... a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances."" The main character in each, Othello in Othello and Oedipus the King in Oedipus King, both are brought to ruin and suffer extreme sorrow as a consequence of both a tragic flaw, and the inability to cope with unfavorable ... really happening around them. This is set up in Othello by long monologues by Othello's antagonist outlining his evil plan to ruin Othello. In Oedipus, the situational irony is set up because the audience already knows the entire story before they see it. The popular ...

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... /wife Jocasta did. That is, until I realized in a way he wanted to suffer because he believed he deserved it.-------------- Finally, there was one part of Oedipus the King that I didn't like and can blame on Sophocles. That was the part where the chorus seems to go on and on about the gods and ... the Sphinx, winning the new position of king and husband to Jocasta, his real mother. The prophecy of Apollo had come true, without anyone knowing. Poor Oedipus had no idea what he was doing. He was just trying to live his life. He had no control over the situation, and if he had known ... a re...

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... marrying his mother. They are the only ones who can control fate, and thus they are the only ones to blame for what happened to Oedipus. They could have made Oedipus' life less miserable, but they decided to destroy his and his family's life by this terrible fate without him committing a sin. "It ... was Apollo, friends, Apollo, who brought to fulfillment all my sufferings. But the hand that struck my eyes was mine and mine alone."" Oedipus blames Apollo for his two shameful crimes that caused his sufferings. On the other hand, he admits that the gods had nothing to do with his ... to ...

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... he meets his real father at a crossroad and refuses to let his father and his men pass before him, and Laius" herald killed one of Oedipus" horses. Oedipus" anger him to murder Laius" men and Laius himself. This was done out of fury and simply because he could. His youth and agility gave ... lady ruler, which happened to be his mother Jocasta, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Yet the gods were not satisfied with the prophecy merely being fulfilled, Oedipus must discover that he has wronged and go through gruelling mental torture. So they place a terrible plague upon Thebes, the crops begin t...

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... , is a tragedy of fate. The protagonist acts freely, but his own character and decisions are not essential to events, because fate has predetermined his destiny. The grotesque actions committed by Oedipus, were not done purposely or wittingly, as he was unaware of his sinful actions, and were committed without intent. His fate brings him to these horrid actions. Also, he attempts ... his fate and to challenge the gods in order to live an ethical life with moral order, but fails to succeed since his fate is inescapable. As well, fate brings Oedipus to his downfall, by giving him opportuni...

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... of anger led him to commit the awful crime of killing his biological father. Perhaps anger runs in the family, because Laios could have also backed down. Oedipus refuses the believe that he, a man who so cunningly outwitted his fate, could have made such destructive decisions. "Say what you will, whatever you say ... is worthless" (line 147). After forcing Teiresias, the prophet to tell him what he knows Oedipus refuses to hear it. Oedipus learned the repercussions of his choices and blames the Gods and fate when really it was he who was at fault. It is ironic that ... " (line 141). In...

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... can be happy if we ignore this fact. As long as we keep ourselves disillusioned in a false reality, we can be satisfied with our lives. In Oedipus's case, we see his tragic flaw progressing his path to doom. We cannot run from our fates, nor can we avoid our destiny. The Delphic Oracles prophecies ... far away from his "parents" as possible. In reality, by moving farther away from his adoptive parents, just brings him closer to his real ones. Oedipus encounters Laius on the road and kills him, thinking that he has saved himself from a potential robber. He is unaware that half the prophe...

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... to point out the power of human free will. However the question that is brought up throughout the play is that: Is it fate, or Oedipus" employment of free will in decision making that contributes the sequence of events ending ultimately in his downfall? In order to examine the question, I ... his own free will that led him to murder his father, the king, unknowingly. When he accepted the crown of Thebes, after killing the Sphinx, Oedipus could have refused to take the missing king's throne. What else is important is the fact that he did not have to take the missing king's ... play supp...

