Oedipus Rex 3
There are those in the world that will have you believe that fate controls the lives of all of us. Still, there are those who insist that each individual has complete control over there own lives; a free will over there own destinies. Oedipus attempts to dodge his fate and change his life for the better, an act that has the reverse effect. According to the prophecies, Oedipus would be born to Laius and Jocasta, only to grow up to be the death of his father, Laius, and the bride to his mother, Jocasta. Believing this to be true, the king and queen give the child to a shepherd, who was to kill Oedipus. Not wanting to do this, the shepherd passed the baby on to another shepherd, who then gave the child to his foster parents, King Polybus and Queen Merope. Thus, Oedipus grows up believing the king and queen to be his real parents. But, fate would inevitably catch up with him. At dinner , a drunken man shout out, "Aha! Sham father's son!" Hurt, he ran to the oracle at Delphi, where upon he learned of fates' disgusting plans. Plans to kill his father and to marry his mother. "O I fled from there. I measured out the stars to put all heaven in between the land of Corinth and such a damned destiny." That free w
After blindly making these mistakes, Oedipus makes the final mistake of figuring it out. A god told Oedipus to find the killer of Laius and to deal with it in one of two ways: Banish him, or kill him. In trying to find out who killed Laius, he discovers through Jocasta and a shepherd that it was actually he who killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling the prophecies. "Lost! Ah lost! At last it's blazing clear. Light of my eyes, good-bye-my final gaze! My birth all sprung revealed from those it never should; myself entwined with those I never could; and I the killer of those I never would," Oedipus screams and moans realizing what he has done. He runs into the castle to find his wife/mother, only to discover her dead; hung in her room by her own hands. He tears a brooch from her dress and begins to stab his eyes with the sharp pin. Blind and broken he enters the palace with Creon; he will be banished. This tale of a king is a classic example of a man trying to escape his fate. And in this selection, fate is undeniably uncontrollable. Oedipus tried to change his predetermined path and paid with his soul. He now wanders the earth and stays with his daughter Antigone, for he is sightless. Fate is a powerful thing, and Sophocles illustrates this in his tales of Oedipus. Fate is the inevitable truth that all men must face. Free will is t
Some common words found in the essay are:
Aha Sham, Free Oedipus, Lost Ah, OEDIPUS REX, Oedipus Fate, Jocasta Believing, Merope Oedipus, Laius Jocasta, king queen, real parents, killed father, sophocles illustrates, fate controls, married mother,
Approximate Word count = 923
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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