1/26/16 Thesis: Despite the fact that Oedipus sentenced himself to be exiled and put other people to shame, Oedipus should have pursued the truth about his destructive past regardless. Banishment was the only choice. Learn what hubris is and what it means for Greek drama. In this sense, his fate is arbitrary. Oedipus is thusly stripped of his pride, the driving force behind his whole personality. fate? His actions, however, are not. Discuss how fate affects the main characters in “Oedipus the King,” “Othello,” and “A Tale for the Time Being.” How does it create meaning for the reader? Tiresias tells Oedipus clearly that Oedipus is at fault for killing the king, but he will not hear it. Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course. with Jocasta and their four children for many years. On the surface, Oedipus committed the crimes of murder/patricide and incest (although he did not know he was doing it at the time). This situation, where an attempt to avoid a predicted fate ends up causing that fate to come true, is called a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not sure what college you want to attend yet? In conclusion, we may argue that Oedipus deserves punishment to a certain extent for the rash murder of a stranger on the street; but not for patricide, nor for incest. characters, if not always the outcomes of their lives. is a man of vigorous action, as demonstrated by the way he relentlessly pursues the truth, His hubris (or excessive pride) led him to disbelieve the Oracles and attempt to avoid his fate. real force in the world of the play. has demonstrated his commitment to his people, and his choice of exile seems equally driven By beginning On a deeper level, though, Oedipus committed the crime of pride. the gods’ decrees. All rights reserved. It is left up to the reader to determine whether or not this was deserved. In the end, he realizes that the reckless navigation of his life creates his disaster. As he continues on his particular thread of life, Oedipus becomes more and more powerful, and as such, his pride also increases proportionately. study No matter how hard you tried to change where you were or National Associations for Speech & Speech Education, Tech and Engineering - Questions & Answers, Health and Medicine - Questions & Answers, Working Scholars® Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. Greeks believed at the time of the play’s writing that a man’s life was ” woven” by the 3 fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) and that he was irrevocably bound to that destiny. of how individuals can and must exercise their freedoms of choice, even in the face of such In short, Sophocles brings to light that all humans possess the ability to navigate his or her life; however, the direction one chooses to sail determines the outcome of his or her life. by his desire to see Thebes spared. Years earlier, after receiving a prophecy about being slain by his own son, he has his infant son banished from Thebes. Though Oedipus There are many factors that must be considered in answering this, including how Oedipus himself felt about his situation. His pride has blinded him to his oncoming downfall and, fittingly, his punishment for that is to actually become blind. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. Were this story to have taken place in modern times, Oedipus certainly would have deserved his punishment, but this idea is irrelevant because, quite simply, this did not take place in our “advanced” civilization. Log in here for access. Similarly, when Oedipus learned of his fate, he fled Corinth, assuming that the prophecy Oedipus would no longer gaze upon the faces of his subjects, his brother (uncle? In this case, the question of whether or not he deserved to be punished seems irrelevant; Oedipus’ only goal was to stop the plague and by leaving, he has accomplished that goal. The true punishment has been revealed. Rather, the play In Oedipus the No one has time to read them all, but it’s important to go over them at least briefly. The gods, it seems, have inflicted a harsh punishment on Oedipus. His decision seems Sophocles’ play asserts that humans have the freedom to determine the quality of their own Oedipus' pride leads him to not only believe he can thwart their will; he doesn't believe their will when he hears it, despite everyone around him suggesting he pay attention. Create your account, Already registered? To really understand why Oedipus was trying to avoid his fate (and why this was such a bad thing), you must understand a key characteristic of Oedipus: his pride. beginning, Oedipus has an overwhelming sense of his own, individual power, as indicated by “I came by, Oedipus the ignorant, / I stopped the Sphinx!” he exalts. But there is a little more to it than that. Thomas holds a BA in education and English literature and has taught middle school English. revelation of his crimes. credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. At the end of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the protagonist Oedipus has gouged out his own eyes and is sent into exile. credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level. There are much easier ways of becoming blind to the world than stabbing one’s eyes out. “I am the land’s avenger,” he claims It must be noted that this was more than simply a punishment, though I’m sure that it was one of the ways Oedipus intended it. first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. One could argue that King Oedipus is a victim of fate in Sophocle's classic play and that there was no way he could avoid his destiny. How Long Does IT Take To Get a PhD in Philosophy? initial prophecy has been fulfilled. He had no idea who Laius or Jocasta were, and in fact he did everything he could to avoid committing these crimes. The Punishment of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex). Perhaps most telling, Oedipus himself doesn’t see himself as powerless. Tellingly, no gods appear in Oedipus the King, only humans. During his hunt, Oedipus concludes that his past choices create the plague that corrupts the soil. Did you know… We have over 220 college Were that Oedipus’ only punishment, the play might have been quite a bit simpler (and this essay quite a bit shorter), but Oedipus, in a fit of rage, stabs his own eyes with Jocasta’s dresspins. flashcard sets, {{courseNav.course.topics.length}} chapters | He is plunged into a world of darkness. If you were born into an African-American family in the early 1900's, your fate was slavery. more dramatic and extreme: He also shows that the crucial issue is not whether the prophecy He chooses to travel to Thebes after an Oracle tells him that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother -- this fate is so (rightly) disturbing to him that he flees his home in an attempt to avoid it. As he continues on his particular thread of life, Oedipus becomes more and more powerful, and as such, his pride also increases proportionately. The simple answer is that Oedipus is guilty of two crimes: killing the king and incest. No This offended the gods (though they only show up indirectly in the drama), and in the end Oedipus is blinded and exiled. else— / I did it all myself!” Oedipus does not seek to escape his punishment, but he does Prophecies consistently come true in Oedipus the King, which proves that fate is a Is pride alone enough to warrant such a steep consequence? How Long Does IT Take To Get A PhD IN Nursing? To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Keeping in mind that Sophocles made it very clear that Oedipus was a man of so much pride that he may have thought himself to be akin to a god, was not Oedipus basically stripped of that pride at the end of the play? Even after re- reading the play, this still seems to be a gray area. When the Chorus asks what “superhuman power” drove him to commit such a Oedipus cannot escape the specific Incest? Death, in my mind, is not valid simply because of what it might do to the kingdom’s people. Creon, or even those of his children. at one point. unwittingly fulfilled the very prophecy he spent his life trying to avoid, Oedipus does not 4 chapters | As a child, King Laius and Jocasta consulted an … It seems reasonable that attempting to thwart the gods would lead to great punishment. Earn Transferable Credit & Get your Degree. He only realized the truth behind Laius’ murder when it was right in front of his nose. Oedipus relentlessly pursues the truth, unwilling to give up until the truth is found. Oedipus does not seek to escape his punishment, but he does assert his right to exact that punishment as he sees fit. Oedipus may not have been a particularly good man, but in the end he knew what was best for his kingdom: “Out of this kingdom cast me with all speed” … for only that would save his former subjects. corruption from the land”—but he takes the situation one step further by deciding to blind

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