to the oracle and family rumors, Oedipus begins
the fate that was ordained him. His own stubbornness and arrogance
lead to his fall. Oedipus says to Jocasta when he discovers he
murdered his very own father, “Oh no no, I think I’ve just called down
a dreadful curse upon myself” (412). Sophocles believed that humans
have free will yet they are limited by a larger order that controls
all things. By going against the larger celestial order, his tragic
fate was determined. Eventually, it is Oedipus who chooses his path,
the one of ignorance rather than clarity, and in doing so, he must
take responsibility for his actions.
Like Oedipus the King, the main character in Gilgamesh is also very
Gilgamesh and Odysseus are similar not only in their physical appearances but also in the way the two of them deal with life's dilemmas. Although Gilgamesh and Odysseus possess great strength and sharp minds, their own flaws blind them similarly, which does not aid in their quest for what they desire. As part of their heroic character, the gods must guide them in order to reach their goals. In every epic from antiquity, the greatest challenge a hero must overcome is not a monster or an evil tyrant but themselves. They wish to have glory, honor, and a place in history forever. Doing something that no one else could ever do again is what a hero desires to do. From Gilgamesh to The Odyssey, epic heroes constantly have to reinvent themselves to overcome their own weaknesses and shortcomings. Each has to learn from their previous mistakes, using the gods? help, so they can fulfill their dreams. In doing this, Odysseus and Gilgamesh will reach their goals.
“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom though failures. We get very little wisdom from success you know”, said by William Sacoyan is a very important quote. This quote is a true statement since it means that a person learns from his or her mistakes. To be old and wise a person must first be young and foolish. They must fail so they can learn. This quote is valid since it has taught millions of people that as you grow you learn and even become stronger from mistakes. In both Giligamesh and Oedipus Rex a reader can bridge ideas together that go along with the theme of good people having bad things happen to them. Giligamesh is an epic poem, whose author is unknown. This epic poem
With most pieces of literature that has a king involved, there tends to be two kinds of kings – ones that care about the well being of their people and their city, and ones that show their dominance over his people every chance they get. The two primary examples kings that will be contrasting each other, one being compassionate and the other being reckless, are Oedipus from “Oedipus the King”, and Gilgamesh from “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” Oedipus and Gilgamesh contrast each other by the way they treat their people, with Oedipus being more empathetic and Gilgamesh being more ruthless.
I loved my mother, but there has been , ever since my boyhood, a sort
'No two men are alike in the way they act, the way they think, or the way they look. However, every man has a little something from the other. Although Oedipus and Gilgamesh are entirely different people, they are still very similar. Each one, in their own way, is exceptionally brave, heroically tragic, and both encompass diverse strengths and weaknesses. One is strictly a victim of fate and the other is entirely responsible for his own plight.
The term “Oedipus complex” (or, less commonly, Oedipal complex), explains the strong emotions and ideas that the mind keeps deep within the unconscious of where a child, most notably male, is attracted to his own mother in a sexual nature. In society, incest is looked down upon because it crosses the forbidden zone, the desire for sexual relations, which deviates from the traditional parent-to-child relationship. This term was coined after the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King. The original script was first written around 429 B.C, by Sophocles. He was most famously known to be one of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived to this day. Knowing that he is a playwright who specializes in writing about the human condition
From classical fable stories, to historical documentation the image of a hero circulates around the notion of being a great conquer. The word conquer derives from a person having the ability to take or rule over many people with force. The foundation of the majority of the world comes from a historical battle’s that took place-causing devastation amongst divided groups of people. The bases of many conflicts amongst divided groups of people are cultural beliefs, which shun other cultures on how they should conduct their lives. These ideal key points of the power of religion emerge stories of a single individual who stick out through time as being iconic champions. Having the ability to be stronger, faster or even smarter
Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Homer’s Odyssey both deal on the topic of truth. In both works the character Tiresias, a blind prophet, participates in the different journeys by revealing various truths to the main characters. While the main importance of Tiresias in The Odyssey is to show that truth can be helpful, his importance in Oedipus the King is to attempt to discourage Oedipus on his journey to find the truth because he knows the truth can be negative as well.
