Long After Oedipus Fate example essay topic

Oedipus is the quintessential tragic hero, according to the Aristotelian definition, because his demise is entirely of his own doing. In the ongoing debate of fate versus free will, Oedipus proves that fate will only take a person so far. There is no arguing that he was dealt a dreadful hand by the Gods, but it is by his own free will that his prized life collapses. Oedipus could, and should have done nothing given the prophecies of the oracle, although either way his fate would have been realized. His apparent powerlessness against fate cannot be positively reconciled with his own willfulness in seeking self knowledge which stems from his unparalleled hubris. After his fall from grace, Oedipus should have learned that he should not have so vehemently pursued the truth about himself; some things are simply better left unknown.

Unfortunately, he only blames the gods and is oblivious to his own part in the matter. Sophocles's audience and humanity learn the lesson that was intended for Oedipus, and also not to question the gods or fate. The play Oedipus Rex opens long after Oedipus' fate has been revealed to him by the oracle. It is foreseen that Oedipus should lie with his own mother, breed children from whom all men would turn their eyes, and that Oedipus should be his father's murderer (750).

Unbeknownst to him, this has all already taken place when Sophocles begins Oedipus Rex. In trying to escape from the edict, he only ensures its actualization. On the way out of Corinth, which he believes to be his home where his mother and father live, he fulfils half of his fate by killing his true father, King Laios. Then, after defeating the Sphinx, he takes his mother, Queen Io caste, as his bride and begets children. Yet, dreaded as the fate is, he is beyond content with his new station and family. He is unaware of his relation to the dead old man, and his new wife.

Ignorance, in this case, truly is bliss. There is no way Oedipus could have possibly avoided his fate. However, the edict in itself did not specify his rise to fame and glory followed by his fall or that he had to be aware that his fate had already come about. Therefore, it could be argued that had he stayed in Corinth and not attempted to out run fate but simply accepted it in the first place, he may have saved himself, and his loved ones, much suffering. The nature of fate however, more than suggests no matter what actions he took, he would have ended up the same, blinded and ostracized.

It is hard to imagine his fate being realized without the plot following the course that it did. So although unspoken, perhaps his fate did include his fall from splendour (1135). Regardless of the course he takes to get there, his fate is his fate. Knowing the prophecies of the oracle had little impact on his outcome, as he was doomed no matter what. "Natures like yours chiefly torment themselves" (635). Creon accurately sums up Oedipus's itu ation when admitting his frustration with Oedipus who is too rash to reason with.

Oedipus has a few poor qualities including his paranoia, short temper and rashness. However, the trait that overwhelms all of these is his hubris. Being so overbearingly proud prevents him from seeing when others are speaking against him for his own good and allows him to pursue the truth that, in the end, is his undoing. Even his wife begs him "For God's love, let us have no more questioning! Is your life nothing to you? My own pain is enough for me to bear" (1004), but he pays no attention.

The only thing that unquestionably brings about the demise of Oedipus is Oedipus. He is a victim of himself. It is completely impossible for his relentless pursuit of truth to be compromised enough to be positively reconciled with his pre-eminent fate. Either he must accept his fate completely or question its power every chance he gets. Oedipus obviously chooses the latter. To create a dynamic where he half accepts fate while still questioning it is unfeasible.

Many characters speak out against him, but again and again he is unwilling to listen. He bullies Teiresias, the blind seer, into revealing who murdered Laios. The seer warns Oedipus persistently that it is best for all that he keeps his knowledge to himself. "Let me go home Bear your own fate, and I'll Bear mine. It is better so: trust what I say" (308). Teiresias sums up Oedipus' predicament entirely when he says, "How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be When there's no help in truth!" (304).

It is the knowledge of his fulfilled fate that destroys Oedipus, not the fate itself. He lives a happy and fruitful life even though his fate has already unfolded. Teiresias' line is even an understatement. In the case of Oedipus, there is far worse than "no help in truth" (304). In truth lies his demise. In the denouement of Oedipus Rex, Sophocles inserts some very important messages to his audience and of course to Oedipus himself.

Oedipus finally puts all the pieces together and realizes what truth it is that he has come across "Ah God! It was true! All the prophecies! ... I, Oedipus, Oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage damned, Damned in the blood he shed with his own hand!" (1121). Unfortunately, he never fully realizes that it was himself, not the gods that make him miserable.

Oedipus calls out, "what has God done to me?" (1266) and continues on, "Apollo. Apollo. Dear Children, the god was Apollo. He brought my sick, sick fate upon me. But the blinding hand was my own!" (1288). It is obvious to him that the hand that physically blinded him was his own, but he misses that fact that had he not been so stubbornly inquisitive he could have lived forever in his ignorant bliss.

This fact, however, is not lost on the audience. In the time where logic was valued above all else, Sophocles pushed the message 'don't pursue the truth... too much'. Believing in the gods has a lot less to do with logic and a lot more to do with blind faith, so really, the message Sophocles is giving his audience is to 'be pious'. If the society at the time began to look for a rational explanation for the gods they would have started to abandon their religion, which would cause a great upset in the balance of society.

This is spoken more plainly in Strophe 2 of Ode 2 "And any mortal who dares hold No immortal Power in awe Will be caught up in a net of pain" (843). Not accepting the fate the gods had handed him and trying to escape from it was Oedipus' biggest mistake. First or all, it is impious to doubt the gods' omniscient power and secondly to believe you could actually outsmart the gods is impious further still. Oedipus' ruin serves as a sufficient warning to humanity, one that uses pity and fear to dissuade anyone from disputing the power of the gods.

Dreadful indeed for men to see. Never have my own eyes Looked on a sight so full of fear. Oedipus! What madness came upon you, what daemon Leaped on your life with heavier Punishment than a mortal man can bear? No: I can not even Look at you, poor ruined one. (1250) This is spoken after Oedipus has found the truth of his existence and has blinded himself with the broaches of his wife, who he now knows is also his mother.

From the once great man standing before us when the play opened, we are left with a creature that we can only look at as a terrible example of impiety and pride. It is irrefutably Oedipus' own will that brings about his demise. His mistake is an act of free will, the pursuit of the truth. His horrifying fate did come true, but it was only when he went searching for the truth, and found it, that he fell to disgrace. Fate brought him a kingdom, a wife and children, all of which he loved. He was content.

The fact that he is both brother and father to his children, son and husband to his wife and his own father's murderer was brought to light by his unrelenting nature. Knowing the prophecies of the oracle, and that the gods had set out a plan for him, Oedipus should have accepted it like a good, pious Grecian. His fate would have caught up with him anyway, but perhaps the circumstances would have been less severe. His hubris and quest for self knowledge are the keys to his downfall, and there is no way these could be resigned to his unalterable fate.

Oedipus, with his excessive pride doesn't even learn the lesson being taught, although the audience does. Humanity is warned that too much self knowledge and impiety will result in a less than fairytale ending. Work Cited Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Fitts, Dudley and Robert Fitzgerald, trans. Theatre & Dramatic Literature Before 1800.

Comp. and Ed. James Wilson. Montreal: Eastman Systems Inc., 2004.31-52.