Oedipus Failure Of Fate Essay
The Failure of Destiny Avoidance (plan)
The characters in Oedipus Rex try very hard to avoid their destiny but ultimately fail. Discuss
King Oedipus is a dramatic play about how the characters Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius live to put all their efforts in avoidance of their destiny but ultimately fail.
 Destiny: Oedipus murder Laius (father) and incest to Jocasta.
 Murder and incest considered extremely bad in Greek society  punished by Gods
 Sophocles shows characters fail to avoid destiny because of the attempts to avoid it
The character's attempts to avoid their destiny in the past are the main cause of how Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius would face their tragic destiny.
 Oedipus a child Laius' and Jocasta's marriage with prophecy: the child would kill the father and marry the mother.
 …show more content…
They leave him on a mountain to death 1st attempt
Oedipus saved by Polybus and Merope, heard the truth from a drunk and the prophet.
 Unaware of truth about his real parents  leave Corinth to prevent the prophecy 2nd attempt
 On the way  O kills Laius. How they fail to avoid prophecy.
 His intelligence to defeat sphinx be the new king of Thebes and husband of Jocasta. How they fail to avoid prophecy.
By getting back to Thebes, the characters have actually failed in their effort to prevent Oedipus from killing his father and marrying his own
mother.
Upon hearing the problem from Creon and the truth from Teiresias, Oedipus is still trying to avoid his destiny in his ignorance.
C tells O about the polluter, killed L on his way in pilgrimage.
Before O meets T, O was enthusiastic to find the truth about the polluter
Unaware that O has killed, start threaten people to confess
After T comes and reveal the truth, he started to avoid his fate again
H avoids believing that he is the polluter
Start accusing T plotting with C to take over his crown
Oedipus and Jocasta realises their failure to avoid the destiny after the truth was revealed by the shepherd and messenger.
After hearing News from messenger about the death of Polybus:
Defy god
Believe he avoided prophecy
Thwarts the prophecy saying the oracle is wrong
O again avoids the destiny by not going back to Corinth, he might marry Merope
In response to his confidence of having avoided killing the father, the messenger reveals the truth about his parents
Having surrounded by his fear, he decided to continue the investigation by calling the shepherd
Shepherd: his parents were not his parents, he reveals all identity
After the birth of his son, Jocasta has made many efforts to avoid the prophecy given to her son.
Avoids fate by:
1. trying to kill the baby
2. using blasphemy
3. contradicting gods
4. persuade to stop investigation
Although Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius were trying to avoid their destiny, the destiny still happens.
O kills father
O marry mother
O punished to be blind
Through this play, Sophocles is trying to say that prophecies from the gods of someone's fate should not be ignored.
The characters in Oedipus Rex try very hard to avoid their destiny but ultimately fail. Discuss
King Oedipus is a dramatic play about how the characters Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius live to put all their efforts in avoidance of their destiny but ultimately fail.
 Destiny: Oedipus murder Laius (father) and incest to Jocasta.
 Murder and incest considered extremely bad in Greek society  punished by Gods
 Sophocles shows characters fail to avoid destiny because of the attempts to avoid it
The character's attempts to avoid their destiny in the past are the main cause of how Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius would face their tragic destiny.
 Oedipus a child Laius' and Jocasta's marriage with prophecy: the child would kill the father and marry the mother.
 …show more content…
They leave him on a mountain to death 1st attempt
Oedipus saved by Polybus and Merope, heard the truth from a drunk and the prophet.
 Unaware of truth about his real parents  leave Corinth to prevent the prophecy 2nd attempt
 On the way  O kills Laius. How they fail to avoid prophecy.
 His intelligence to defeat sphinx be the new king of Thebes and husband of Jocasta. How they fail to avoid prophecy.
By getting back to Thebes, the characters have actually failed in their effort to prevent Oedipus from killing his father and marrying his own
mother.
Upon hearing the problem from Creon and the truth from Teiresias, Oedipus is still trying to avoid his destiny in his ignorance.
C tells O about the polluter, killed L on his way in pilgrimage.
Before O meets T, O was enthusiastic to find the truth about the polluter
Unaware that O has killed, start threaten people to confess
After T comes and reveal the truth, he started to avoid his fate again
H avoids believing that he is the polluter
Start accusing T plotting with C to take over his crown
Oedipus and Jocasta realises their failure to avoid the destiny after the truth was revealed by the shepherd and messenger.
After hearing News from messenger about the death of Polybus:
Defy god
Believe he avoided prophecy
Thwarts the prophecy saying the oracle is wrong
O again avoids the destiny by not going back to Corinth, he might marry Merope
In response to his confidence of having avoided killing the father, the messenger reveals the truth about his parents
Having surrounded by his fear, he decided to continue the investigation by calling the shepherd
Shepherd: his parents were not his parents, he reveals all identity
After the birth of his son, Jocasta has made many efforts to avoid the prophecy given to her son.
Avoids fate by:
1. trying to kill the baby
2. using blasphemy
3. contradicting gods
4. persuade to stop investigation
Although Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius were trying to avoid their destiny, the destiny still happens.
O kills father
O marry mother
O punished to be blind
Through this play, Sophocles is trying to say that prophecies from the gods of someone's fate should not be ignored.