The legend of Gilgamesh is believed to be the first story ever written by man. Before Gilgamesh was written it was passed from mouth to mouth by the ancient civilization of the Sumerians. The Sumerians existed over three thousand years before the birth of Christ. They recorded the story of Gilgamesh in cuneiform script. Later the Sumerian story was passed on to the Babylonians, Akkadians, Asyrians, Hitties, and Persians whom had also learned to write in their own languages. The Sumerians and their language disappeared, but their story of Gilgamesh has continued.
From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
In Ancient Greece the existence of gods and fate prevailed. In the Greek tragedy King Oedipus by the playwright Sophocles these topics are heavily involved. We receive a clear insight into their roles in the play such as they both control man's actions and that challenging their authority leads to a fall.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem of a hero named Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is seventy- five percent god and twenty- five percent human. Gilgamesh is a fierce warrior and is used to getting what he pleases whenever he wants, but he is not satisfied with all the things he has. Gilgamesh is lonely and wishes for a companion of some sort. The gods notice that Gilgamesh is starting to become too powerful for his own good and decide to create another being somewhat similar to Gilgamesh, but more powerful so that he is able to defeat Gilgamesh and bring him to his knees. They create a similar being named Enkidu. Enkidu starts off as just a very powerful being wondering the wilderness by himself. He, like Gilgamesh is lonely and wishes to find someone
For Oedipus, prophecy is not the main source of his fall towards society; rather, his hubris blinds himself from recognizing his personal sin in the world, thus leading to his demise. Sophocles even skillfully uses a metaphor through the words “ as led by a guide” to further explain the “supernatural being” that ultimately decides the tragic fate of the family of Oedipus. In addition, through the death of Jocasta, the reader is immediately attuned of Oedipus’ raging moment of violence and will be petrified by the overwhelming power of the gods, thus realizing the importance of being cautious before making a final choice. Indeed, after an individual settles on a decision, the gods take control of the person’s fate, hurling numerous consequences to him if he makes the wrong decision. Moreover, as Oedipus suddenly becomes the unintended victim of the gods through his sinful decision to execute Laius, he is forced to relinquish his predominate impetus for pridefulness in exchange for a heart of deep realization and forgiveness. At the end of the play, Oedipus sacrifices everything in order to remove his guilt through the consequences of his atrocious actions witnessed by the gods. After Oedipus realizes the astringent fate he was destined to encounter through his sinful murder of Laius, he immediately attempts to take responsibility for his
In fact, Oedipus is doomed to kill his father, marry his mother and finally to be blind. It was his destiny or fate; he has nothing to do with this end or to prevent it. It was his fate which was manipulating him; drive him from Cornith to kill his father and then to Thebes to marry his mother. His destiny made him "his wife's son, his mother husband." By the hands of fate, he turned to be the most hated man in Thebes and "the man whose life is hell for others and for himself."
From the very beginning, Oedipus was destined to fulfill Apollo's prophecy of killing his father. Even though King Lauis tries to kill Oedipus to stop the fulfillment of this shameful prophecy, fate drives the Corinthian messenger to save Oedipus. What the gods fortell will come true and no human can stop it from happening, not even the kings. Oedipus is once again controlled by this power when he leaves the place of his child hood after he hears that he is to kill his father and marry his mother. "I shall shrink from nothing...to find the the murderer of Laius...You are the murderer..." Oedipus tried to stop the prophecy from coming true by leaving Corinth and only fate can make Oedipus turn to the road where he kills his true father. Leaving Corinth makes Oedipus lose his childhood by making him worry of such issues young people should not have to worry about and becoming a king of a strange land. Last of all, Oedipus carries the last part of the prophecy out, marrying his mother. " I would... never have been known as my mother's husband. Oedipus has no control over the outcome of his life. Fate causes Oedipus to have known the answer to the Sphinx's riddle and win his marriage to his mother, Jocasta. Had fate not intervened, the chances of marrying Jocasta would have been small since there is an enourmous number of people and places to go. Oedipus loses his sense of dignity after he discovers he is not only a murderer, but also that he had committed incest.