The Downfall Of Man And Fate In Oedipus Rex By Sophocles

The tragic fall of Oedipus in Sophocles play “Oedipus Rex” is both self-inflicted and result of events drawn from his own destiny. First off early on in Oedipus’ life his first deadly mistake towards succeeding his self-inflicted downfall was the murder of his father the former king. In a blind rage without any motive, he kills Liaus and his men at a rode crossing. Fate may have had led him to that point but it was his own rage that resulted in his biggest mistake. Further evidence of his self-inflicted downfall Oedipus’ was at the hands of his own ignorance. This ignorance combined with his stubborn, determined attitude does not allow him foresight. This foresight would have led

In Sophocles play Oedipus the King, Sophocles depicts the horrible fate of Oedipus, a pompous, arrogant young ruler. The story begins in the Greek town of Thebes. A plague has descended upon the Thebians causing death and famine throughout the land. Oedipus, being the heroic king, takes full responsibility to find out the cause of their aliments. While working to discover the source of the plague, Oedipus stumbles upon the tragic truth of his heritage and the horrifying implications of his appointment to the throne. Unfortunately for Oedipus, everything ends in tragedy. With the suicide of his mother/wife and the self-inflicted blindness followed by exile from Thebes, Oedipus paved the path to his own

The ancient Greek’s culture was greatly influence by their belief in in many gods. They believed that the gods would guide them and that everyone was destined to live out their fates. In the case of Oedipus Rex Fate drove him into a downfall. Oedipus Rex is a part of the great Sophoclean play, written by Sophocles. Sophocles’ write this story to portray a tragic hero, using character flaws to explain his downfall. Oedipus is a perfect tragic hero because his whirlwind of a life force the audience to admire him in the beginning of the story as a privilege young man and also pity him as he falls into a crushing downfall. Sophocles intentionally gave Oedipus certain flaws because he intended his downfall. His tragic flaws, pride, persistence, and ignorance lead to his fate.

In the opening lines of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus introduces himself saying “Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (7-9). With this declaration, Oedipus asserts his importance and universally renowned identity as the man who solved the riddle that freed the city of Thebes from the Sphinx. A large part of Oedipus’s character, therefore, is to determine the answers to questions unknown; his ambition stems from his desire to realize the truth. Oedipus recognizes that he must do something to save his people from the plague that is slowing destroying them because he “would be blind to misery not to pity [his] people kneeling at [his] feet” (14-15). Oedipus sends Creon to seek out the oracle for guidance, and Creon returns with a message and suggests that he tell Oedipus the news in private behind closed doors. Oedipus, however, wants to show his openness to the truth and tells Creon, “Speak out, speak to all us. I grieve for these, my people, far more than I fear for my own life” (104-106). When Oedipus learns that he must find the murderer of Laius in order to rid Thebes of the plague, he declares that he will “stop at nothing” to “lay [his] hands on the man who shed [Laius’s] blood …” (302-203). Oedipus declares that he will fight for Laius as if the man was his father, a statement that contains a

Oedipus causes his own downfall through his arrogance. He thinks that Teiresias is falsely accusing him of murdering Laius when Teiresias says, “…you are the murderer whom you seek” (Sophocles 1264). Teiresias then tells Oedipus that the man who he seeks will be brother and father to his children and husband and son to his wife. Oedipus’s hubris is also a major cause of his downfall. Because he tries to escape what fate has in store for him, he ends up falling right into what was planned

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.

In the play Oedipus the Tyrant by Sophocles, Sophocles challenges the idea that fate controls one’s life. Throughout the play, Oedipus encounters many coincidental moments where he is subject to a prophecy that was told to him. The big issue is that the prophecy of Oedipus’ fate is never told the same way twice by the characters of the play. Sophocles also depicts Oedipus running away from the prophecy and having chance arrive to prove that the prophecy was real. Although fate seems to be a driving factor of the play chance had an even bigger role, Sophocles’ Oedipus the Tyrant suggests that people are controlled by chance rather than fate.

