king oedipus

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

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King Oedipus A person can have two point of views when reading the story of Oedipus. One viewpoint is that the events of this tragedy are Oedipus' fault, that he owned the "flaw" that laid these events into action. Another is that he was simply a pawn in the celestial workings of fate, incompetent of doing anything to alter the destiny that fate has stored for him. If you think that King Oedipus was merely a puppet of fate, you're probably a religious individual, believing that there's a reason behind everything that's occurring. At times, I'm that kind of person. However, in this case, I believe that Oedipus constructed his own tragic end.

Initially, my reaction was that fate built Oedipus' end, but the more I thought about it, the more I believed that he made vital mistakes or errors in his way of thinking that triggered the incidents in the story into action.

His pride affected him in numerous ways. Oedipus' pride started it all when a man told him that he's a bastard, his pride was so hurt that he wouldn't leave it alone. He eventually goes to the oracle of Apollo to ask it the truth. The oracle's answer was the reason why he left Corinth. As a result of leaving Corinth and traveling to Thebes, he involuntarily completes the oracle's prophecy. I believe that if he didn't go to the oracle, he wouldn't have left Corinth in the first place. Later in the play, Oedipus' pride continues to be a flaw that unfortunately led to story's sad end. He was too proud to believe the words of Teiresias. Instead, he chose to rely on his own powers and intelligence. Teiresias, the prophet, advised him to not dig into these matters. However, his pride led him to...