Analyze how Oedipus is or is not responsible for his actions. Is the punishment he suffers appropriate to the crime he committed, especially if he did not know that he was committing a crime?.
Even though Oedipus's fate is predetermined by the Gods, it cannot go unsaid that he is not guilty of anything, neither can he be held accountable for everything that happened in his miserable life. Are Gods truly the ones to blame, or was it Oedipus's free will that draws him to commit the crime?.
Before making a decision. I have to consider that Oedipus had all the right intentions when he decided to leave Corinth. He was trying to avoid the prophecy that was told to him by Teiresias, that one day he is going to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Although Oedipus tries to avoid the prophecy coming true, he still ends up killing the king and sleeping with a queen. One has to ask a question, was Oedipus doing everything in his power to try and avoid his fate? And the answer is no. Since Oedipus knew the prophecy, he knew that he was going to kill his father, and if he was doing everything is his power to avoid it, he should of swore to himself that he is never going to kill a man. The same point of view would also work for the second part of the prophecy, Oedipus should of never have slept with an elderly woman. These mistakes made by Oedipus out of ignorance defiantly make him responsible for his actions. If he would kill a man, and it was accidental, then gods would be the ones to blame. But the murder was not accidental, and that's why it is hard to lay all the guilt on the gods. Oedipus is guilty of murder, but can he be blamed for the rest of the misfortunes in his life?.
Looking back at the story a famous expression comes into mind "an apple does not fall far from a tree". It is ironic that Oedipuses parents were trying to do exactly the same thing that he himself was trying to do.