For Aristotle, a tragic hero has a hamartia (or tragic flaw) that leads to his own downfall, and so there is no argue that Oedipus undergoes a downfall in the play. But was he to be blamed for the circumstances he encountered in his life? The answer could go either way. As argued by Jocasta, “It’s all chance/ chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth/ can see a day ahead…Better to live at random, best we can” (Oedipus the King, 1068-1071). Drawing from the quotation about chances, Oedipus might have ended up in his situation not because of a future prediction, but rather as a result of coincidence. Moreover, what was important to acknowledge about Jocasta’s statement is that she said how it is better to live the “best we can”, which was something that Oedipus ended up ignoring. Even though he knows that the truth would ruin him, he

In the drama Oedipus the King, By Sophocles Oedipus was left hanging by the back of his feet in the woods because of what the oracle of Delphi said about him. Oedipus was thrown into the woods because of the horrors that the oracle of Delphi said he would bring to the family when he got older. Oedipus never knew that he killed his dad because he never knew he was adopted. The main cause of Oedipus’s downfall was when he unknowingly married his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus was the main cause for his own downfall because he could have changed.

After a long established rule as king, a plague afflicted the land. Over the years, Oedipus had “delegated much of his authority, in complete reliance on his efficiency and dependa-bility” (Peterkin 265) to Creon. In trying to relieve his subjects suffering, Oedipus sends his valued right hand man, Creon, to consult the oracle. Oedipus was hoping to receive some revelation as to why his kingdom was suffering so. Upon his return, Creon prudently wanted to speak privately with Oedipus. During this exchange, Creon is presented as a cautious, yet matter-of-fact kind of person. The King would not hear of a private conversation as he wanted everything to be in the public’s eye, so as not to hide the truth. Creon reveals, as tactfully as possible, that the Gods were angry that King Laios murder went unpunished. This is what was causing the plague to besiege

Fate is an unavoidable force that controls life. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a Greek tragedy about Oedipus finding the truth about his origin, while also trying to save the city of Thebes from a terrible plague. Oedipus unknowingly ends up killing his father and marrying his mother. When the truths about his sins are discovered, Oedipus blinds himself and exiles himself from Thebes. Oedipus ultimately could not control fate. Oedipus could not control the fate of citizens of Thebes as a king, he could not control his children's’ fate as a father, and he could not control his own fate as a strong individual.

An ancient Greek Philosopher as well as a Scientist named Aristotle was the teacher of Alexander the Great and a student of Plato. Aristotle defines tragedy as imitations of life consist of action with a serious lesson to convey and purges emotions into the audience which leads to catharsis of these emotions. “Oedipus Rex” written by Sophocles is an Athenian tragedy which practically fulfills the Aristotelian theory of a tragedy. Oedipus, the King of Thebes is a noble man with great personality whose life is controlled by the ill-fate he is born along with the tragic flaw that is excessive pride and confidence that he can make his life best, but cannot overcome the ill-fate and boundlessly struggles. The tragedy “Oedipus Rex” viewed through

There are a lot of factors that contribute to Oedipus’s downfall. Even before Oedipus was born, there were prophetic signs of ill omen about his destiny. The destiny of murdering his father, and becoming his mother’s husband has already been laid and set in place.

In Oedipus king wrote by the dramatist and philosopher Sophocles, Oedipus is the only responsible of his destiny. Oedipus was the one who held his fate and destiny in his hands. Because of his actions that he made, the curse that he swore and the prophecy about him, he had to be punished for his actions and sins.

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a tragedy revolving around the titular character Oedipus. Oedipus is a tragic hero and his story starts en media res, or, in the middle of things. I will first examine what happens before the story starts. Oedipus was the son of the king and queen of Thebes, King Laius, and Queen Jocasta. It was prophesied that Oedipus would kill Laius and marry Jocasta. To prevent this from happening, Laius and Jocasta leave Oedipus to die, but a shepherd gives him to a messenger and the messenger gives the child to the king and queen of Corinth. Through lack of communication, Oedipus does not know that Laius and Jocasta are his real parents, and they don't know that Oedipus is alive. This is where we get into Oedipus’ flaws as a tragic hero. His main flaw his Hubris, or, excessive pride. Two other important flaws are his selfishness and short temper. It is Oedipus’ short temper that causes him to kill King Laius, his father when Oedipus got some road rage. Another example of one of Oedipus’ flaws, his ignorance, and selfishness, is what causes his blindness and him being a static character. Oedipus is too ignorant to realize all the signs that point to his prophecy becoming correct, he defiles the gods and their oracles just out of spite, excessive pride, ignorance, and selfishness. His pure ignorance causes him to be blind.