This is an essay written for school tell me what you think and don't spare me the gory details if it's terrible.
Is Oedipus a tragic victim of fate?
Oedipus of ancient Greek mythology was made the king of Thebes after the Theban king dies and Oedipus saves the city from the Sphinx. It was foretold that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. To avoid the prophecy right after he is born the king and Queen of Thebes cast Oedipus out into the forest to die. But the person assigned the task could not complete it and gave Oedipus to the king and queen of Corinth who were unable to have children. In a few decades an oracle told Oedipus that he would kill his father and marry his mother unaware that the king and queen were not his real parents he ran from Corinth and at a crossroad he got in a fight and killed his opponents. Unknowing that this his real father he had just killed he moved on to Thebes which was being besieged by the Sphinx who would ask all passers by a riddle and if you did not answer correctly it would kill you. All had failed at this task until Oedipus came and solved the riddle. In shame the Sphinx cast itself off a cliff saving the city.
After a few happy years a famine strikes the land and disturbs the happy city. When Oedipus sends his brother in-law to discover the reason it is told the cause of the famine is because the murder of the former king has not been avenged. When a prophet tells Oedipus that Oedipus is the killer Oedipus finds that the prophecy has come true and that he has married his mother and murdered his father he is aghast. While Oedipus is making this discovery, his wife/mother has put the pieces of the puzzle together and has committed suicide in shame. Driven mad at all that has gone wrong Oedipus blinds himself and runs away from the kingdom in shame and horror.
Is Oedipus responsible for what happens in his life or is he a cruel victim of fate at the hands of the gods? Does Oedipus have a tragic flaw that contributes to his end? If so what is the flaw and how much does it contribute to his end?
I believe Oedipus is mostly a victim of fate since it was the gods that decided to wreck his life from the start even though he did no wrong. He was merely a pawn in their games of other people’s lives. Although Oedipus does bear some responsibility for what happens to him. But even in that did he really have a choice or did the gods manipulate him into situations where his god-given attributes took him down the path of destruction? Oedipus had a few flaws that brought him to the place of discovery on who he was and what he had done. These flaws include his anger issues such as when he kills Laius on the crossroads it was because he was angry that Laius told him to get off the road.
Another flaw of Oedipus is his rashness. When the prophet Tireseus accuses him of killing Laius Oedipus quickly shifts the blame to his brother in-law Creon and says he killed him and says Creon and Tireseus are in a plot to take over the throne. Another display of rashness is before the prophet comes; Oedipus has sent Creon to ask the gods why the plague has come on Thebes. When Creon says it is because the murder of Laius has not been avenged Oedipus immediately places a curse on the killer, before even suspecting it is Oedipus himself. This curse makes life miserable for Oedipus after the shepherd who saved his life all those years ago tells him he is not the son of the king of Corinth as he thought and that he is the son of Laius whom he killed and Jocasta who he later married. Oedipus would have lived on in happy obscurity had he not been so quick to run from Corinth and questioned the king and queen if they really were his mother and father. So then he is in a way responsible for what happened to him but did not the gods in the story make him that way? Did they not give him those characteristics that lead to his down fall? Did not they also fate that he would kill his father and marry his mother, so does he really have a choice in the events that follow? Nay I say nay he is a mere little puppet in the games of the gods toying with others lives callously and without care.
post script: this is before the paper has been proof read so it will be a little strange.
2 comments:
Well, Oedipus doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier, in the sense of that he was told he'd kill his father, and he was horrified. And yet, he didn't find any problem killing just any old stranger passerby. And marrying his mother, he could have taken at least a few precautions. But still, in all of these ancient tales, fate generally does play a big part. So I suppose mostly fate, but then again Oedipus was ripe to fall into any trap at all.
True, O so true.
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