How Does Oedipus Shape His Own Future

At this point in the play, Oedipus is mentally processing his actions and their consequences in a stream of consciousness. Oedipus delivers this monologue after learning that he has killed his father and married his mother, finding Jocasta dead due to suicide, and, ultimately, blinding himself. This is the moment where Oedipus finally accepts his fate. Although Oedipus is speaking to the Chorus, he delivers this speech to help himself understand the situation that he is in, rather than for the understanding of the people. This is important because his newfound acceptance affects the way he acts for the rest of the play. I will be breaking the monologue down into sections. First, I will discuss punishment, then

In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the element of fate versus freewill shows up frequently all through the play. It is foreseen to Oedipus' parents, Jocasta and Laius, that their child would grow up to slaughter his father and wed his mother. Jocasta and Laius endeavor to dispose of their child, however, fate triumphs. Oedipus' fate all through the play has been chosen by the fate which adds to his annihilation. Various societies and cultures all through history have embraced similar perspectives, accepting a fate or destiny for their lives. Such points of view are very common is Greek myths who had confidence in "the three Fates" — goddesses who controlled the lives of individuals and the world in general. Clotho the youngest spins the thread of human life. She decides who will be born and when. Lachesis, a matron, measures the thread deciding a person’s lot in life. She is shown with a measuring stick, a scroll, a book, or a globe that represents the horoscope. Atropos, the oldest, choses the mechanism of death and ends the life of each mortal by cutting their thread. She is usually portrayed with a cutting instrument, a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, or a pair of scales. Even in modern day, some Christian philosophies incorporate destiny as fate. Many Jews acknowledge that their God has an arrangement for their people and nation.

The story of Oedipus is about a man who helped the people who resided in Thebes, which was located in Greece. He heard of the troubles that are affecting the city he asks Teiresias who explains it is his fault that there are disasters going on in Thebes. Only to find out he is the reason why there is problems in Thebes and banishes his self from Thebes.

Many times in life, people think they can determine their own destiny, but, as the Greeks believe, people cannot change fate the gods set. Though people cannot change their fate, they can take responsibility for what fate has brought them. In the story Oedipus, by Sophocles, a young king named Oedipus discovers his dreadful fate. With this fate, he must take responsibility and accept the harsh realities of what’s to come. Oedipus is a very hubris character with good intentions, but because he is too confident, he suffers. In the story, the city of Thebes is in great turmoil due to the death of the previous king, Laius. With the thought of helping his people, Oedipus opens an investigation of King Laius’s murder, and to solve the mystery,

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

In our world today, fate and free will remains the biggest mystery of all; is everything we do controlled or do we have the freedom of choice? In the story "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author uses the idea of fate and free will to explain the struggle of Oedipus's life. Fate and free will is explained as; fate is controlled by an outside supernatural force, and there is no way of controlling it. Free will is when each of us is responsible and controls all aspects of our own life. The author of "Oedipus the King" uses ironic devices to convey a tragic attitude toward the struggle of fate and free will.

Sophocles states that “Fate has terrible power. You cannot escape it by wealth or war. No fort will keep it out, no ships outrun it.” Fate derives from a Latin word, fatum, meaning that one’s future is predetermined. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles unfolds the misfortune of a noble king who searches for knowledge. Evidently, Greek heroes like Oedipus are destined to rule, but are also bound to fall, therefore, he cannot alter his own fate. This tragic play proves that the power of fate is indeed stronger than one’s free will. Despite his attempts to fight his destiny, Oedipus can never outrun his fate. Regardless of his parents’ desperation to evade the predicted outcome, fate guides his journey for knowledge, leading to his destruction.

As in many other stories, the twelve different steps of the hero’s journey, which were established by Joseph Campbell, can be found. The play of Oedipus Rex, the cursed king, written by the English teacher Zachary Hamby is an example of how the hero’s journey’s twelve steps are applied in literature. The first step is called ‘Ordinary World’, which simply means that the hero of the story is still in their daily life, in their normal world. In Oedipus Rex, it means that the protagonist Oedipus is in the kingdom of Corinth where he lives as a prince.

Sophocles is the author of the famous play, “Oedipus the King”. In case you did not know, Sophocles is from Greece. In Greek mythology there are three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans. Each person 's destiny was thought of as a thread spun, measured, and cut by the three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. In the story “Oedipus the King” fate and destiny was the main theme. On Google the definition of destiny is the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future. Fate is defined as, the development of events beyond a person 's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. In this paper I will be analyzing the story to help you understand the significance of destiny and fate to the story.

Fate is defined as a predetermined event that cannot be changed by mortals. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is marked by his fate, and he does not realize it until it is too late. Oedipus learns of his fate when he calls for Teiresias, the blind man who can read and interpret the prophecies. After being provoked by Oedipus, Teiresias angrily reveals that Oedipus is destined to kill his own father and marrying his own mother, while eventually gouging out his eyes. However, Oedipus does not fear his fate; he believes that he is invincible to these prophecies. How does one go about escaping fate? Does one have any control over these predetermined events? Oedipus is a man in pursuit of answers, and the idea of his prophecy coming to fruition does not sit well with him. He does not even fully understand fate and how it is going to affect him until he experiences it. Nevertheless, Oedipus understands that free will does exist and is seen throughout the text implementing his own actions into his everyday life. The idea of fate is flawed, and is used by Oedipus and people of today’s society as a scapegoat for one to hide behind their own poor decisions.

Fate and free will shows up in many stories, and plays a vital role in building up a character, or leading to their downfall. Fate and free will is a big theme in Oedipus Rex, and is the building bone to many of the characters lives. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus becomes king of Thebes. Before Oedipus came into power, the previous king of Thebes, Laius, was mysteriously murdered. A Sphinx came into power as the city had no king. However, Oedipus is able to save the city by answering the riddle told by the Sphinx, which no one else could figure out. The people of the city praise him for freeing them and Oedipus becomes king, and marries Jocasta. He is a strong and brave leader who is respected by the people of Thebes. However, after

Could Oedipus be a victim of fate or is he responsible for his own tragedy? In the play "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author displays the Greek's belief of fate controlling a man’s life despite of a man’s free will. Man was free to choose and was extremely held responsible for their own actions. Throughout Oedipus the King, the idea of fate and free will plays an important role in Oedipus' downfall. Although Oedipus was a victim of fate, he was not guided by it at all. When Oedipus was born, he was intended to marry his mother and to murder his father in the future as a prophecy warned by the oracle of Apollo.

One element that I have learned from the Greek Drama Oedipus the King is the concept of predestination. Throughout the play, this idea that a person’s destiny is already predetermined for them was clearly emphasized. Even when Oedipus tried to run away from his destiny, by the end of the play he fulfilled the foretold prophecy. This way of thinking made me draw a conclusion about how the culture of the Greeks were. Based off the play, I drew the conclusion that the Greeks highly revered their gods because they deeply believed that their life rest within the hands of their gods. Most of the people of Greece must have tried to live a holy and acceptable life to please their gods while others lived per their liking. Another element that I learned was from the Russian piece The Cherry Orchard. An aspect of Russian culture was noticeable while reading. Finding humor within the thought of a suicide was very foreign yet was still an interesting piece of culture. From this aspect, one could say that most Russians must not fear death as much as other countries. Nonetheless it is still an interesting part of their culture.

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