How Does Oedipus Cause His Own Fate

Fate is the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. It is a very common theme used in literature. We’ve seen examples from stories such as: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Iliad. We’ve been reading Oedipus the King written by Sophocles. My main thesis that I would be talking about is if: Oedipus was actually a victim of fate, or did he deserve what he got.

He constantly tries to outwit the gods and their celestial will. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus does everything he can to help Thebes and its people. He sends Creon to the oracle to get advice from Apollo. Creon then brings back news that Apollo says to get rid of the chaos and products left behind from king Laius’ death, and because Oedipus honors the gods, he vows to find Laius's murderer and punish him for his doings (Fitts and Fitzgerald 6). The reason Oedipus leaves his home and comes to Thebes is to escape the prophecy made by the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He trusts and honors the gods until he is accused of being the man who does this terrible things. He becomes so focused with trying to find the man who killed the king that he stops listening and respecting the gods and all of the people trying to make him understand the truth. His relationship with the gods overall falters because like many others, he respects the gods, but eventually, he begins to try to figure this mystery out by himself instead of understanding his fate given to him by the gods (Fitts and Fitzgerald 34). All of these characteristics provide examples of how his fate is

A dramatic conflict occurs when Oedipus gets into a fight with a group of men where three roads meet; one of those men is his father King Laius. He kills all the men except for one who flees from the scene and then notifies the Thebians of the tragic news. Oblivious to Oedipus, the first half of his fate (that he was trying so hard to avoid) is fulfilled. Usually crossroads signify a decision point. If Oedipus made the choice of being civil toward the strangers and not letting his temper get the best of him, he could have avoided his fate. Oedipus ends up in Thebes were he is granted the honor of being the King--he solves the Sphinx's riddle which results in the city being free from captivity. In addition, Oedipus marries his predecessor's wife, Queen Jocasta--the women who gave birth to him. Once again Oedipus has crossed paths with his fate and is still blind to it.

In the beginning of the story, Oedipus is very taken back by the situation. He will not accept the truth of his fate and accuses Tiresias of lying to him so Oedipus’s bother- in- law, Creon, could take the throne. Oedipus is extremely dumbfounded by this news because he had no knowledge of killing his father or marrying his mother, but what he learns later is that who he thought were his parents were not his real parents. When he finally realizes that he did in fact marry his own mother and kill his father, he accepts it and punishes himself in order to uphold his promise to his people. By this point there is no way Oedipus can escape his fate. Tiresias says to Oedipus, “No man in the world can make the gods do more than the gods will” (811). Since he did kill his father, the previous king, Oedipus has to be shunned by all of Thebes. Because there is no way of changing his fate, he accepts his responsibilities by giving himself the punishment he assigned to the murderer of Laius.

Oedipus was also a very selfish man. There are many places in the book that show Oedipus really only cares about himself. King Lauis’ murder was just one. He did all of the investigating to find out who his parents were for himself. Not for Jocasta who could possibly be his mother. He only cared if something bad was happening to him. He made everyone who might have known anything about him drop everything they were doing and come to him to tell him their story. He thought he didn’t need the gods so he insulted them by talking about how they didn’t help with the riddle and he did it all by himself. He was extremely self centered. Oedipus also cared more about himself than he did his wife or children. He didn’t think about anyone but himself when he found out he was married to his mother. He stabbed his own eyes out not even thinking about his children or how they would survive. He just knew that he couldn’t handle what he had seen so he was going to take the coward’s way out. Oedipus also cared too much about himself to kill himself. Instead he wanted to be paraded around Thebes blind so the citizens would pity him and talk about him. He gave his children to Creon without a second thought and didn’t even think about how that might be a burden on him.

Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, tells us about a tragic hero (Oedipus) in which his life is predetermined by fate, because he is deprived of free will. The first act of fate on Oedipus was him being saved by a shepherd when his parents (Queen Jocasta and King Laius) left him in the mountains to die, he then met and killed his father without knowing who he was, and last, he married Queen Jocasta, later realizing that she was his mother. Every action that Oedipus took to prevent his fate, would soon be the ultimate downfall, not only for himself, but for his family and the people of Thebes.

Oedipus Rex, also known as, Oedipus the King is the story of a man who’s most vicious enemy was himself. Oedipus is a tragic hero who constantly denies the truth and allows his pride to lead him to trials. The question this play raises is can you escape fate? Oedipus spends his life attempting to run from his fate and the fate of his parents.

