The Tragic Destiny of Oedipus
Oedipus the king by Sophocles is a distressing play filled with transgression, grief, and tragedies. The unfortunate incidents that the tragic hero, Oedipus, goes through invoke catharsis in the readers. He has been prophesied a dreadful fortune and feels as though “...no one suffers more than [him]” (Sophocles 27).Foretold destiny cannot be derailed as fate will always interfere and insure that the prophecy is fulfilled. Moreover, every tragic hero has a tragic flaw; rashness and temper are two of the major ones that lead Oedipus to make poor decisions. In addition, many humans use ignorance as a shield to protect themselves from a harsh reality and therefore restrain themselves from the light of true knowledge. …show more content…
It is very ironic that Oedipus wanted to know the truth but did not see the truth in any advice he was offered for his own good; for example when Teiresias told him indirectly who the murderer was and that it would be best for Oedipus to stop questioning and leave this topic alone, but Oedipus did not listen. When Jocasta realized that the prophecy of her son had indeed been carried out, she tries to save him but Oedipus insensibly called her prideful and dismissed her warnings. Also another example is when Oedipus completely disregards Teiresias advice that “[his] enemy is [him]-self” (Sophocles 36), and takes pride in the fact that he “stopped the riddler 's mouth, guessing the truth...” (Sophocles 37). Oedipus ' pride was boosted when he became the king, and he is taking advantage of his position by doing what he wishes, thinking what he wants to think and not listening to anyone else. His ignorance is slowly breaking away the protective layer of the truth, leading him to neglect the helping hand of the few who want to protect him. However as soon as the puzzle pieces start to fit, he looks for excuses to believe that he has not in fact done exactly what was prophesied. Using ignorance to blind your-self from the truth can backfire sometimes and result in destruction, just like in
Oedipus the king by Sophocles is a distressing play filled with transgression, grief, and tragedies. The unfortunate incidents that the tragic hero, Oedipus, goes through invoke catharsis in the readers. He has been prophesied a dreadful fortune and feels as though “...no one suffers more than [him]” (Sophocles 27).Foretold destiny cannot be derailed as fate will always interfere and insure that the prophecy is fulfilled. Moreover, every tragic hero has a tragic flaw; rashness and temper are two of the major ones that lead Oedipus to make poor decisions. In addition, many humans use ignorance as a shield to protect themselves from a harsh reality and therefore restrain themselves from the light of true knowledge. …show more content…
It is very ironic that Oedipus wanted to know the truth but did not see the truth in any advice he was offered for his own good; for example when Teiresias told him indirectly who the murderer was and that it would be best for Oedipus to stop questioning and leave this topic alone, but Oedipus did not listen. When Jocasta realized that the prophecy of her son had indeed been carried out, she tries to save him but Oedipus insensibly called her prideful and dismissed her warnings. Also another example is when Oedipus completely disregards Teiresias advice that “[his] enemy is [him]-self” (Sophocles 36), and takes pride in the fact that he “stopped the riddler 's mouth, guessing the truth...” (Sophocles 37). Oedipus ' pride was boosted when he became the king, and he is taking advantage of his position by doing what he wishes, thinking what he wants to think and not listening to anyone else. His ignorance is slowly breaking away the protective layer of the truth, leading him to neglect the helping hand of the few who want to protect him. However as soon as the puzzle pieces start to fit, he looks for excuses to believe that he has not in fact done exactly what was prophesied. Using ignorance to blind your-self from the truth can backfire sometimes and result in destruction, just like in