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... consist of the tragic plot ("muthos"): the reversal of the situation, the recognition ("agnorisis"), and the scene of suffering ("pathos"). The story of Oedipus begins with Laius, King of Thebes, who learns from the oracle that his son will kill him and marry his wife Jocasta. When a son ... the fact that Laius is his father. Continuing on his way he then passes a riddling sphinx and guesses the answer, lifting a curse on Thebes, allowing Oedipus to become King, win the hand of Jocasta, Queen of Thebes and have 4 children: Eteocles, Polynice, Antigone, and Ismene. The reader discovers t...

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... the future. Jocasta, on the other hand, does not follow her own advice, and decides to kill herself instead of living with the guilt of sleeping with Oedipus. She continues to say that because of fate man should live life without thinking of the consequences of his actions. It seems as though Jocasta advocates a world ... play we realize that man is punished for acts that may be considered immoral. The fate of a person still rests on the actions that he commits. If Oedipus had not killed Laius, then the oracle's decree would never have come to pass. Lined throughout the play are examples ...

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... travels to Thebes, where he is taken in as king and marries his mother Jocastas. In lines 245-335, Oedipus speaks to the people of Corinth about the killing of Laius. During this scene, Oedipus characterizes himself by displaying his ignorance to the fact that he is the murderer, his quickness to react, and ... is not exempt from the punishment saying, "Hear what I then resolve; I lay my ban/ On the assassin whosoe'er he be" (240-241). Oedipus declares this as if he is sure that he is not the killer of Laius. He also shows his arrogance by letting the people know that he is the ... hei...

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... against himself, in a battle which he cannot win. He represents the tragedy of a man's encounter with his own truth. When Oedipus Rex begins, we find that a plague is consuming Thebes. Oedipus quickly sends Creon to Delphi to receive the first oracle. Creon explains that a great crime had been committed. The murderer of king Laios ... is in their city and until justice is given the plague will remain. So, Oedipus begins his investigation with a promise, "I solemnly forbid the people of this country, Where power and throne are mine, ever to receive that man...And as for ... deep in it. O...

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... Corinth is the first act that guides him to his eventual end. It was arrogant of him to assume he could out run his prophesized fate. If Oedipus had never tried to escape his fate he would never have come under the false conclusion that he had beaten the Oracle. In addition he began to assume ... matter who it may be- (L 239, pg 32). It would seem that he thinks pretty highly of himself if he feels he could do so. The punishment Oedipus then handed down to himself when he discovers it was he who committed the acts was one of arrogant thought. If he were not so full of pride he ... reali...

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... the rest of his foretold fate. Also, he himself had too much pride and overconfidence for his own good. In the beginning, Laius and Jocasta, Oedipus's parents, had a chance to prevent the realization of their son's "destiny", but their actions did otherwise. Once the oracle had told the two of ... the oracle. What Laius and Jocasta could have done to wipe out any chance of him killing Laius and marrying Jocasta was to kill Oedipus themselves. This proves that the King and Queen of Thebes had the control to put an end to the events of the future before they ... have prevented him from ev...

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... happen, such as hearing the complete oracle, or knowing the full truth, the tragedy would have never occurred. By having knowledge of the full truth, Oedipus, would have more than likely decided to stay in Corinth, both saving himself from such a tragedy and of his parent's lives. However, this is ... where fate may have taken part in the destiny of Oedipus" life. Fate can be summed up in as much words as a predetermined destiny, in the hands and control of the Gods. Fate cannot be avoided ... open honesty, that made him great, were in Teresias" words, also his encapsulated in Teresias ...

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... to help the people, he said " I would not have you speak through messangers, I have come myself to hear you." This is a positive trait because the people wanted to speak with Oedipus and he's showing that he cares. After hearing the people speak about the plague he decides to send Creon to go speak with the oracle to talk with gods to ... he is showing that he is really trying to help everybody by trying to find a solution, which is a positive trait of his. Furthermore he also has a angry trait about him. Oedipus gets angry when Creon is late getting back from the oracle. This however, ...

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... him and marry his mother, the baby is sent to be abandoned. Instead he is sent to the nearby kingdom of King Polybus and Queen Merope. The other children taunt Oedipus by saying that he really is not the son of King Polybus. Perplexed by this crazy idea that he is not the son of King Polybus ... revelation of him killing his father and marrying his mother. He just flees in denial of what the Oracle at Delphi tells him. Because Oedipus is a very ignorant person he is blinded by the truth. I believe that because Oedipus is so ignorant he leads himself to his own tragic fall. On his way to...

