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Discuss why Oedipus is a tragedy (i.e. its elements)Themes in the novel include „XBlindness versus sight, „XKnowledge through suffering
College papers on Oedipus
„XMan does not control his own destiny/fateOedipus as a tragic hero. „XPride arrogance (characteristics)Oedipus is seen as a tragic hero in the play, a principal character, in a position of social importance being the King of Thebes. His downfall is the result of incidents beyond his control, and is rather the result of fate. In Oedipus Rex, it is not so much a hamartia that leads to his downfall, but more the role played by fate and destiny. His characteristic flaws of pride and arrogance don¡¦t so much contribute to his downfall, but play more the role of hastening it. From birth, a prophecy existed that he would kill his father and marry his mother, and so his downfall seems inevitable. When Oedipus at a party hears that he may not be his fathers son, he yearns to know more. He finally hears ¡§a tale of horror and misery¡¨ about how he must marry his mother and kill his father. Through his suffering, he gains more and more knowledge. In a similar way Laius tried to manipulate fate by having Oedipus¡¦s feet pierced and ankled together and sending a messenger to leave him on a mountain side, Oedipus also tries to change his destiny, by leaving Corinth ¡§At this I fled away, putting the stars between me and Corinth, never to see home again.¡¨ In leaving Corinth, he hopes to leave behind his father and mother, thus trying to escape and killing and marrying them, but ironically it is when he on his journey from Laius that he meets Laius, his biological father and kills him. This reflects the beliefs of the ancient Greeks that changing fate was futile and fraught with danger. The role of fate and destiny, and the impact of the prophecy is further seen when the reward for the person who destroys the pestilence brought on by the riddling sphinx is Jocasta, Laius¡¦s wife and Oedipus¡¦s mothers, hand in marriage. Oedipus being the person who solves the riddle is clearly a result of the role of fate. The danger of fate is shown by the comments the chorus make towards the end and let no man be called happyuntil the day he carries his happiness to the grave in peace.The attitudes of the characters in the play reflect the hierarchy during the time it was written. The gods and fate ruled all. While much of the tragedy of Oedipus Rex resides in the protagonists flaws, Sophocles also raises the serious question of the treatment of man by gods. The gods in the play took advantage of his flaws, even though he displayed the qualities of a good man and a loving father and husband. He did what no other could do, destroyed the Sphinx and brought peace to the city, yet despite this, he was punished for a crime that was always going to happen. This reflects the thinking of the Ancient Greeks, that the Gods along with fate were at the top of the hierarchy, and no matter one did, they could not defy the gods. As a result the worsened by Oedipus¡¦s punishment which is unfitting of the crime he committed. He is banished from the city he loved and once rules, deprived of his eyesight, and humiliated. Oedipus¡¦s fall from grace takes place when he actually discovers his flaw that had already occurred, killing his father Laius and marrying his mother. This event however can be attributed to many of his characteristics. If Oedipus had any hamartia, it was his pride and anger. The killing of Lauis can be attributed to Oedipus¡¦s pride and rash nature. Laius orders him out of the way at a crossroad, but Oedipus¡¦s pride, anger and temperament drives him to kill Laius for what he perceives as an insult. ¡§the leader roughly ordered me out of the way¡K It was the driver that thrust me aside and him I struck¡¨ Oedipus at that stage, had an idea about the prophecy, and so should have been careful about who he kills, and what he does, but his indiscriminate, violent and careless nature leads him to killing his own father over an incident only pride would cause. His pride is also conveyed through his language and tone when he says ¡§I, Oedipus, whose name is known afar¡¨ and is a result of him being looked up upon by the people of Thebes as their hero and their leader, and because of his status as king. Oedipus¡¦s rash uncontrollable anger and murderous temperament is shown by ¡§for I was angry. The old man saw it¡¨ and in the argument between Teiresias and himself, where Teiresias states the truth and Oedipus replies, ¡§Do you think you can say such things with impunity?¡¨ showing his rash nature, and tendency to make quick deductions without further thinking. This worsened the tragedy, adding to his humiliation in end, as a result of his thoughtless accusations against Creon and Teiresias. Like his father tried to manipulate and escape fate by leaving Oedipus on the mountainside, Oedipus also tried to escape fate by leaving Corinth when he heard about the prophecy ¡§at this I fled away, putting the stars between me and Corinth¡¨, reflecting the inheritance of characteristics. He left Corinth believing he could prevent the oracles fulfilment and evade the inevitable guilt, but in both cases, manipulating fate ironically brought about the tragedy, as if Oedipus didn¡¦t leave Corinth, he wouldn¡¦t have met Laius on the crossroads, and the tragedy may not have occurred. Tireasias in the play is a blind prophet given a depth of knowledge and the truth by the gods. In contrast, Oedipus is portrayed as a sighted man, blind to the truth. His blindness to the truth also can be seen as a cause of his demise. If he had known in more detail that his parents weren¡¦t whom the appeared to be, he may have been more careful in his actions, which may have prevented him killing his father. However his parents who adopted him, Polybus and Merope chose not to tell him, even when he questioned the truth. In addition, it is his blindness to the truth which causes him to be careless in what he says, setting the punishment as banishment, and portraying the killer as the enemy of society through his speech the people of Thebes ¡§If any of you know whose hand it was that killed Laius¡K. May justice and all god be with you forever¡¨ Through portraying the killer as the enemy, when he discovered the truth, he knew his life was over, blinding himself forever, not being able to look any longer at his loved ones, or the places of his sins, but knowing the truth, a contrast to before. The tragedy of Oedipus is brought upon, not only by a flaw which occurred previously, but also because of his characteristics including his pride, uncontrollable and rash nature, his blindness from the truth and his attempt to manipulate truth. These added fuel to the fire, worsening his inevitable fall from grace. However the gods took advantage of his flaws and made them worse than the appeared to be, demonstrated by his harsh punishment, which is worse than he deserved. For the crime of killing his father, and marrying his mother, blind from the truth, he is punished far too greatly, the gods removing his vision and banishing him from the city he ruled with greatness. Through the role played by fate and destiny on Oedipus, Sophocles comments on the treatment of man by god. Oedipus is seen as a good father and husband, and prominent leader of the city of Thebes. However through a misfortunate event where he kills the previous king and his father Laius, brought about by the prophecy more than anything else, he is punished for this crime through banishment from the city he once loved and rules, through loss of his sight, and through humiliation from the fact that he brought about the plague, and blamed the killing of Laius on others such as Creon. The tragedy of Oedipus Rex lies in his treatme Please note that this sample paper on Oedipus is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Oedipus, we are here to assist you. 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