The Strong Character and Unavoidable Destiny of Oedipus Rex Oedipus the King, by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man doomed by his fate. Like most tragedies, Oedipus the King contains a tragic hero, a heroic figure unable to escape his own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia, a tragic flaw, which causes his downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk right into the fate he sought to escape. Oedipus' pride pushes him toward his tragic end in the initial journey, when he kills his father, in the episode of the sphinx, and in his adamant search for truth. Pride like that of Oedipus has been the downfall of many great leaders. Oedipus is blinded by his arrogance and won't accept the fact that he can't avoid his fate. His pride first affects him when he is told about what his fate has in-store for him. Oedipus explains to Jocasta that he was told that he "was fated to lie with [his] mother and show to daylight an accursed breed, which men would not endure, and [he] was doomed to be murderer of the father that begot [him]. When [he] heard this [he] fled" (Sophocles 45, 1.792-4). Ironically the pride that caused him to attempt to avoid his fate, put him on a path to it. On his trip away from Corinth, he unknowingly met with his father, King Laius. When Oedipus tells Jocasta of his encounter he says that he met with a carriage at an intersection and they fought over the right of way. He also mentions one man (King Laius) struck him and said that: "He [King Laius] was paid in full and ... my stick had struck him backwards from the car and he rolled out of it. And then I killed them all" (45, 1.801-13).... ... middle of paper ... ...ppen. Oedipus' fate might have been avoided if Oedipus was not the type of person he was Oedipus was a tragic hero. Sophocles, instead of killing Oedipus in the end of the novel, chose to give Oedipus a fate worse then death. Oedipus found out who he was and that he killed his father and slept with his mother. His tragic end was a result of his hamartia, hubris. His pride was what caused him to attack the carriage and kill his father, which led to him marrying his mother. He could have ignored the mere right of way argument, but the person he was inside couldn't. His self-confidence and pride, turned into arrogance, and caused him to curse himself. Ironically the traits Oedipus had which led to him becoming a rich and powerful king ultimately led to his tragic end. Perhaps if Oedipus had been a different person inside, he might have been able to escape his fate.
"World War II in Europe." 10 June 2013. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 18 March 2014 .
Concerned authorities have focused essentially on criminalization and punishment, to find remedies to the ever-increasing prevalent drug problem. In the name of drug reducing policies, authorities endorse more corrective and expensive drug control methods and officials approve stricter new drug war policies, violating numerous human rights. Regardless of or perhaps because of these efforts, UN agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry at $US400 billion, or the equivalent of roughly eight per cent of total international trade (Riley 1998). This trade has increased organized/unorganized crime, corrupted authorities and police officials, raised violence, disrupted economic markets, increased risk of diseases an...
During World War II, Hitler rounded up people who were not part of the Aryan Race and sent them to concentration camps; in those camps, some of those people served as test subjects for medical experimentation. These experiments separate into three categories. The first type were “experiments aimed at facilitating the survival of Axis military personnel,” (Museum). Next, the “experimentation aimed at developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods for injuries and illnesses which German military and occupation personnel encountered in the field” (Museum). Finally, the “[experimentations] sought to advance the racial and ideological tenets of the Nazi worldview” (Museum). In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, Dr. Mengele conducted at least two of the selections that Elie had to watch and go through, but it is different because in Night, Elie Wiesel was not aware of the experiments and only saw Dr. Mengele during the selections. Dr. Mengele and other SS doctors received the power to test various medical experiments on Jews, Gypsies, war prisoners, the unwanted, and others that Hitler sent to concentration camps. Some were done for science and others were just to satisfy the doctor's interests.
Oedipus the King conveys many lessons that are relevant to people living today despite the fact that it was written by Sophocles twenty four centuries ago. Oedipus is a child destined to kill his father and marry his mother. During his life, he makes many mistakes trying to avoid his fate. These mistakes teach us about the nature of humans under certain circumstances. Oedipus possesses personality traits which causes him to make wrong decisions. Attributes like arrogance and his inability to make calm decisions in certain scenarios due to his anger causes his downfall. Oedipus’ excessive pride, like many people today, was an important factor that brought him grief. Oedipus’ lack of patience caused him to make hasty decisions which lead him to his greatest agony. Oedipus’ massive ego turned into excessive vanity, this was the first step to his downfall. Oedipus talks to Creon about the murderer of Laius. He declares, “Then I’ll go back and drag that shadowed past to light… but by myself and for myself I’ll break this plague” (Sophocles, 11). Oedipus is saying that he will be the on...
