Oedipus Essay, Research Paper

[1] Aristotle, in

his work x, said that the sense of tragedy is heightened when we feel a

character?s fate is inevitable. [1]

Had Oedipus remained at Corinth, perhaps the oracle?s prophecy would not have

come to fruition.? In short, Oedipus?

fate only became inevitable because the way he reacted to hearing that he

should slay his father and kill his mother.?

In tearing himself away in ignorance he made the near impossible

possible.? Is it reasonable to say,

therefore, that it was not the Gods that made Oedipus? fate inevitable, but

Oedipus? own personality.? This raises

an interesting question: is there such a thing as free will in Oedipus? society

or are all actions predetermined by a character?s personality?? However, this hypothetical debate should not

be pursued too far, Oedipus caused the prophesy concerning him to come true

owing to his personality traits. These caused him to avoid what he saw as the

inevitability of him committing sin.? In

short, it is Oedipus? goodness, honesty, passion and integrity that made evil

possible. It can be said that the fates of both Nina and Oedipus were

inevitable, but why is the word ?inevitable? used.? It implies that neither character had any choice whatsoever in

the matter and that whatever they did it was ?inevitable? that certain things

would happen to them.? In the case of

Oedipus, this sense of inevitability can be attributed to the Gods.? However, in the case of Nina, it is only

that her youthful naivety makes her prone to react in a certain manner and it

is this from which the sense of inevitability comes.? This is only true in the

work I have studied, Oedipus Rex.? In

further plays concerning the lives of Oedipus, also written by Sophocles as

part of so-called ?trilogy?, Oedipus rebuilds his broken life.? In this manner a comparison could be drawn

with Nina?s attempt to rebuild her broken life. I chose not to do this for two

reasons, firstly, my task is specific to the two books mentioned, Oedipus Rex

and The Seagull and secondly, the Oedipus ?trilogy? is only a trilogy in the

barest sense of the word. It is three plays chronologically following the life

of Oedipus.? During the progression of

these plays we see little coherency e.g. the character of Creon varies from an

understanding friend to a raging angry tyrant. [1]

Aristotle, in his work x, said that the sense of tragedy is heightened when we

feel a character?s fate is inevitable. [1]

Had Oedipus remained at Corinth, perhaps the oracle?s prophecy would not have

come to fruition.? In short, Oedipus?

fate only became inevitable because the way he reacted to hearing that he

should slay his father and kill his mother.?

In tearing himself away in ignorance he made the near impossible

possible.? Is it reasonable to say,

therefore, that it was not the Gods that made Oedipus? fate inevitable, but

Oedipus? own personality.? This raises

an interesting question: is there such a thing as free will in Oedipus? society

or are all actions predetermined by a character?s personality?? However, this hypothetical debate should not

be pursued too far, Oedipus caused the prophesy concerning him to come true

owing to his personality traits. These caused him to avoid what he saw as the

inevitability of him committing sin.? In

short, it is Oedipus? goodness, honesty, passion and integrity that made evil

possible. [1] It can be

said that the fates of both Nina and Oedipus were inevitable, but why is the

word ?inevitable? used.? It implies that

neither character had any choice whatsoever in the matter and that whatever

they did it was ?inevitable? that certain things would happen to them.? In the case of Oedipus, this sense of

inevitability can be attributed to the Gods.?

However, in the case of Nina, it is only that her youthful naivety makes

her prone to react in a certain manner and it is this from which the sense of

inevitability comes.? [1] Had Oedipus

remained at Corinth, perhaps the oracle?s prophecy would not have come to

fruition.? In short, Oedipus? fate only

became inevitable because the way he reacted to hearing that he should slay his

father and kill his mother.? In tearing

himself away in ignorance he made the near impossible possible.? Is it reasonable to say, therefore, that it

was not the Gods that made Oedipus? fate inevitable, but Oedipus? own

personality.? This raises an interesting

question: is there such a thing as free will in Oedipus? society or are all

actions predetermined by a character?s personality?? However, this hypothetical debate should not be pursued too far,

Oedipus caused the prophesy concerning him to come true owing to his

personality traits. These caused him to avoid what he saw as the inevitability

of him committing sin.? In short, it is

Oedipus? goodness, honesty, passion and integrity that made evil possible. [1] It can be

said that the fates of both Nina and Oedipus were inevitable, but why is the

word ?inevitable? used.? It implies that

neither character had any choice whatsoever in the matter and that whatever

they did it was ?inevitable? that certain things would happen to them.? In the case of Oedipus, this sense of

inevitability can be attributed to the Gods.?

However, in the case of Nina, it is only that her youthful naivety makes

her prone to react in a certain manner and it is this from which the sense of

inevitability comes.? [1]

This is only true in the work I have studied, Oedipus Rex.? In further plays concerning the lives of

Oedipus, also written by Sophocles as part of so-called ?trilogy?, Oedipus

rebuilds his broken life.? In this

manner a comparison could be drawn with Nina?s attempt to rebuild her broken

life. I chose not to do this for two reasons, firstly, my task is specific to

the two books mentioned, Oedipus Rex and The Seagull and secondly, the Oedipus

?trilogy? is only a trilogy in the barest sense of the word. It is three plays

chronologically following the life of Oedipus.?

During the progression of these plays we see little coherency e.g. the

character of Creon varies from an understanding friend to a raging angry

tyrant.

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