Sophocles Oedipus And His Fate - 974 Words

Oedipus and his fate Sophocles was well-known as a master of tragedy. Sophocles was born at Colonus, not far from Athens. Sophocles wrote over 100 different dramatic stories. â€Å"Oedipus the King† is one of his great stories that has a mix of heroics to it and yet, we feel sorry for Oedipus and his fate. We ask ourselves after reading â€Å"Oedipus the King† who was this man and why did he think he could run from his destiny of fate? Was Oedipus responsible for his final fate and could he have changed his fate? We are going to talk about Oedipus and how his life unfolds from his birth. Then you, the reader will decide if you feel empathy for Oedipus if this story was about a tragic hero. Oedipus’ life sets in motion before he is ever born. The King Laius and his wife Jocasta are expecting a child; the Oracle told them that their son will kill his father and marry his mother. The king and his wife do the unthinkable to their child in fear for their lives. The King â€Å"pieced his little feet and tied them together† (Ed Friedlander) and leaves him in the mountains to die. First, we need to analyze this situation. Was this the norm in this era to do such drastic harm to their child? Could the King and Queen have done something differently that would have spared their child and their lives? We ask ourselves what if they had kept their son but, maybe told him about the prophecy when he was older. According to the research from Friedlander, it was normal for parents to leave a defective babyShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Faith and the Gods in Oedipus Rex Essays1713 Words   |  7 Pagespower and control over his life. Does he have total control of his future, or is there a higher being at work that takes human lives into their own hands? Sophocles, in his work Oedipus Rex, establishes a view that gives fate, which is created by the gods, a seemingly inescapable characteristic over man. 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