Oedipus The King By Sophocles

In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe and “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, both Okonkwo and Oedipus possess tragic flaws, which lead to their eventual downfalls, thus making both “Oedipus The King” and “Things Fall Apart” fall under the category of tragedy. This aside, these aspects of their personalities in these texts by Sophocles and Achebe are not helped by the negative twists of fate that seem to make the problems with their behavior more pronounced, thus more tragic in the end. Due—is the nature of fate as it functions in terms of tragedy and the tragic elements of both of these stories, both Oedipus and Okonkwo are partially to blame for their demise, but on the other hand, each of these characters possesses traits that seem to invite tragedy. The difference of both these stories is that Okonkwo bears more responsibility for his downfall than Oedipus, simply because he had more opportunities to change the course of his fate. Oedipus, on the other hand, despite his rash actions, is more a victim of fate than Okonkwo.

Many people believe that fate has planned out their lives and despite efforts on their part what was meant to happen, will eventually happen. This belief has been handed down over the centuries from some of the first civilizations, such as the Greeks. However, not all Greek citizens wanted destiny to take control of their lives. Some decided to choose freewill over the will of the gods. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles writes a cautionary tale meant to warn the doubters in Greek society that regardless of their beliefs in gods and prophecies, it is necessary to heed their warnings. Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius are Sophocles’ characters that prove that escaping one’s fate is not possible, as each of their predicted fates is realized despite extensive efforts to thwart them.

Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, follows the tragic story of a king named Oedipus who goes from an all-powerful ruler to a hopeless blind peasant. Oedipus the King was written as a play and performed in front of an audience. Sophocles shows in Oedipus the King that one cannot escape the fate of the gods. Throughout the play Oedipus struggles to find a solution and change all the troubles in his life. The play observes the story of Oedipus who defies the gods and through the journey experiences hardships in tragic flaw, tragic fall and tragic realization.

Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles and was is titled Oedipus Rex in Latin. It is one of the most well-known Greek tragedies. As is the case with Greek tragedies—or roughly most tragedies that make their way to stage—fate plays a key role in the events in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus discovers there is a plague on his city. The only way to lift the plague is by slaying the former king’s killer. As the play’s acts unfold one discovers about the prophecy concerning Oedipus. The prophecy states that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. But was this just by chance or his predetermined fate.

Oedipus cares for the people of Thebes so much that he is compelled to find the truth to save them and not just for personal gain. Oedipus and the people of Thebes have a familial bond. His love for Thebes compels him to seek out the truth. Oedipus’ familial bond with Thebes is shown in the beginning of the play when Oedipus addresses the priests who are at his altar, “Oh my children” (1). This sentiment allows readers to understand the sense of attachment Oedipus has with the people of Thebes. He cares for them enough to call them his children. The Priests address Oedipus back as, “King of the land, our greatest power” (16). It is evident that the people of Thebes look to Oedipus as their hero, especially after he had already saved them once from the Sphinx. They also view Oedipus in the same light as he views them. Their caring relationship is shown again in the beginning of the play when the Priests tell Oedipus of the plague and beg him to do something.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man doomed by his fate. Like most tragedies, “Oedipus the King” contains a tragic hero, a heroic figure unable to escape his/her own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia or a tragic flaw which causes his/hers’ downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk right into the fate he sought to escape.

     The heart of the story unravels when Oedipus apparently begins to suffer a reversal of fortunes. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is referred to by the priest as the “king of the land, [the city of Thebes’] greatest power” (16). Through all of Thebes he is thought of as a hero, a man who saved the city from the Sphinx and in his bravery has promised to find the killer of King Laius in order to save the city from doom and death. However, at the climax of the story Oedipus learns that he has been “cursed in [his] birth, cursed in marriage / and cursed in

There is many novels and plays out there that discuss what the father tells the son in the novel by William Styron, “life is a search for justice”. For example, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. After Oedipus saved the city of Thebes from the evil Sphinx, he does not know the problems that will come. He later on encounters these problems and tries to find justice for him and for the city.

Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, has risen many questions concerning the main character and whether or not he acts on free will or if his future is predestined by the gods. I am going to test the theory that although Oedipus believes he is acting on his own free will, he is in fact a victim of the gods. I will analyze several different sources that discuss fate and human agency in Oedipus the King and then proceed to build my original argument on the archaic debate.

