Is Oedipus Fated To Suffer?

Oedipus is a man of unflagging determination and perseverance, but one who must learn through the working out of a terrible prophecy that there are forces beyond any man’s conceptualization or control. Oedipus’ actions were determined before his birth, yet Oedipus’ actions are entirely determined by the Gods who control him completely. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. He tried to escape Corinth when he learned of the prophecies that were supposed to take place in his life. Instead, he

Oedipus is Responsible (Option 2) Oedipus is responsible for his own suffering and tragic experiences. He put himself in these situations and he could have acted differently to prevent his downfall. His arrogant and stubborn personality cause him to make many wrong decisions. For example, he kills a man and marries his wife, not knowing that they were his birth parents.

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,

One moment, Oedipus is brimming with hope; the next, he’s sure that he is the killer of his father, King Laius. Every time Oedipus thinks that it can’t possibly be him, evidence proves otherwise. His wife, Jocasta, attempts to prove his innocence but “lets out part of the dire secret by her allusion to the ‘triple crossroads’” (Haigh). By attempting to assist Oedipus, she

In the words of the great philosopher Aristotle Oedipus the king is the greatest Greek tragedy. Aristotle states “Oedipus as an example of someone whose fall into misfortune is the result not of bad deeds or evil character but of some mistake”. It seems that his fate was not by his fault, but by utter fate. However, it is not completely true or accurate to say Oedipus had no fault in his downfall. The play revolves around the two prophecies foretold by oracles.

In the play Oedipus Rex, the lead character Oedipus disagrees with his fate. His fate is made up by the Gods and sent through the prophets. His decisions that he made led up to negative consequences and tragedies. Oedipus fights his fate showing disrespect to the gods and finally becomes to see the truth. These actions led up to devastating events that all surround Oedipus’s life.

With each new revelation Oedipus’s rationality is further shaken. Instead of defeating destiny he is shown over and over that destiny itself is unavoidable. Oedipus never had control over his fate. Oedipus is forced to come to terms with the insufficiency of reason in the face of destiny. At the end of the tragedy Oedipus blinds himself and is banished from Thebes.

When a character in a story experiences great suffering they are a tragic hero. Oedipus suffers when he assembles all that he has been told and discovers that he has been “sinful in marriage, sinful in the shedding of blood” (KO 58). Meaning that he married his mother and killed his father as foretold in the prophecy and now he has to live with this burden. He undergoes pain and distress when he realizes he has killed the man who helped give him life and fell for the women who brought him into the world. Oedipus whole word has evolved, not only is he sinful but also because of him, there is a plague on Thebes. As a king, Oedipus is supposed to help his people but instead, he has caused them to suffer which makes him suffer for not being a

Oedipus had no fault in believing that Laius was not his

A tragic hero is a character, that no matter what they choose to do, whether it is to run and hide or fight, their fate is sealed leaving them destined for downfall some point in their life. No matter what happens to the hero, whatever the gods have decided, it will happen. Oedipus tries to escape his dreadful fate which has been bestowed upon him; his horrible feud with his fate is his ultimate downfall and was always meant to be his demise. His fight is the good and evil he has to battle through. The prophecy of Oedipus; when he is born, his parents are told of the fate bestowed upon them all. “Shortly after Oedipus’ birth, his father, King Laius of Thebes, learned from an oracle that he, Laius, was doomed to perish by the hand of his own son” (Maston). Oedipus is to kill his father, Laius, and wed his mother Iocasta. Afraid of what was said, Laius gives his son to a herdsman who is to take the child and murder him, but he then pities the child and decides to pierce Oedipus’ feet, hence his name Oedipus, and send him with another herdsman far away. Fortunately for Oedipus, the

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.

Oedipus’ destiny or fate had little to do with his downfall. The prophet told Oedipus that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, but the prophet never mentioned Oedipus murdering Laius on the highway, or solving the Sphinx’s riddle, or accepting and taking advantage of his kingship. Oedipus blinding himself was an example of free will, “for he removed from…[Jocasta’s] garment the golden brooches which she was wearing…” by choice “…and struck the sockets of his own eyes..” blinding himself Free will and hubris, according to the ancient Greeks, were separate from unavoidable fate. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother. However, everything else, including fleeing Corinth, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, and finally pursuing the truth about his life, was by his own free will, a direct result of his ego and pride. Oedipus Rex is a story about the dangers of pride and arrogance, one teaching about the importance of humility and tolerance, and one stressing about the control of hubris, a potentially perilous quality that destroyed Oedipus’s vision and his life.

“A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” (Jean de la Fontaine), a sobering reminder of the extent to which Oedipus and his parents, Jocasta and Laius from the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles fight a predetermined course plotted for them by the gods and written by the oracles, only for it to transpire tragically. Despite the inevitability of destiny Oedipus, Laius and Jocasta defy fate with the entirety of their being, for to acknowledge the lack of free will is to live in anguish. Both Oedipus and his parents attempt to separate themselves from each other in an attempt to avoid their foretold fate. Unfortunately, they suffer the realization that, in spite of their intentions,

In Oedipus Rex, there is nowhere for Oedipus to go but down. The active, decisive part of his life has already happened and is recounted in the play through flashbacks; now, however, there is nothing Oedipus can do about his own fate. He has already killed his father and had four children with his mother, and there is absolutely no way to change that. For that reason, there is a dreadful sense of the unavoidability of fate. Oedipus' parents tried to get away from it but obviously failed miserably; so did Oedipus. their efforts at tricking fate only succeeded in creating the very circumstances they were trying to avoid. There is really no free will or choice, because in a way, their choices are fated to lead them, in the end, to exactly what they think they are avoiding. The line uttered by Creon, "You can not judge unless you know the facts" (28) is telling. No one can judge correctly unless he has all the information; however, no one in this play has enough information to make a correct choice when it matters. Laius does not know that his son survived, so he thinks he is safe from his fate; in fact, by sending his son away, he deprives Oedipus of true knowledge of who his parents are and thus of the ability to make an effective decision himself about his fate. Without sufficient information, informed judgment is impossible, and this contributes to

Throughout Oedipus The King, Oedipus embarks on a journey to realize that he is the murderer of his father, Laius, and husband to his mother, Jocasta, making him a victim of what seems to be an inevitable fate. What makes this more tragic is that Oedipus, a seemingly good leader, tries to avoid his fate, but instead keeps inviting it over. Violating the word of gods and doing things in excess shows Oedipus’ pride that leads to his hubris. Because of his hubris, Oedipus brings his fate upon himself. In this way, fate is connected to the traits of Oedipus, known as hamartia, instead of it being a divine thing. Oedipus can’t escape his fate because it is a part of him; no matter where he goes and what he tries to do, it will always be there. Fate seems beyond anyone’s control and more of the will of gods, but Oedipus’ fate is found within his personality. Moreover, Oedipus’ traits are not something that he can control. He did not choose to let his ego take control and ultimately determine the course of his life. This means that it was inherited by the choices others made, or just by luck. Basically, fate determines Oedipus’ hubris and his hubris leads to hamartia, an element of fate. This connection between his hubris and hamartia shows that what can make him a good leader goes downfall when it becomes excessive. This is what Oedipus is blind to and does not realize. His pride that comes to identify him and makes him a hero to everyone becomes too much and is the same thing that leads to his downfall.