How Does Oedipus Control His Fate

In conclusion, Oedipus’ fate had been predetermined, and he had no control over the situation he was set on. In fact, the only dilemma Rex could actually control was the way he responded to injustice. Although he, sadly, blinded himself in a quite brutal way, his reasoning for this and the words he uttered displayed how he was a great

A person’s actions, feelings and behaviour towards others all largely impact their own future. Some citizens in society tend to make bad decisions in their lives and create trouble for themselves all because they did not take time to consider the influence they have upon themselves and those around them. Acting without thinking of the repercussions and behaving in difficult ways are just some examples of how people cause their own fate. One man that demonstrates these issues and causes major problems for himself is Oedipus. Oedipus’ pride, impetuous behaviour and lack of insight ultimately determine his inevitable fate.

Oedipus was a powerful man that had his life ruined by his excessive pride and selfishness. The same qualities that helped him to rise and become the king of Thebes also caused him to feel a lot of pain. He lost everything that he had gained in a short period of time. Oedipus learned that having power was not all that he thought it was. His life had been a lie and he actually didn’t know anything about the place he was born until he was instructed to save it. Oedipus himself caused his downfall with his selfishness and pride.

As Oedipus was born into royalty, he started his life in a condemned manner. At only a few days old, Oedipus’ family tried to stop the prophecy that was given by the oracle. Clearly worried about the message, the King took matters into his own hands trying to stop a per-determined fate. “He wasn’t three days old and the boy’s father fastened

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.

In my opinion Oedipus was truly doomed from the beginning. He tried his hardest to avoid the prophecy he was given at birth but to no avail. Many people tried to change the course of Oedipus’s future and even went as far as holding back damaging information. Peoples attempts to change Oedipus’s fate went as far back as the day he was born. His own biological parents tried to have their infant son killed to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. Oedipus himself tried everything possible to escape his fate. He left his home and took on a new identity to insure his safe future. However, no amount of distance he traveled or amount of precautions he took, fate conquered all and the prophecy was

From the very beginning of Oedipus, it is made clear "that his destiny be one of fate and worse". The irony is that Oedipus unknowingly repeatedly predicts his own fate: "It was I who called down these curses on that man." Oedipus has unconsciously married his mother and killed his father, just as the Oracle predicted. Fate is proven to be unavoidable to Oedipus as the play

Oedipus Rex “I have consorted with whom I should not have consorted, killed whom I should not have killed” (Lines 1142-1144). In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus ends up doing what he feared most, killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus is trying to find the murderer of the old king of Thebes because the city is hit with a plague. The investigation leads Oedipus to find out that killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling the prophecy, and when Oedipus learns the truth he blinds himself and is exiled. Oedipus thought that he was the best of men for which reasons the city of Thebes had been placed in his hands.

At the beginning of the story, Oedipus can physically see but is ignorant to the truth. While having a conversation Oedipus objects that he cannot be Laius’ murderer. Tiresias, a blind seer, is brought to Thebes on request by Oedipus to help find Laius’ killer, but he “sees” Oedipus’ fate and yells, “All of you are blind to the truth! You know nothing! You… you see nothing! (6) Tiresias’ literal blindness allows him to see the future whereas Oedipus’ figurative blindness doesn’t allow him to the truth. At the end of the conversation between the two men Tiresias declares, “ You

Oedipus is a very determined person due to him trying to find the murderer of the past king Laios to rid the evil curse on the city of Thebes . Oedipus will not stop till Thebes is free from the dreaded curse . Oedipus expresses his determination to the city by saying “You shall see how I stand by you as I should. To avenge the city and the city’s god , and not as though it were for some distant friend , but for my own sake , to be rid of the evil” page 9. This quote shows Oedipus’s determination to better the city.

Oedipus is in a constant struggle with the situation of determining the murderer of the King of Thebes. The death of the King has marked the plaque and sickness of the kingdom, and the only way to remove it is to remove the King’s murderer from the kingdom. In Oedipus Rex there is a noticeable change in Oedipus throughout the play during these harsh times which would greatly change everything about him which starts with him being noble and smart, then being ignorant and thinks he is smarter than everyone else, and then when he figures out his past. Oedipus was once a helpful man who had always stood up for the people of his kingdom; to resolve any issues that may arise to harm any innocent person.

Greeks believed strongly in the influence of fate and the idea that the invisible power of the gods have control over one’s future. Fate is the central theme in Oedipus the King and this tragic play demonstrates how human lives are destined to take a certain path. E.R. Dodd writes: that “Oedipus Rex is a tragedy of destiny. . .the play proves that man has no free will but is a puppet in the hands of gods who pull strings to make him dance” (37). In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses foreshadowing, symbolism, and dramatic irony as he reveals to his audience the lesson that a person cannot escape their predestined fate.

However, when he finds the prophecy to be true in the end, Oedipus has a moment of realization as he gouges at his eyes. He finally understands his involvement within the prophecy and takes responsibility for the decay of Thebes. He says, “but never ask my father’s city here/ to welcome me alive within its walls./ No, let me wander hills where I belong” (Sophocles 1449-1451). That said Oedipus' story exemplifies how destiny is inescapable, and how his quest to outwit fate follows in his own pitiful destruction. By attempting to defy the knowledge and warnings of Tiresias, and, thus, the power of fate, Oedipus's stubborn sense of pride goes directly against the will of the gods. Yet, it is Oedipus who still states, "You argue justly, yet there’s not a man/ can force unwilling deities to act” (Sophocles 279-280). Ironically, Oedipus cannot see that his actions are doing just that, and it is only when he is punished for his hubris, and he loses his eyesight, can he finally see the truth. This experience can be seen as patheimathus, a Greek term that translates to “in suffering comes learning.” Through Oedipus’s journey to find the truth behind his prophecy, he suffers a great deal, which leads to a learning experience at the end of

I decided to write on The Tragic Hero In Oedipus Tyrannus because I know that there is a hero within the tragedy that he suffers. The epic poem know for his downfall by avoiding fate, which in turn can not be avoided, can be reintroduced as a gift from the Gods. Oedipus can be seen as giving the people of Thebes a man with heroic qualities and acting upon these qualities, versus being the result of a Laius curse. I will prove that journey is the real reason for the epic poem, with the process of foreshadows helping design the conclusion of the complete heroic persona.

If we give ourselves up to a full sympathy with the hero, there is no question that the Oedipus Rex fulfills the function of a tragedy, and arouses fear and pity in the highest degree. But the modern reader, coming to the classic drama not entirely for the purpose of enjoyment, will not always surrender himself to the emotional effect. He is apt to worry about Greek fatalism and the justice of the downfall of Oedipus, and, finding no satisfactory solution for these intellectual difficulties, loses half the pleasure that the drama was intended to produce. Perhaps we trouble ourselves too much concerning the Greek notions of fate in human life. We are inclined to regard them with a lively