Events That Occur In Oedipus The King
In Oedipus The King, all characters can share blame for the tragedy that ends up unfolding at the end. Initially, the oracle could arguably have initial blame for setting all events of "Oedipus the King" into action by prophesying what would happen in the first place, but it was not actually her that just made it up. The oracle simply and merely just did her job and tried to warn to what would happen in the future. It was up to the gods what would happen, not to her, she was simply a messenger. The focus on the play is Oedipus, hence why the tale is named after him, who was the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes. Both of them have been married for a long time, but were unable to have any children, so Laius decided to make contact
…show more content…
with the Oracle because he was desperate for some kind of answer as to why he couldn’t have any offspring.
The Oracle foretold that their son not only would end up killing King Laius, but also then marry and have children with his own mother, Jocasta. Shortly after upon hearing this, they actually end up having a son and fearing that this horrible prophecy was starting to come true, they newborn baby’s ankles tied and pierced together so that he could not crawl. Jocasta then gave the boy to a servant to just leave him at a nearby mountain to die so none of those terrible things could ever happen. The fact that both Laius and Jocasta would make the decision to indirectly murder their own newborn child to selfishly protect their own lives just proves the kind of people they are. Back then, you were supposed to do anything and everything to please the gods. Abandoning your child for dead like that would definitely be something that the gods would frown upon, and in doing so, Laius and Jocasta eventually meet their doom indirectly by the hands of much angered gods for doing something like that.
However, rather than leave the child to die the servant did not want that to be on his conscious and decided to pass on the baby onto a shepherd and a baby Oedipus eventually came to the house of Polybus, who was the king of Corinth and his wife and queen, Merope, who adopted him because, just like Laius and Jocasta, they were not able to have kids of their own.
Oedipus grew up with the mentality that both Polybus and Merope were his actual parents. He had seemed to have a fairly happy life, until one day at a gathering, Oedipus was told by a drunk that he was a bastard. Bastard back then meant that he had no blood relation to the only family he ever knew in his life. Oedipus was very shocked upon hearing this and asked his now questionable parents with what he had heard from the drunkard, but they assured him it was all drunken slur and lies that he had heard. Despite his parents "reassurance", hearing that still bugged him so he decided to call onto the oracle, who was actually the very same oracle that his birth parents had originally called upon. Even though what the drunkard said was actually true, Oedipus could take blame for what will come into his horrible future if he had only just believed his parents when they said that they were in fact his real parents. Though, in doing so his adopted parents would force Oedipus to be living a life of lies, but he would be happy, it would have not been in vain, and no one would get hurt. The oracle then told him the very same thing she told his actual birth parents, Laius and Jocasta that his inevitable fate was he was destined to murder his father and marry his mother and have children with her. Even though prophecies from an oracle are inevitable, he decided to try and avoid such a horrible fate like that, so he left and decided it was best to never return
home.
Much time passes and Oedipus finds himself at a three-way crossroad where he encounters a chariot driven by an old man. Instead of being calm and polite and letting one another pass, they foolishly argue over who had the right to go first and during the dispute, the old man attempts to run over Oedipus with his chariot. Without any kind of hesitation, in a violent-fueled rage, he ends up killing the old man who unbeknownst to him is his biological father, King Laius, as well as everyone else that was with him. In his foolish rage, his judgement was blurred and he actually ended up fulfilling half of the prophecy he vowed to avoid. Being that his main intention in life now was to avoid both killing his father and marrying his mother, it is a wonder why he would even engage in a violent confrontation with someone that is obviously much older than him and unnecessarily killing that older man in the process without any kind of hesitation that that may be very well his real father.
After unknowingly completing half of the prophecy he tried to avoid in the first place, he ends up in a troubled place named Thebes, which is in a situation where a Sphinx will not let anyone in and ask them a riddle and if they are wrong, it will kill them.. That riddle being "What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?". Oedipus' clever answer to that riddle that no other person could come up with was "Man: as an infant, he crawls on all fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs and; in old age, he uses a 'walking' stick". The Sphinx was shocked to have heard the correct answer that the Sphinx killed itself by throwing itself in the water and drowning.
