Luke Schulz
Mrs. Daly
English
13 January 2016
According to Aristotle, Oedipus in Sophocles's play, Oedipus the King, would be considered a tragic hero. Oedipus is considered a tragic hero not only because he made the mistake of killing Laius, because he ends up exiling himself from his own city. At the end of Sophocles’s play Oedipus eventually reaches an all time low. This downfall is caused by him discovering what negative things he has done to his family and to his city. This downfall was caused by Apollo, the Greek god of Prophecy. Apollo is the cause of the downfall because it is proven many times in the play that you can’t control your own destiny which ultimately means that Oedipus’s fate was already written out for him by the
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gods. This means that nobody could of caused or prevented what has happened to him but the gods. Apollo is the cause of Oedipus’s downfall because if it wasn't because of his prophecy that Oedipus would never of left his homeland, Corinth, and come in contact with Laius in the first place. In the play, Oedipus says, “Yes, I fled to somewhere where I should not see fulfilled with infamies (Sophocles lines 920-930)”. This quote from the play shows that Oedipus leaves his homeland and doesn't come back to Corinth because he is afraid he will fulfill the prophecy and kill his father while marrying his mother. But, Oedipus did not know that Laius and Jocasta where the parents in the prophecy not Polybus and Merope. Oedipus also said, “...I ran away from Corinth. From then on I thought of it just as a place beneath the stars. I went to other lands, so I would never see that prophecy fulfilled, the abomination of my evil fate. In my travelling I came across that place in which you say your king was murdered. And now, lady, I will tell you the truth. As i was on the move, I passed close by a pot where three roads meet, and in that place I met a herald and a horse-drawn carriage, with a man inside, just as you described….In my rage, I lashed out at the driver, Then I killed them all.” (Sophocles line 800-820). This quote from the plays proves that If Apollo never spoke the prophecy, then he would of never moved from Corinth and kill Laius because he would of never interacted with Laius in the first place. Another reason that Apollo is the cause for Oedipus’s downfall is Oedipus has no control of his own fate.
Oedipus can’t control his fate because everything that the gods want for him would eventually play out in his life. In the play Tiresias says “well, it will come what will, though I be mute, OEDIPUS: since come it must, the duty is to tell me” (Sophocles 341). This quote from Tiresias shows that everything that has happened to him was already determined by the gods even before he was born. Therefore, he was supposed to murder Laius even though it would cause his downfall. This also means that Oedipus was also supposed to learn about who is really is and who Jocasta and Laius really are to him which also is a major cause to his downfall. Another quote that proves that Apollo is the cause for Oedipus’s downfall is “It was Apollo...he brought on these troubles the awful things I suffer” (Lines 1900-1902). This quote shows that Oedipus also believes that he was cursed by the gods and that no-matter what he will do, everything the gods want will eventually happen. Oedipus feels this way because it attempted to escape the prophecy, he accidentally fulfills it. Ultimately, Apollo is the cause of Oedipus’s downfall because Oedipus can’t control his own fate.
Even though some people may think Oedipus himself is to blame for Oedipus’s downfall because his stubbornness and arrogance, Apollo is to blame for his downfall because in attempt for Oedipus to escape Apollo’s prophecy, he
accidentally fulfilled it due to its lack of information about who his real parents are.
Oedipus is a tragic hero being that he was a king who had a high position in his community to a person who wished to be released from the city forever. Oedipus says " Cast me out as quickly as you can, away from Thebes, to a place where no one, no living human being, will cross my path" (Sophocles ll. 1697-1699). Oedipus was once a person who citizens looked to for answers to problems, and a person who had control over a whole city. To a person who wished to be banished from a new king of Thebes. The use of tragic hero in the story shows a slow slope of not only his position as king, but a man who loses his family and gains information about his real identity. Sending him to his
Oedipus' downfall was partially his own fault, although it was not entirely deserved. Oedipus made the choices in his life that brought him into contact with his parents. He also choose to kill a man in a fit of rage. He had control over all of these factors, but it can be argued. that he was destined from the beginning to commit these deeds no matter how Oedipus tried to prevent them from happening....
King Oedipus was born and then abandoned by his biological parents, he was raised by foster parents, who treated him as their own son. His extreme obsession about wanting to know about himself is what brought his downfall because as he tried to escape his fate about the prophecy, the more the prophecy was fulfilled and things got worse for him. The story of Oedipus shows us clearly that we cannot run away from destiny since if the gods know about our future, there is absolutely nothing that can be done to reverse what the gods have foretold for us.
Oedipus’ downfall was caused by his lack of knowledge, hasty decisions, and false justice. Bernard Knox says this clearly “these attributes of divinity – knowledge, certainty, justice - are all qualities Oedipus thought he possessed – and that is why he was the perfect example if the inadequacy of human knowledge, certainty, and justice”. Oedipus was meant do the crimes he committed based on the actions of his parents, but he did not have certainty of knowledge and made the rest of his life miserable. Oedipus caused his own downfall by lacking the qualities of knowledge, certainty, and
Some perceive Oedipus, in Oedipus the King, to be an evil villain, while others a completely innocent man who is plagued by fate. Sophocles, however, desired to portray Oedipus as a mix between the two- as a tragic hero. According to Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus fits the criteria of a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he vigorously protests his situation, believes he has his own freedom and has supreme pride. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus continually protests the idea that he is subjected to a prophecy.