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... about his life that was not completely clear to him regarding his parents. This caused the downfall of Oedipus. The oracles stated that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. Due to his strong will, Oedipus searched for the answers to questions about his life. He wanted to know the truth about his ... father and mother and how he came to be. The truth is what hurt Oedipus in the end of the story. The question then becomes; is knowing the truth about the future really worth knowing? If one could see how he ... the reality of who he was but he could see clearly the world in wh...

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... father and king of Thebes, and arrogantly defeated the infamous Sphinx. After settling in Thebes and becoming king, Oedipus hired a prophet named Teiresias to find Laius's killer but became furious when he prophesies that Oedipus was the true murderer of his father, and that he is his wife's son and that he will ... leave Thebes in shame. This infuriated Oedipus and showed his wildly angry side. When he finds out that he is really the cursed killer, all hell breaks out on him ... the plot in the story and make it a complete tragedy. The main character, Oedipus, had some undesirable flaws...

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... father and king of Thebes, and arrogantly defeated the infamous Sphinx. After settling in Thebes and becoming king, Oedipus hired a prophet named Teiresias to find Laius's killer but became furious when he prophesies that Oedipus was the true murderer of his father, and that he is his wife's son and that he will ... leave Thebes in shame. This infuriated Oedipus and showed his wildly angry side. When he finds out that he is really the cursed killer, all hell breaks out on him ... the plot in the story and make it a complete tragedy. The main character, Oedipus, had some undesirable flaws...

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... contrary. The story is one of a man who is struggling with destiny and every choice he makes effects the outcome of the story dramatically. Oedipus is undeniably strong willed and self-assured and it is these steadfast qualities that cause him to make the very decisions which will eventually leave him ... distraught, blind, and exiled from his kingdom. Oedipus is a man of tremendous pride and arrogance and these qualities cause him to ignore all advice, be it good or bad, from those around ... Delphi. To many, the same revelation coming from two separate and highly regarded oracles wo...

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... his desire to avoid this prophecy led him to believe that he could avoid it because he knew something about it and could try to prevent it. Oedipus would later realize that his efforts to prevent the prophecy from fulfilling itself were hopeless; in fact what he did to avoid the prophecy ironically made ... of the truth to find out what really happened with his birth and life. All this tied together led him to somewhat victory, but ironically his death. Oedipus took great pride in saving people and being seen a hero. "I'll fight for him, I'll leave no means untried, to catch the one who...

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... first speech, which he delivers to an old priest whose suffering he seeks to alleviate, he continually voices his concern for the health and well being of his people. Oedipus did have a good heart and the qualities of a leader. At the beginning he seemed like a very strong and stable character, but not for too long. Entry ... saved Thebes once before, the people believe he can do it again. It is Apollo's shrine that Iokaste goes to when she prays for the gods to help Oedipus cure Thebes. Entry #3 *It's actually awkward to see how fate is a very big symbol in this story. As if it was fa...

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... no one would be able to accuse him of killing Laois. Upon reading Vellacott's analysis of Sophocles" great play, I have no doubt in my mind that Oedipus knew what he was doing every step of the way and is therefore guilty in all aspects. His ignorance can be confused as innocence but in no way can ... of all. Then why could he not put together all the clues in front of him and solve the puzzle of his own life? Vellacott proposes that Oedipus had doubts about Polybos being his father and knowing this he set out on his journey. He knew that his real parents were out there somewhere in Gree...

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... so he is hesitant to kill him right away. Hamlet second-guesses himself throughout the play only to end up dying, but not before he kills Claudius. In Oedipus the king, a child is born to a royal couple, this king and queen want to know how their child will be in the future. So they ask ... save themselves, but instead the child ends up in a new castle and is raised by another couple as their own child. They never tell Oedipus that he is not their own. When Oedipus hears he is to kill his father and marry his mother, he leaves his parents and searches fro a new residence. Except he mee...

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