Oedipus Essay, Research Paper

Dealing With Fate: The Story of King Oedipus

Thebes is struck by a plague; the citizens are dying, and no one knows how to

put an end to it. The people look to their great king, Oedipus to save the city.

Oedipus, being a great king takes responsibility for saving the people and the

great city of Thebes. As the play progresses, Oedipus comes to realize that he

is the plague on the city. After realizing that he is a pawn of the Gods?,

Oedipus still takes responsibility for saving the city, even when the cure is

the expulsion of himself. Eventhough he expresses great anger towards the Gods

for his unfortunate fate, he takes the ultimate responsibility for his actions,

and for the actions of the Gods. Oedipus gives up his thrown, his family, and

his sight all for the sake of Thebes, proving that he is a man of great duty and

honor.

At the beginning of the play, Oedipus announces his willingness and power to

solve the mystery at hand. He takes it upon himself to once more, ?bring what

is dark to light? (11). He is passionate to find the killer, at first out of

self motivation sighting the fact that the killer might come after him. ?By

avenging the murdered king I protect myself? (11). When he is angered by the

silence of Teiresias he decides to ?take the son?s part, just as though I

were his son…? (16). Oedipus shows how passionate of a leader he is by

taking a personal approach to solving the problem. He is greatly angered by

Tiresias, whom he believes may be one of the conspirators. Like any passionate

man, Oedipus continues to rile Tiresias up, hoping that he may gain the truth to

the riddle. Eventhough in reality Tiresias does tell of what will come, Oedipus

is unsatisfied. He has grown so ardent about solving the mystery, that he doesn?t

even see the truth in front of him. Even when Tieresias tells him:

You mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you, with both your eyes, are

blind: you cannot see the wretchedness of your life, nor in whose house you

live, no, nor with whom…But the double lash of your parents? curse will whip

you out of this land some day, with only night upon your precious eyes (22-23).

Despite the foreshadowing, Oedipus takes the advise lightly and continues his

own search for justice.

Despite the disapproval of Iocasta, Oedipus continues to search for the truth

of what the prophet said. Iocasta tries to ensure him that the prophets are

wrong in predicting the future, and that the matter should not be further

investigated. Oedipus, being a righteous man, continues to search, even when it

begins to look like the answers lie within himself. When he realizes that he

killed a group of men along the side of the road, mirroring the story that he

had been told of the death of the king, Oedipus begins to accept his ill fate

stating, ?…If I was created so, born to this fate, who could deny the

savagery of God?(44)? He is angered by the God?s plan which has already been

executed without him knowing it. He begins to realize the truth behind the

prophecy. At this point, Oedipus could ignore the new information that he

discovered, but being an honorable man, he continues to search for the truth. At

this point, Oedipus begins to take responsibility for himself on top of already

taking responsibility for the city.

After speaking to his last witness, Oedipus uncovers the real truth: he is

the son of Laios, whom he has murdered; husband to the queen, who is his real

mother. The Gods were obviously against him. Accepting his fate, the great king

knows what he must do:

Ah God! It was true! All the prophecies! -Now, o light, may I look on your

for the last time! I, Oedipus, Oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage

damned, damned in the blood he shed with his own hand (64)!

Oedipus takes a knife and gouges out his eyes. He begins making the

arrangements for his exile, apologizing for his fate and for his actions. He

claims that though Apollo ordained his fate, it was him who pierced his own

eyes. His banishment allows the rest of his destiny to finally be his own. In

exile, Oedipus finally has his freedom. As he promised at the beginning of the

play, he has saved Thebes, the cost of which is his sight, his fortune, and his

power. He leaves Thebes the same way as when he had first come, as a hero,

whether others? recognize him as one or not. He again saves the city, but his

actions previous actions which come to light have made him appear to be anything

but a hero.

Oedipus is not a perfect man. He has excessive pride and is very

self-righteous in a many of his actions. He is not a super hero, and does

nothing that any man in his position couldn?t do. Yet, continues to hold

certain traits during the entire course of the plays. Oedipus shows great

strength and courage in the face of disaster. As the net of guilt tightens on

him with each revelation about the truth of the prophecy, Oedipus remains strong

and resolved. Every step he takes to solve the mystery of Laios’ murder brings

him closer to self exposure, yet he never hesitates to pursue that truth. He

continues to be honorable. When the last piece of the puzzle falls into place,

Oedipus the detective has become Oedipus the criminal (Knox). But his courage

and strength help him endure the pain and suffering that come with knowledge of

what he has done.

Oedipus eventually realizes that even though he has sight, that he could not

see. This is the reason that he takes his own eyes, for it is the only way for

him to see the truth which lies inside of him. His spiritual blindness that lead

to ignorance of the past, is replaced by physical blindness. He may be blind,

but he can now see. He leaves his kingdom and he imparts on a journey of which

the fate of is unknown to him. He proves his honor as a ruler through the

actions which he takes on his own, not reflecting the plan of the Gods. At any

point, Oedipus could have ceased to pursue the truth which he eventually saw

leading towards him. At any time, Oedipus, having the power which he had, could

have had another man executed or banished for his crimes. Instead, Oedipus took

the ultimate responsibility, paying whatever price it meant. In the end, Oedipus

saves the city of Thebes twice: once from the great Sphinx who plagued the land,

and once from himself. To Oedipus, country came before any individualistic

rights or privileges. The truth did eventually set the great king Oedipus free.

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