Oedipus Essay (Fate) Sophocles “Oedipus
the King” is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that
he has killed his father
and married his mother. The story of
Oedipus was well known to the athenian’s. Oedipus is the embodiement of the
perfect Athenian. He is
self-confident, intelligent, and strong
willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic
discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of
Thebes by answering the riddle of
Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases
of Oedipus’ life and to futher
characterized him as a tragic man. The
Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of thebes:
“What is it that walks on 4
feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only
one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?” Oedipus correctly
answered “Man” and became
the king of Thebes. This riddle is a
metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees
this is the four feet to which the
Sphinx refers. Also man is at his
weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and
well being. Oedipus was the child
of Jocasta and King Laius who was taken
to the mountain by a shepard to be killed so the omen of the god apollo that
Laius’ son would kill him
and lay with Jocasta would not come
true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point. If it has not been for
the shepard spairing his life and
giving him to Polybus to raise as his
own Oedipus would have died. Man walks on 2 feet when he has matured. This is a
metaphor for Oedipus
when he reaches adulthood and leaves
Corinth to escape the oracle. Oedipus meets up with a band of travelers and in
a rage kills them.
Inadvertently Oedipus has killed his own
father. Oedipus then answers the riddle of the sphinx and becomes king of
Thebes. By becoming king of
Thebes he marries Jocasta the Queen of
thebes and his own mother. Many years later after bearing children with Jocasta
a plague kills many of the
inhabitants of Thebes. Oedipus is told
by the gods to find the killer of Laius. He is very dilligent in the inquiriy
and finally comes to the horrible truth
that he himself is the murderer. Jocasta
kills herself at the horrible realization that she has layed with her son and
Oedipus puts out his eyes at finally
seeing the truth. This fulfills the
final part of the Sphinx’s riddle for Oedipus will have to walk with a cane for
the rest of his life because of his
blindness, this will give him the 3 feet
which man walks with at the end of his years. Oedipus used his intellect and
diligence to answer the riddle of
the Sphinx. Many of the most intelligent
young men of thebes has been killed attempting to answer the riddle but Oedipus
proved his intelligence
superior to theirs. Oedipus uses the
same intelligence and perseverence to find the killer of Laius. He does not
give up his search even when
Jocasta warns him to stop and let the
matter rest. He calls the shepard and interrogates him till he discovers the
horrifying truth that he is the killer.
Oedipus’ intelligence was ultimately his
flaw. Also, if Oedipus had not had been as coarageous he would have have never
ventured to answer the
riddle of the Sphinx. Thus even though
he had killed his father he would have never become king of Thebes and laid
with his mother. In addition, if
Oedipus had had the courage but not the
intelligence the Spinx would have killed him for answering the riddle
incorrectly. Sophocles used this to
characterized Oedipus as a tragic man
for he came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil act or an evil
trait but because of the person
he was. Oedipus traits which gave him
riches and power ultimately led to his tragic ending. Also, the god apollo did
not predestine that Oedipus
would kill his father and marry his
mother by the oracle, he only stated what he knew was inevitable because of who
Oedipus was. The sphinx’s
riddle was used by Sophocles to
characterize Oedipus as a tragic man and as a parallel to his life. The riddle
describes the 3 stages which Oedipus
went through in his life. Also in
answering the riddle Oedipus inevitable brought about his own tragic ending by
a horrible discovery. . Oedipus
does not unselfishly seek out the truth
even though he knows it will be painful for him, rather, he has no idea what
the outcome of his search will be,
denies the truth at every turn, and
threatens those who speak it. Many people may paint Oedipus as a great man,
pointing out that he pursues the
truth at whatever personal cost and has
the strength to accept and endure it when found. They admire that Oedipus was
willing to bring himself
down in his lust to find his true
identity. However, the driving force of Oedipus’ fact-finding mission is an
attempt to end the disease that plagues his
city. He doesn’t realize the personal
consequences his hunt will have for him, and his loyalty to the truth is based
on his ignorance of it. In fact, if
we examine his "quest for
identity", it becomes apparent that the sequence of events are quite
coincidental. First, he summons Tiresias to name the
killer, who Oedipus does not at the time
believe to be himself. Secon! The tragic hero Oedipus emerges as anything but a
social person. He may
begin that way, motivated by a genuine
desire to help the people, but what emerges throughout is different. It becomes
plain to see that Oedipus is
actually, deep down where it really
counts, far more concerned with his own sense of self and demands for justice
on his terms, than in
compromising his desires like any other
true leader would. This tragedy reminds us that even the bravest, those known
throughout the world for
their knowledge, are doomed if they set
themselves up against the mystery of life itself, and if they try to force life
to answer them, they are going to
self-destruct.
Word Count: 1067
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