Oedipus the King
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This study will argue that Oedipus, in Sophocles' play Oedipus the King, was correct in his decision not to commit suicide. This holds true whether one concludes that Oedipus was a pawn in the hands of the gods, who, like all human beings, must simply accept the fate they have given to him, or a relatively free individual who must take responsibility for his actions. If one believes that the play presents Oedipus as a victim of the gods, then his murder of his father and marriage to his mother were foreordained events over which he had no control, and therefore he should not kill himself in response to the discovery of the truth. If one believes that Oedipus is relatively free to choose his actions, and is therefore responsible, then he should remain alive to repay his debt to society in some way and to perhaps acquire some wisdom which he would obviously never gain were he to kill himself. He would not be helping the family or the city he loves so deeply by killing himself. In addition, Oedipus should not have killed himself because to do so would have been to defy the very curse he himself vowed against the killer of Laius. In that context, he had to accept exile, ostracism, and/or spill his own blood in atonement for the murder. If one concludes that Oedipus was fated by the gods to experience the tragedies of his life, for whatever reason the gods decree, then he can hardly be held responsible and should not, in effect, execute himself in response. Oedipus is essentia
. . .
others who would be tempted to imagine that they are better human beings than they actually are, that they are above the law of the gods of the laws of the city. In the scheme of the gods, human beings cannot escape their fate and must remember that at any time, however high they may ascend in the world of man, however good they appear to be in their own eyes and in the eyes of others, they can be struck down by the consequences of actions they took many years before, even if they are not aware of the import of their actions.
From the account of the murder itself in the play, it would seem that a minor traffic dispute, fed by something like road rage, led Oedipus to kill his father. Again, one might argue, then, reasonably, that Oedipus is indeed responsible for a vicious act which calls for punishment, whether or not the dead man turns out to be his father.
However, when his mother and wife, Jocasta, recounts for him the prophecy which was foretold before Oedipus was even born, the reader can only conclude that it was Oedipus's fate, decreed by the gods who are the origins of prophecies, that he kill his father: "There was an oracle . . . and it told . . . that it was fate that [Laius] should die a victim at the hands of hi
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Behold Oedipus--him, Ironically Oedipus, Oedipus God, Oedipus King, Oedipus Jocasta, Laius Jocasta, Oedipus Laius, Thebes Oedipus, Sophocles Step, Scodel Sophocles, worse punishment, oedipus's fate, kill father, pawn hands gods, oedipus kill father, prescribed punishment, saying gods, death penalty, oedipus killed, led oedipus kill, led oedipus, misery miserable doom, oedipus kill, life misery miserable, exile ostracism,
Approximate Word count = 2252
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)
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