In “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, the tragic hero, Oedipus, acts as the “instrument” of the suffering of others. Through Oedipus’s actions and tragic flaw, Oedipus brings suffering to everyone in Thebes and to himself. “Oedipus Rex” is set in the kingdom of Thebes. Oedipus is placed in an unimaginable situation, in which he has to find the murderer of the old king, Laius. The only issue is that he is the murderer and the new king of Thebes. The foretold prophecy that Apollo told Oedipus’s parents came true. Oedipus would kill his father, Laius, and marry his mother, Jocasta. The tragic vision of “Oedipus Rex” is that man is ultimately powerless. For instance, Jocasta and Laius tried to escape their ordained fate by killing Oedipus when he was a baby; however, it didn’t work. Instead, it only delayed the prophecy for a couple of years. This past time allowed Laius and Jocasta to think that they were safe from the prophecy and that they were exercising their free will. Likewise, Oedipus too thought he …show more content…
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
Many times in life, people think they can determine their own destiny, but, as the Greeks believe, people cannot change fate the gods set. Though people cannot change their fate, they can take responsibility for what fate has brought them. In the story Oedipus, by Sophocles, a young king named Oedipus discovers his dreadful fate. With this fate, he must take responsibility and accept the harsh realities of what’s to come. Oedipus is a very hubris character with good intentions, but because he is too confident, he suffers. In the story, the city of Thebes is in great turmoil due to the death of the previous king, Laius. With the thought of helping his people, Oedipus opens an investigation of King Laius’s murder, and to solve the mystery, he seeks advice from Tiresias, a blind prophet. When Laius comes, Oedipus insists on having the oracle told to all of Thebes showing no sign of hesitation or caution. This oracle states that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus must learn to deal with his terrible and appalling fate the way a true and honorable king would. Because...
In the Sophocles play, “Oedipus Rex,” discrepancy between whether Oedipus is the main culprit for murdering King Laius or if Oedipus has become the scapegoat for the cause of the city’s plague that took many lives. The murder of King Laius strikes the interest of many readers and therefore creating the discussion of who would be a culprit for the crime. One side of the argument shows the Greek Gods set a curse upon Oedipus making his destiny one of wrongful conviction for a murderous crime. On the argument’s opposing side the goddesses determine Oedipus’s fate will be to murder his own father unknowingly on his way to becoming King of Thebes. Also, a third argument can be made as to Oedipus did murder his father to save his family from a fate worse than the prophecies set upon the family. Combining these theories makes for an interesting discussion that could aim in many directions. Therefore, these directions of murder may lead to a conclusion that Oedipus has become the city’s scapegoat or his fate was to murder his own father King Laius or another possible conclusion could be Oedipus’s commitment of the crime for the sake of his own family.
Through the character of Oedipus, Sophocles shows the futility and consequences of defying the divine order. Oedipus served Thebes as a great ruler, loved by his subjects; but it is his one tragic flaw, hubris, which dooms his existence, regardless of the character attributes that make him such a beloved king.
Oedipus Rex is what is known as the tragedy of destiny. Its tragic effect is said to lie in contrast between the supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson which…the deeply moved spectator should learn from this tragedy is submission to the divine will and realization of his own impotence.
The search for truth is a task every human strives for in his/her journey. Each human is blinded from some kind of truth because they are shielded by parents or even friends. However, the blindness fails eventually and the truth is revealed whether one is ready to hear or not. In today’s modern reality the truth is hidden everywhere as society chooses to be blind in some cases. In Sophocles’s famous play, Oedipus Rex, human morals are displayed frequently using philosophical prophecies. Great philosophers and modern day scholars of society relate and empathize how the two terms are related. In the play, Oedipus is the king of Thebes described as being a leader with a hot temper and rage when deciding problems for the City of Thebes (“Kafkas Üniversitesi Akademik” lines 387-389). This temper had followed unpleasing words in which the oracle Tiresias told Oedipus. The information revealed a frightening prophecy to Oedipus which threatened his very own reputation. Tiresias, with a
“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
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests that the impact of seeing the truth is harmful rather than enlightening. Whenever Oedipus strives to discover more to strengthen Thebes’ perspective of him, it leads him closer to his fate as determined by prophesy. Tiresias stands as a model in the play for the individual who is able to see the meaning beyond plot of events although his is blind, and Oedipus represents the oblivious arrogant individual who is never content because they need to be the unsurpassed individual. In the play, Sophocles illustrates the downside of a personality like Oedipus who desires to see the truth by ending the play with the brutality of gouging out his own eyes. Ultimately, the play reinforces that seeing the truth is harmful and being content with what you have, without greedily striving for more, can help avoid fate and a related deposition.
This essay seeks to explore the life of the flawed mythological person, Oedipus, as protagonist of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.
Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, presents to the reader a full range of conflicts and their resolution after a climax.
Sophocles’ Oedipus is the tragedy of tragedies. An honorable king is deceived and manipulated by the gods to the point of his ruination. In the face of ugly consequences Oedipus pursues the truth for the good of his city, finally exiling himself to restore order. Sophocles establishes emotional attachment between the king and the audience, holding them in captivated sympathy as Oedipus draws near his catastrophic discovery. Oedipus draws the audience into a world between a rock and a hard place, where sacrifice must be made for the greater good.
Oedipus the King is a play written by Scophocles. In the play Oedipus is perceived as a hero and a great man to the people of Thebes. When Thebes was is in a time of trouble they would come to the King. In the story it talks about how the kingdom is suffering from a great plague and the King sends Creon to find an answer from a higher god named Apollo for help. Oedipus is a confident King, but as the story goes on his eyes are open to the suffering and sin he is living in all along. In the article written by Heller, one can see how suffering can be a time of growth as it is also shown in the play. The article also mentions one cannot love without suffering. (Heller) During Oedipus time as King, He was trustworthy, respected the land of Thebes,
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
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.
In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays the clash between fate and free will that is a cornerstone of Athenian culture. Sophocles shows us that Athenians are ultimately puppets of the Gods through the life and death of Oedipus. The actions Oedipus takes to counteract the foretold prophecies ultimately lead to his fulfillment of them. The lack of control Oedipus has over his fate emphasizes the tragedy of the story. Oedipus’ life has been out of his hands since he was born, thus he is merely an instrument of the Gods’ bidding.
Fate plays a very important role in Oedipus Rex as it is clearly inescapable and is not subject to change by free will, or even the will of the Gods. We learn of the prophecy given to Laius and Jocasta that their son will kill his father and marry his mother. Upon the birth of Oedipus, Laius and Jocasta send for a shepherd to come and take him away to be killed so that the prophecy cannot be fulfilled. Throughout the story we are continually shown how various characters efforts to escape their fate lead to nothing but fulfillment of that exact fate; and that man cannot deny his sorrow and suffering by escaping the fate that provokes it.