Ironically, he initially became a King by solving a riddle and now he is trying to solve another to try and maintain his image and control his destiny. “Human happiness is built on an illusion” (Dodds 27). This quote is a good connection to the role of Oedipus, because while attempting to keep the Kingdom under control and keep his image unharmed, he is left in the dark by ignoring the signs. The irony of ignoring the past continues when “Creon brings the information that there will be no relief until the murderer of Laius is expelled from the city… [And] the murder mystery slowly becomes a quest for Oedipus ' identity” (Derrida). Building upon the investigation, Oedipus grows a keen interest for who he truly is. Is there any truth to the prophecies that which he and Jocasta have seemingly forgot about? At this point, it seems as though Oedipus must finally face his fear and discover the truth that he has been avoiding for so long. The only way for Oedipus to find out the lies he has been living is to seek for the only witness of his father’s murder, a shepherd. Only until Oedipus threatens to kill the shepherd does he tell the truth and reveal the tragic events which have been avoided for so long. In this moment before certainty of the past is brought to light, the relationship between self-control and self-image is linked and soon to be changed
Not only did Clinton have positive impacts on the economy, but he has also made negative impacts on the economy in the United States. During his term the Congress was made up of Republicans, which helped him improve the economy. The congress was exercising fiscal restraint, but the citizens believed Clinton was doing it all on his own (“ProConorg” 2). The article “Was Bill Clinton a Good President” says:
Oedipus demonstrates that he is not a purely evil character by fleeing his home town for safety of others, taking care of his city and accepting responsibility for his actions. Once Oedipus has grown to be a young man he is told that he is to kill his father and sleep with his mother because it is his fate. As a result “I [Oedipus] herd and fled” to Thebes so he can prevent those actions from occurring (822). Oedipus runs away from his fate to help himself out as well as his family. He does not want to kill his father; therefore, he runs away from his fate for the safety of his father. This shows that he is not a purely evil character because he is saving a life and looking after others besides himself. However, running from what he believes is his fate causes him to run into his real fate which leads to his downfall as a leader. On the other hand, it causes Oedipus to take the position as king of Thebes. Being leader of the city, he is forced into
Implications of implementing this approach may be “to reduce the dangers of drug use for the community and the individual, and to shift the focus of illegal drugs as primarily a criminal justice of medical issue to a social and/or public health iss...
Oedipus's pride leads to the story's tragic ending. He is too proud to consider the words of the prophet Teiresias, choosing, instead to rely on his own investing powers. Teiresias warns him not to pry into these matters, but pride in his intelligence leads Oedipus to continue his search. Oedipus thinks he can change fate. He just tries to ignore it, because he counts on his own ability to root out the truth. Oedipus is a clever man, but he is blind to the truth and refuses to believe Teiresias's warnings. He suffers because of his hamartia. I t is this excessive pride fuels his own destruction. I would just say Oedipus is a tragic hero.
The drug problem in the U.S. and around the world is an important issue and seems to be a difficult problem to tackle across the board. The inflow of drugs has become one of the largest growths in transnational crime operations; illicit drug use in the United States makes it very difficult for nation states police and customs forces to get a handle on the issues. War on drugs, drug trafficking has long been an issue for the United States. There has been a proclamation of “war on drugs” for the past 44 years.
Oedipus left Corinth to avoid his foretold fate, he went to Thebes. On his journey he ran into a caravan at the crossroads before entering Thebes. This caravan was of the present King of Thebes, Laius, but Oedipus did not know that. The people on the caravan started insulting Oedipus. Oedipus lost his temper and in a rage he killed them all, except for one servant who escaped "... I found myself upon the self-same spot where, you say, the king perished ... When in my travels I wa come near this place where three roads meet, there met me a herald, and a man that rode in a colt-carriage ... And the old man himself, would thrust me, I, deing enraged, strike him who jostled me-- The driver-- and the old man ... He paid though! duly I ay not; but in brief, smitten by the staff in this right hand of mine ...
A genetic disorder is a disease that is caused by a mutation (change in DNA sequence that makes up a gene) in a person’s DNA. Inheriting a faulty gene can cause susceptibility to cancer and can cause many different conditions. A mutated gene creates a defective protein, which results in a disease (Defective gene▬►defective protein▬►disorder). Since gene therapy targets the faulty gene it treats the actual disease instead of treating the symptoms like most current medicine and treatments. Examples of genetic disorders are phenylketonuria, Huntington’s disease, sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis and polycystic kidney disease. Gene therapy can also treat acquired diseases like some cancer, and Parkinson ’s disease. In 1990 adenosine deaminase deficiency (the lack of an important enzyme in the immune system) was the first genetic disorder to go through gene therapy trials. It was chosen because a simple gene causes it. The promising results gave gene therapy a good and hopeful start.
A St. Lawrence Skiff is a rowing vessel between 18 and 22 feet long, about 4 feet wide in the middle and pointed on both ends. It weighs at least a couple of hundred pounds and is the perfect rowing craft for the strong currents and choppy water found in the 1000 Islands. Hughie had told me about their double-oared skiff called Helen during lunch at the picnic table. Following our softball game a few days after the fishing marathon, Hughie suggested that we take a row to town to load up on candy and see the sights.
Sophocles demonstrates in the play Oedipus the King that a human being, not a God, ultimately determines destiny. That is, people get what they deserve. In this play, one poorly-made judgment results in tragic and inescapable density. Oedipus fights and kills Laius without knowing Laius is his father. Then, Oedipus's pitiless murdering causes several subsequent tragedies such as the incestuous marriage of Oedipus gets into the flight with Laius. However, Oedipus's characteristics after Laius's death imply that Oedipus could avoid the fight as well as the murder of his father, but did not. Ultimately, Oedipus gets what he deserves due to his own characteristics that lead him to murder Laius: impatience, delusion, and arrogance.
When Oedipus realizes what his future holds he decides to avoid it at all costs. As a result, he picked up and ran away. He decided not to tell his parents he was leaving so that he could avoid hurting their feelings. When he was on his journey to Thebes there were people coming towards him and they got in an upset about who had the right of way where three roads crossed. He ended up killing all but one of the men there. This is where Sophocles proves that you can never run from your fate. Even Jocasta accounts for this happening, “That it was fate that he should die a victim at the hands of his own son, a son to be born to Laius and me. But now, he the king was killed by a foreign highway robber at the place were three roads meet-so goes the story” (1.1.791-796). The man he killed in that street was actually his dad.