Oedipus the King tends to follow the traditional Greek model of storytelling: a hero is fated for a certain fate by a prophecy and the whole story is based on how the hero is affected by the prophecy. Oedipus is prophesied that he is the cause of the plague in Thebes, because he killed his father and married his mother. Despite the imminent forebodings of his downfall, Oedipus continues to search for the truth to his prophecy, as a search for justice. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus intentionally tries to find out the truth about his prophecy in order to bring justice to the city of Thebes; if he did cause the turmoils of Thebes, he must pay the price for it, even if his high status as king gets taken away.

Shakespeare said about leaders, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” In the story of Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, Oedipus fits Shakespeare’s description of leaders in many ways. He was born in royalty then discarded by his family. Oedipus rose in life to achieve greatness and because of a series of events had greatness thrust upon him. The same series of events eventually became his downfall, but Oedipus was a good leader. He had traits similar to leaders of today. Oedipus was a dedicated moral leader and did his best while looking for truth like Merkel, in addition similar to Trump and Schwarzkopf, he was confident and acted swiftly to reach his goals.

Upon learning of this prophesy, Oedipus, prince of Corinth, official son of King Polybus and queen Merope, left the city where he was raised, convinced he could be the master of his own fate and circumvent the will of the gods. Oedipus's confidence as a ruler, and pride in his own abilities, is made clear during the first half of the play. The play starts off with a procession of priests who are carrying branches wound in wool and laying them on the alter that is located in front of the royal house of Thebes and then supplicating themselves before it. A plague has struck Thebes killing their crops and cattle and causing the women of Thebes to miscarry. When Oedipus enters, he expresses sincere concern for his people and their plight, yet immediately turns their attention away from the gods and onto himself by stating "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (Oedipus, pgs 1366 -1367) (It is important not to think of the gods in Greek tragedies in the theological sense, but rather consider them to be the forces of nature). When, Creon, Oedipus's brother in law, came back with the pronouncement of Apollo that the plague upon Thebes would continue till the murderer of the previous king, king Laius, was found and brought to justice, Oedipus immediately stated "I'll bring it all to light myself!"

A plague has befallen the city of Thebes and so King Oedipus sends his in-law Creon to the Oracle of Apollo for answers. They discover that the curse will be lifted once the murderer of a man named Laius is found and prosecuted. Laius was killed many years ago so the mystery of the murder intensifies. How can they find the killer of a man so long ago? Oedipus begins to question possible suspects, one of which is a blind prophet named Teiresias. Teiresias tells Oedipus that Oedipus himself was the killer of Laius. Oedipus’s wife Jocasta insists Oedipus to ignore Teiresias because prophets have been wrong before, because the prophets once told Jocasta that the son she had with her former husband Laius would be the one who killed Laius, she goes on to state that they had their son killed many years ago because of this prophecy. However, unknown to Jocasta and Laius the servant who was ordered to carry out the act at the last minute decided not to do so and instead just left the child to die on a hill. Later, a shepherd came across the child and delivered it to the king and queen of

Thousands of years after its origin, the dramatic tragedy remains one of the arts most popular forms, combining the potent elements of love, hate, revenge, ambitions, and the human condition. Sophocles, took place to be one of the greatest tragedy writers of his time. Sophocles has written many plays over the course of his lifetime; his plays are one out of three tragedy writers whose plays survived. The Theban Trilogy, one of many plays Sophocles had written, composed of 3 different plays, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. Oedipus the King, a tragedy that shows the role of fate, chance and pride inside of a family and community. Oedipus at Colonus, dramatizes the end of a tragic hero's life, Oedipus, and his importance to Athens. Antigone, the last play in the trilogy, shows the empowerment of Antigone after she decides to choose her own path in life. The chorus, the voice of a greater society, plays three major roles in the trilogy; mediating, directing and dramatizing. Throughout the trilogy we are introduced to the chorus, and their importance in the plays.

In the play, Oedipus unknowingly has cursed the entire town of Thebes. He was cursed to kill his father and marry his mother but never knew who his true parents were. In result of him escaping from the town he was sent off to, he did exactly that without knowing who his parents were. This cursed the city because the killer of the