Subjects:
he does infact have a free will. His choices brought the prophecy to life. Only his decisions (not influenced by anybody) he made. Of course those decisions were in side of the limits set by fate. When Oedipus heard a prophesy that his going to kill his father and sleep with his mother he ran away, even when he new there were suspicions of him being the real son of his parents. There some lines from the play: "…There was a man dining with us one day who had too much wine and man shouted at me-half drunk and shouting that I was not rightly called my father's son. … Without my parent's knowledge, I went to Delphi, but Apollo did not say what I had gone to hear. Instead, he answered questions I had not asked and told of horror and misery beyond believe - how I would know my mothers bad … and cause the death of my own father."
The prophecy drove the Oedipus away from home; the terror of the predictions was too much to live with. Oedipus tried everything not to meet the prophecy, and still when he came to Thebes and became a king Oedipus married an older lady. It was his choice, even when he knew there was a danger of him to know
. . .
However, in the typical Greek tragedy, we must see his fall from
grace through, which is indeed what happens. He calls the shepard and interrogates him till he discovers the horrifying truth that he is the killer. His life in
Corinth would have been long and prosperous, and Thebes would have
lived on under King Laius. He may begin that way, motivated by a genuine desire to help the people, but what emerges throughout is different.
Oedipus leaves Corinth, fulfilling the Socratic idea of the unexamined
life. Thus even though he had killed his father he would have never become king of Thebes and laid with his mother. Oedipus is the embodiement of the perfect Athenian. Oedipus meets up with a band of travelers and in a rage kills them.
Once examining these aspects of the relationship between the
quote and Oedipus Rex, we can come to a final examination of its
implications. To
Socrates, he was an unfulfilled man, one who deserved to know more,
one who not complete. Oedipus traits which gave him riches and power
ultimately led to his tragic ending. If he had not murdered King Laius, the Sphinx would
have never descended upon Thebes, he would have never fulfilled the
prophecy, and all would have lived on in a relative peace and
tranquillity.
In the bliss of ignorance, much pain and difficulty is
averted. Inadvertently Oedipus has killed his own father.
Essay's Topics
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