For freeing the people of Thebes from the Sphinx's rule, and learning news that there King Laius, who Oedipus murdered unknowingly, and since they were in need of a new king, they appointed Oedipus as their new ruler. Since he was the new king, he was in need of a queen. The queen he was then appointed was named Jocasta, his own mother. They then had four children, thus he then mistakenly completed the other half of the prophecy. The same mentality that should have been applied to Oedipus in regards to confronting and older man without a mere thought that that could have possibly been his father, should also have been applied here with a thought that should have had him realized that this woman he was now about to marry and assumably have children with, could very well have been his mother.
with the Oracle because he was desperate for some kind of answer as to why he couldn’t have any offspring.
The Oracle foretold that their son not only would end up killing King Laius, but also then marry and have children with his own mother, Jocasta. Shortly after upon hearing this, they actually end up having a son and fearing that this horrible prophecy was starting to come true, they newborn baby’s ankles tied and pierced together so that he could not crawl. Jocasta then gave the boy to a servant to just leave him at a nearby mountain to die so none of those terrible things could ever happen. The fact that both Laius and Jocasta would make the decision to indirectly murder their own newborn child to selfishly protect their own lives just proves the kind of people they are. Back then, you were supposed to do anything and everything to please the gods. Abandoning your child for dead like that would definitely be something that the gods would frown upon, and in doing so, Laius and Jocasta eventually meet their doom indirectly by the hands of much angered gods for doing something like that.
However, rather than leave the child to die the servant did not want that to be on his conscious and decided to pass on the baby onto a shepherd and a baby Oedipus eventually came to the house of Polybus, who was the king of Corinth and his wife and queen, Merope, who adopted him because, just like Laius and Jocasta, they were not able to have kids of their own.
Oedipus grew up with the mentality that both Polybus and Merope were his actual parents. He had seemed to have a fairly happy life, until one day at a gathering, Oedipus was told by a drunk that he was a bastard. Bastard back then meant that he had no blood relation to the only family he ever knew in his life. Oedipus was very shocked upon hearing this and asked his now questionable parents with what he had heard from the drunkard, but they assured him it was all drunken slur and lies that he had heard. Despite his parents "reassurance", hearing that still bugged him so he decided to call onto the oracle, who was actually the very same oracle that his birth parents had originally called upon. Even though what the drunkard said was actually true, Oedipus could take blame for what will come into his horrible future if he had only just believed his parents when they said that they were in fact his real parents. Though, in doing so his adopted parents would force Oedipus to be living a life of lies, but he would be happy, it would have not been in vain, and no one would get hurt. The oracle then told him the very same thing she told his actual birth parents, Laius and Jocasta that his inevitable fate was he was destined to murder his father and marry his mother and have children with her. Even though prophecies from an oracle are inevitable, he decided to try and avoid such a horrible fate like that, so he left and decided it was best to never return
home.
Much time passes and Oedipus finds himself at a three-way crossroad where he encounters a chariot driven by an old man. Instead of being calm and polite and letting one another pass, they foolishly argue over who had the right to go first and during the dispute, the old man attempts to run over Oedipus with his chariot. Without any kind of hesitation, in a violent-fueled rage, he ends up killing the old man who unbeknownst to him is his biological father, King Laius, as well as everyone else that was with him. In his foolish rage, his judgement was blurred and he actually ended up fulfilling half of the prophecy he vowed to avoid. Being that his main intention in life now was to avoid both killing his father and marrying his mother, it is a wonder why he would even engage in a violent confrontation with someone that is obviously much older than him and unnecessarily killing that older man in the process without any kind of hesitation that that may be very well his real father.
After unknowingly completing half of the prophecy he tried to avoid in the first place, he ends up in a troubled place named Thebes, which is in a situation where a Sphinx will not let anyone in and ask them a riddle and if they are wrong, it will kill them.. That riddle being "What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?". Oedipus' clever answer to that riddle that no other person could come up with was "Man: as an infant, he crawls on all fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs and; in old age, he uses a 'walking' stick". The Sphinx was shocked to have heard the correct answer that the Sphinx killed itself by throwing itself in the water and drowning.
For freeing the people of Thebes from the Sphinx's rule, and learning news that there King Laius, who Oedipus murdered unknowingly, and since they were in need of a new king, they appointed Oedipus as their new ruler. Since he was the new king, he was in need of a queen. The queen he was then appointed was named Jocasta, his own mother. They then had four children, thus he then mistakenly completed the other half of the prophecy. The same mentality that should have been applied to Oedipus in regards to confronting and older man without a mere thought that that could have possibly been his father, should also have been applied here with a thought that should have had him realized that this woman he was now about to marry and assumably have children with, could very well have been his mother.