Oedipus Essay, Research Paper

The narrative of Oedipus Rex is a authoritative illustration of a tragic hero. Oedipus is a hero who actively plays a big function in his ain death. This paper will take a expression at how Oedipus Rex starred in his ain death, and what character defects caused him to make so. It will besides look at how the subject of the narrative ( the conflict of free will versus religion ) may hold been the biggest ground for Oedipus? s suicide. And eventually, it will analyze the possibility that Oedipus was non all responsible for the result that he received, and the possibility that he was merely partially to be blamed.

To understand why and how Oedipus Rex played a function in his ain ruin, we must seek to understand the character or individual that was Oedipus Rex. We can see that Oedipus Rex is a really obstinate individual and he lets his pride and his pique get in the manner of his better judgement. A good illustration of this is when he finds out from the prophet that his fate will take him to kill his ain male parent ( King Laios ) , go a male monarch, and get married his ain female parent, Queen Iocaste? . What likely made this bad state of affairs worse was the fact that Oedipus did non even cognize who his existent male parent and female parent were and he did non happen out that Polybos, ( the adult male who raised him ) was non truly his male parent until after he had killed his existent male parent.

After Oedipus hears that destiny would hold him stop up killing his ain male parent, he decides to run off and acquire out of town. He figured that since he was supposed to kill his male parent and get married his female parent, he would go forth his place, so that he would be far off from Polybos and his female parent. What Oedipus did non recognize is that the prophet was non speaking about Polybos ; it was speaking about his existent male parent. This is where we can first reason that Oedipus is the victim, but non of his ain agreement. He did non even know that he was given away as a babe and therefore he figured that the prophet referred to Ploybos when it mentioned his male parent. So, with out giving excessively much idea to it, he gets up and foliages, non cognizing that in his making so, he would really stop up closer to his existent parents, and therefore, would really be taking the first measure towards carry throughing the prognostication of the prophet. It is easy to see, after the fact, that had Oedipus non overreacted and run off organize his place, he have ne’er killed his male parent, he would hold ne’er became male monarch, and would non hold married his female parent. With this act ( Oedipus go forthing his place ) , we see that Oedipus lacks religion in himself, and that he feels that he must take action on his ain. Here we see that cardinal subject, struggle versus free will.

As stated earlie

R, the struggle between religion and free will take Oedipus Rex to his ain death. This is the subject of the narrative. Although at the clip of Oedipus, the general belief was that you could non alter you destine, Oedipus does non believe in the thought of predestination. He does non believe that the Gods had already willed his fate. Oedipus plays a really active function in his life and believes in free will. This is besides where we see one of the defects in his character defects, pride semen in. Oedipus had excessively much pride ; he was non excessively great of a individual to stop up killing his male parent and get marrieding his female parent, the queen. Although he does non come right out and state it, and it is non mentioned word for word in the narrative, we can see that Oedipus demonstrably feels that merely a low individual would make such awful things to his parents, and that if he tried difficult plenty, he could alter his ain destiny for the better, irrespective of what the Gods had planned.

Up until the point that Oedipus Rex finds out that he killed his biological male parent, he had assumed that his male parent was King Polybos, the adult male who raised him. Not cognizing that Polybos was non his existent male parent, Oedipus thinks that the prophet prophesized that he would kill Polybos.

Even after Oedipus fulfills the prophet, he does non cognize that he has done it. When a courier ( the same courier that brought Oedipus to King Polybos ) comes to state Oedipus that King Ploybos died of a illness, Oedipus has already killed his biological male parent, has become a male monarch, and has married his female parent, Iocaste? . Upon hearing the intelligence that the adult male who raised him ( Polybos ) has died, Oedipus rejoices with his queen, non because he wanted the adult male to decease, but because he thought this proved that the prophet did non come true. This was like a immense weight lifted off of him. But the courier continued, on stating Oedipus that King Polybos was non his existent male parent, but merely a adult male who loved him because he had no boies of his ain. When Oedipus learns from the courier that Polybos was non his existent male parent he asks a series of inquiries to a shepherd that is brought in ; the shepherd who handed an infant Oedipus over to the courier. This oppugning greatly disturbances Queen Iocaste? , because she knew of the prognostication before manus, and she knows that it has come true. It was the really ground that she gave Oedipus off. But because she loved Oedipus so much, she did non desire him to cognize that the prophet had come true. She knew that it would lay waste to him and she could non bear to see that go on. She understood that Oedipus would shortly happen out the truth and because she could non manage that, she killed herself.

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