... are the cause of joys and disappointments in life. Oedipus Rex obviously shows that Sophocles, the playwright, supported the idea of fate. It is not by ones own actions that make our final outcome, but we are all destined from the beginning. Many of the characters believed in oracles and fate. " Fate rules us and ... nothing can be foreseen" (p 345). When Oedipus was an infant, Jocasta tried to kill him so she could sidestep her fate. Unfortunately the oracle could not ... great effort to separate himself from whom he thought was his real parents. Sometimes one might try to overcome fa...

• Word Count: 567
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... if not all, of the other characters. The plague terrorizing Corinth, Laios" and Jocasta's death, and the demise of the sphinx were all caused by Oedipus" actions and decisions. Not to mention how his children were affected. The ironic thing about this play is that many of Oedipus" choices were intended to prevent ... was his unrelenting quest for the truth and for self-discovery that lead to his eventual downfall. The tragic vision of Oedipus Rex is increased by the fact that for all of Oedipus" actions he is never the lone sufferer. Whether it be his birth parents, his children or even ...

• Word Count: 400
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Even though I did not enjoy the ending of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, I did however, find the first part of the play to be interesting. It was almost like a puzzle for me, in the sense that I had to figure out what was going on from the way the characters spoke. Despite this, I was able to understand with the help ... signifies the punishment that Apollo placed upon her for trying to change the fate of her and her husband's life -- trying to kill her own baby boy-Oedipus. I think the Gods have a plan for each of them and it is going to be fulfilled no matter which path they think they can take to...

• Word Count: 500
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Sophocles' play Oedipus the King, questions how free will and destiny contribute to human life. One idea was that he was trying 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 have looked at what characteristics contributed to Oedipus" use of free will and also at the various points in the play in which Oedipus employs this. Important points in this story ...

• Word Count: 1145
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ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY In the tragedies of Sophocles, human responsibility plays an important role to the significance of the characters. Oedipus accepts responsibility as a tragic hero, as does Antigone. It seems however, that Antigone shows a greater willingness to accept her responsibility. Oedipus" basic flaw is his lack of knowledge of his own identity. He starts out as a good king, and finds out laios is killed, threatening the killer to a severe punishment. He doesn't know, however, that is was actually him that killed him until later. Oedipus' unyielding desire to uncover the truth a...

• Word Count: 588
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... . I shudder to think of a world where Luke doesn't have Han Solo by his side! All kidding aside, supporting characters are what make stories great and memorable, and these three plays prove that amazingly. Oedipus Rex, what a sad poor man. But he himself wasn't really all that deep or memorable of a character. Yes the ... Tiresias. The blind leading the blind, I guess you could say. In Antigone, we again follow the bloodline of Oedipus, through his daughters and sons. Again though, you see major development in the secondary characters. Again we see our old friend Tiresias, although I fee...

• Word Count: 766
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... quot;Oedipus Rex", by John Bennett and Moira Kerr, is a story about a young man named "Oedipus", son of the Corinth, who attempts to escape his fate of killing his father. In "Antigone", by E.F. Watling, Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, ... true! ...All the oracles had been right: Laius had been murdered by his own son, Oedipus," (2-3, Bennett and Kerr). Oedipus was overjoyed that he evaded the fate of killing his own father, the king of Corinth. But ... and the people grew hungry; disease spread among the Thebans, and they could not be cured" (2, Bennett and Kerr). Oedipus had everyt...

• Word Count: 929
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The hierarchical females of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Sophocles" "Oedipus Rex" share many common threads. "Hamlet's" Gertrude and "Oedipus"" Iokaste mirror each other by their submissive attitudes and their inability to acknowledge the blatantly obvious. Both characters are guilty of taking part in an incestuous relationship. Iokaste's manipulation by the Gods and Gertrude's manipulation by the Claudius is also a related factor. However, the most significant similarity ... to murder his father and wed his mother. Although Iokaste had wanted nothing more but to raise her family and revel in t...

• Word Count: 1047
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , but does that mean he does not have insight? A sightful man can see his path, but does that mean he can forsee his future? In the tragic ironic play of Oedipus Rex, the usage of sight and blindness is carried throughoyt the characters to convey a sense of truth and knowledge. Sophocles develops an inverse relationship between physical blindness and inner viosion through the ... not have insight until he is blind. To a lesser extent, Jocasta posesses an inverse correlation between blindness and sight, much like the other characters in the play. Like Oedipus, Jocasta wrongfully accuses T...

• Word Count: 707
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... described as the difference between what the audience knows and what the characters know to be true. One example of irony would be in Oedipus Rex. In Scene 1 on page 54, Oedipus is talking about the murder of Laios. Starting on line 222, Oedipus is telling his people what they should do if they meet up ... that man. Or speak to him, no matter who he is or let him join in sacrifice, lustration or prayer." This example of irony continues as Oedipus continues to say, "I decree that he be driven from every house, Being as he is corruption itself to us: the Delphic Voice of Zeus has pronoun...

• Word Count: 370
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 without ... 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...

• Word Count: 1240
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... moral, rebellious, and most of all, justified. Creon was threatened by a woman. She was supposed to be passive and stay within cultural domains of her gender. King Eteocles, son of Oedipus, was murdered by Polynices, his own brother. Why should he receive or deserve the same rites as the king, loyal ruler of the land? Creon was the king and justified ... of man who threatened their livelihood as a society. She is not the king, nor does she have the right to perform such actions, even if she is the daughter of Oedipus Rex; she is still a woman. A mere woman became more powerful than the ...

• Word Count: 705
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School