Oedipus Essay - 788 Words

Robert Anthony once said, The problem with worry is that we attract the very thing we are trying to avoid. This quote directly relates to the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles. In this play, Sophocles gives Oedipus the tragic flaw, hubris (excessive pride in oneself), which eventually causes him to run into his fate that he wanted to escape. Excessive pride in oneself has been the downfall of multiple characters like Oedipus. Oedipus wont accept the fact that he cannot escape his fate because of his uncontrollable arrogance. Pride has played a role in his life when he was first told about his fate. Oedipus once went to an oracle to find out about his real father. According to the oracle, [Oedipus], You are fated to couple†¦show more content†¦If Oedipus set his ego aside and let the carriage pass, he could have prevented the prophecy from fulfilling itself. Even though characters believe that they can avoid their fate, they truly cannot. Jocasta gave birth to a child when she was married to King Laius, and one day an oracle came to Laius and predicted his future. Jocasta was speaking to Oedipus about the prophecy that an oracle had told King Laius, An oracle came to Laius one fine day†¦ and it declared that doom would strike him down at the hands of a son, our son, to be born of our flesh and blood. But Laius...was killed by strangers, thieves, at a place where three roads meet...my son-he wasnt three days old and the boys father fastened his ankles, had a henchman fling him away on a barren, trackless mountain†¦ My baby no more murdered his father...(Sophocles 201). Jocasta and King Laius had a free will which was to pin their childs ankles and hand him over to a shepherd to finish him. However the shepherd was unable to fulfill the task, he explains, I pitied the little baby, master, hoped hed [God] take him off to his own c ountry, far away, but he saved him for this, this fate. If you are the man he says you are, believe me, you were born for pain.(Sophocles 232). The attempt made by Jocasta and King Laius failed and eventually the prophecy self- fulfilled itself. The free will of the characters has made them contribute to the result of the prophecy. Jocasta andShow MoreRelatedOedipus Essay767 Words   |  4 PagesSophocles Oedipus the King is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus was well known to the athenian s. Oedipus is the embodiement of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinxRead MoreComparing Oedipus and Prufrock Essay1029 Words   |  5 Pagesthem in a certain place in time. 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