The Tragedy of Fate in Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King is widely regarded as a tragedy of fate. Briefly
stated, it begins with a terrible plague that destroys the city. King Oedipus
sends a messenger to the oracle at Delphi to find a cure. The answer that is
received suggests to find out who the killer of King Laios was. Oedipus sends
for the prophet Teiresias, who after much arguing, finally reveals that Oedipus
himself is the murderer. Slowly but surely the history of Oedipus' situation
begins to unravel, and it is discovered that there was a prophecy made that he
would unwittingly kill his father and marry his mother; Oedipus fulfilled his
prophecy.
The conflict here lies with the struggle between the all powerful gods
and the mere will of the humans. The prophecy had been made about Oedipus as
soon as he was born. Once the destiny was foretold by the gods, no amount of
hope, faith, or vain effort by human beings could have prevented it.
As soon as there was interference with fate, it was counteracted by the
divinities. Jocasta wanted to kill the baby, so she skewed his legs together,
had a servant bring him to the forest and leave him for dead. The servant does
not want to carry out this deed and therefore "saves his life" by handing the
baby to someone else, so that he can be raised in another city. Further, a
drunken man in a tavern tells Oedipus about the prophecy, so he runs home to
question his parents about his fate. Instead of telling him the truth, they
give him the impression that they are in fact his biological parents.
The idea that must be pointed out here, is that once an oracle or a
prophet makes a prediction, it is destined to be and there is absolutely nothing
that can be done about it. Oedipus was highly regarded as a noble and honorable
king. However, if we explore beneath the exterior, we will discover that in
actuality, the King has many faults and is not so honorable and noble.
Oedipus seems to be driven by an unconscious rage. Being very short
tempered, he is quick to lash out at those whose opinions are different from his.
Both the CEO of Exxon, Lee Raymond, and the CEO of Mobil, Lucio Noto, announced that it is because of this reduction in prices and downsizing within the oil industry that the merger is taking place, the very nature of the oil industry was becoming increasingly competitive. The oil industry as whole was becoming more efficient, causing oil prices to fallr. Firms can only maintain their prices equal to or above marginal cost, and if prices are lower than marginal...
America is dependent on other nations for their ability to create energy. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of oil at 18.49 million barrels of oil per day. And it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future considering the next largest customer of oil only consumes about 60% of what the U.S. does. This makes the U.S. vulnerable to any instability that may arise in the energy industry. In 2011, the world’s top three oil companies were Saudi Aramco (12%), National Iranian Oil Company (5%), and China National Petroleum Corp (4%). The risk associated with these countries being the top oil producers is twofold. One, they are located half way around the world making it an expensive to transport the product logistically to a desired destination. And two, the U.S. has weak, if not contentious,...
His pride forces him to find the traitor who murdered Laius. He eventually finds out that he is the sinner and gouges his eyes out to prove that he is not worthy of sight.
In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus ' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King.
tells the priest and the suffering people of Thebes. If Oedipus did not care for
In 2004, crude oil producers around the world expected a 1.5% growth in the world’s demand for crude oil. The actual growth rate was more than double the projections at 3.3%. This growth was due to rapidly industrializing of foreign countries such as, China and India. Therefore the lack of crude oil affected the supply of gasoline to consumers at the pump.
makes up his mind of killing himself too by her dead body. At the tomb
The whole idea of similarities of free will within Christianity and this story seem to keep flowing. In both Christianity and Oedipus Rex there are omniscient forces that created everything and spend eternity surveying over their glorious works of art. For the most part, these "greater beings" let people figure things out for themselves. The inhabitants of their creations are not completely the God or god's marionette puppets though. They have to figure things out on their own, they think act, and feel very much so and totally on their own. This is called free will. The basic idea is that the "higher being or beings" know exactly what is going to occur, but they let the humans figure things out on their own.
The Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, was written to show the common people of Greece how powerful the gods are and that your fate is pre-determined and nothing you do can change that. He does this by showing how people in this story try to escape their fate and how it is no use because in the end, what the oracles predict comes true. In the story there are many occasions in which people try to escape their fate.
Oedipus consults an oracle who says that the plague will continue until the murderer of the previous king is brought to justice. Oedipus eventually discovers that (plot twist) he killed the previous king, who was in fact the man in the chariot years ago.... ... middle of paper ... ...
This paper focuses on the oil industry, limited to crude oil and refineries U.S. based companies, is identified as oligopoly in U.S. market due to their market shares and powers.
A common debate that still rages today is whether we as a species have free will or if some divine source, some call it fate, controls our destiny. The same debate applies to Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Does Oedipus control his actions, or are they predetermined by the gods? It’s that question that makes Oedipus a classic, and many different people think many different things.
that the victim was his own father. Later, he successfully solves the problem. riddle of the Sphinx. Again, without knowledge, he marries the widow queen. of Thebes and his very own mother, Jocasta.
Kumins, M. (2000, September 22). Richardson says proposals to alleviate oil crisis. States News Service Newsletter, 348, 6-7.
But now, the king was killed by a foreign highway robber at the place where three roads meet-so goes the story” (1.1.791-796). The man he killed on that street was actually his dad. What Oedipus did not know, was that the people he thought his parents and ran away from, were just his adoptive parents. So if he had not been so set on changing his fate, then that awful fate the oracle predicted, might not have come true as he imagined.... ...