Oedipus doesn’t realize the personal consequences his hunt for the murderer will have for him, and his loyalty to the truth is based on his ignorance. His pride, ignorance and unrelenting quest for the truth ultimately contributed to his destruction. An example is when Oedipus was told [after threatening Tiresias], that he was responsible for the murder of Laius. He became enraged and called the old oracle a liar. However, Oedipus thought he could outsmart the gods, but in fact, his every action moved him closer to the prophesy becoming a reality. Upon discovery of the truth of his birth from the herdsman, Oedipus cries, “O god all come true, all burst to light!/O light now let me look my last on you!/I stand revealed at last cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands”. (631). Oedipus knew that his fate had indeed come to pass and feels cursed by it. Oedipus was guilt, of killing his father and marrying his mother. He punishes himself for the sins he committed by gouging out his eyes. The true sin is when he attempts to raise himself to the level of the gods by trying to escape his fate. Oedipus is accepting the full burden of his acts and knows that he must be punished for his sins. Therefore, this last act of gouging out his eyes was the result of Oedipus’ free will and his tragic fate came about because every sin must

When Oedipus hears that he is the killer, his pride is wounded for he cannot accept the truth. His judgment is so blurred that he also begins to view Creon as a traitor for using Tiresias. Creon’s words sum up Oedipus’s rage when he said, “Oedipus, your husband, he’s bent on a choice of punishments for me, banishment from the fatherland or death” (715-717). Jocasta is even surprised with Oedipus’s unusual character, as she said, “For the love of God, Oedipus, tell me too, what is it? Why this rage? You’re so unbending” (767-769). The reason why Oedipus pride is so wounded can be because his negative experiences with the Gods. As a baby, he was condemned to death, yet he survived and learned the horrible truth of his prophecy. In attempt to escape that life, he lost belief in the word of the gods because he refused that the prophecies should come true. This struggle between God and Oedipus only tears his moral beliefs as he has to be stone cold to survive his tribulations. This meant giving no consideration against people who presently posed a great threat to him.

Oedipus’s bad temper caused him to kill multiple men on the way to Thebes, which ultimately ended in him killing his own father. Oedipus had very many flaws which each led him to his downfall and termination. He was a very prideful man who thought that he was always right and thought that no one else’s opinion but his mattered. All of this pride blinded him from seeing who he really truly was. He eventually let it get so bad that he ended doing some awful things.

Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze.

Amongst the many and spectacular classic theatre play’s “Oedipus” by Sophocles is by far the most common natured one due to the fact that mankind usually trying to outrun his fate. This play heavily relates to the prophecies and words messages sent from God to people to obey or face the consequences that lie ahead of them. Though the individuals are in disbelief after being told by Teiresias Oedipus believes that if he removes himself from the area his destiny will be forgone. Regardless of the measures that were taken in this play in order to prevent himself from killing his father and marrying his mother Oedipus blind sighted still ends up in the same situation. The plot twist is enough to make the reader wonder as to if King Lauis and Jocasta had listened to the messengers what would had occurred.

Oedipus’ character is set as a king who is considerate of his people, yet a man full of pride because of his power to be everyone’s savior during the plague. When addressing the plague, he refers to himself as, “I Oedipus whom all men call great” (73.8). Not only does his words show how great Oedipus thinks of himself, but his subjective tone emphasizes his ego right from the start. This portrays the status that he thinks he holds in the eyes of all people, showing the readers his potential to excessive pride. Oedipus addresses the plague and says, “The town is heavy with a mingled burden of sounds and smells, of groans and hymns and incense; I did not think it fit that I should hear this from messengers but came

Throughout the play Oedipus is given clues to his past and the fate that is to come, the moment that he gouges his eyes out shows these clues that he has missed. Jocasta says wildly, “In the name of heaven, don’t proceed! For your own life’s sake, stop! And I’ve been tortured long enough.” (59) This shows a moment of caution for Oedipus to not continue to seek the truth. The dramatic irony of this situation illuminates the horrors that are to come because of fate as well as Oedipus’ free will. Oedipus: “Laius was killed—I thought I caught the words—where three highways meet?” Jocasta: “So they said. That is how the story goes.” (41) Oedipus is first hearing the true story of the late king’s murder and seems to be beginning to realize that it was he who did the killing. Even though this could be his illuminating moment, Oedipus is unwilling to accept this fact and must hear

Oedipus the King would not have been successful throughout centuries as a tragic play, if Oedipus were clearly responsible for his own tragedy. The play's ongoing success was do to Oedipus' innocence which immediately makes one think he can not be fully responsible and to blame. I do not believe Sophocles would have wrote the story, or I do not think people would have ever read it or studied it had it simply been a story of a criminal's retribution. Sophocles himself believed Oedipus to be the innocent victim of an ironic tragedy, and built the play around this belief. This story was destined to happen and I believe the author would agree. The story revolves around destiny, the resistance of people to it and the ultimate ending of destiny