From the beginning of Sophocles’ unfortunate play, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus takes many actions and makes many choices leading to his own collapse. He could have endured the plague, but out of sympathy for his anguished citizens, he has Creon go to Delphi. When he learns of Apollo’s word, he could have calmly investigated the murder of the former King Laios, but in his hastiness, he condemns the murderer, forbidding the fellow citizens “ever to receive that man or speak to him…let him join in sacrifice, lustration…driven from every house,” (632-3). In doing so, he inadvertently curses
Being in a position of great power, can cause one to think they are the ones in control. Oedipus and Creon in Sophocles’ plays, The Oedipus Cycle, find out that being a king is nothing in comparison to being a god. Throughout their lives of triumph that ended in misfortune, they learned great value from changing their ways and recognizing their stubborn pride. Oedipus was able to see his faults much sooner than Creon, though their fate was inevitable. A tragic hero is one who makes a judgement error that ultimately leads him/her to their own destruction while also learning from the experience. They both are deemed tragic heroes, after facing their fate, accepting the responsibilities of their actions, and recognizing the Gods are the ones in
No one can be held fully responsible for actions committed under some kind of external constraint, and for the case of Oedipus, such constraint might be exerted by god. But it does not mean that Oedipus suffers not because of his guilt, but of his goodness, because Oedipus is responsible for those actions which are not performed under constraint. Oedipus has choices, but every time he chooses the wrong one even he knew that the one he chose will turn out to be bad. He still chooses this road to certain extend, is because of his arrogant pride. I think the events of the play are Oedipus fault. Oedipus makes important mistakes or errors in judgment that lead to this ending. His pride, blindness, and foolishness all play a part in the tragedy that befalls him.
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.
According to Aristotle, the protagonist in a tragedy must have a tragic flaw that ultimately becomes the cause of his ruin. Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles tragic flaw that caused his downfall was his pride. Three examples of when Oedipus’ pride got the better of him were: when he left his adopted parents in Cornith, the second is when he goes against Creon, and the third is when Oedipus is demanding that the messenger tell him all he knows about who his real parents are.
As predicted from the Oracle, Oedipus fate will be to kill his own father and marry his mother, he discovers that he has already fulfilled his fate by his insistent in knowing the truth. Oedipus is given a series of choice in discovering his identity or leaving it to up to fate throughout the play. His egotistical and persistent nature lead him to thoughtlessly make the incorrect decisions, consequently, it is Oedipus’s burden that the tragedy is revealed, not the responsibility of fate. In the mean well Oedipus and those close to him consider “fate” the main reason of Oedipus downfall. To the audience it shows something totally different, Oedipus is ultimately responsible for his tragedy. Possibly the most evident reason Oedipus is accountable is that by the end of the play Oedipus has taken responsibility for his actions. Oedipus states, "Now loathed by the gods, son of the mother I defiled coupling in my fathers bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. What grief can crown this grief? It's mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus!" (Sophocles 1492). Oedipus obviously sta...
Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.
In conclusion, the gods, Apollo in particular, played a major part in the overall circumstances of Oedipus. Oedipus’ destruction influenced his family, and thus the gods demolished an entire family. As a result of this terrible destruction of a man’s life and his family, the reader would consider the gods guilty and evil. The gods followed four steps to destroy Oedipus completely. First, they controlled his fate and led him to murder his father, and marry his mother. They provided people with the power of prophecy to make Laius and Jocasta give away their child. Not only that, but Apollo’s oracle told Oedipus about his terrible fate that involve his parents to make him move to Thebes. Finally, they send a plague to the Thebans for not punishing the murderer of their king, which results in Oedipus’ exile or execution. Oedipus, the wise king, has never been destroyed by an evil man, but he was totally destroyed by what they call merciful, just gods.
In fact, every feature in the definition of the tragic hero can be applied to the character of Oedipus. First, he is a good man. He made a virtuous service to Thebes and save the city by solving the riddle of Sphinx. In addition, he is good king and he can feel the suffering of his people because of the plague. He tells them "each one of you is enclosed to himself" he tells them that his suffering is greater than ...
Oedipus Rex is considered to be one of the greatest tragedies. It has all the hallmarks of Greek tragedies. This includes the downfall of the character of high status or power, the hero’s suffering because of hamartia, and his hubris that causes the error. Oedipus, the tragic hero, was prideful. It could be argued that because of this trait; he makes the mistake of trying to escape his fate; thus making sure it would come true. Although Oedipus was flawed, this is not the complete reason for his downfall. The gods, not surprisingly, had a hand in Oedipus’ horrible fate. Apollo engineered the events that would ultimately end in Oedipus’ catastrophe.