Oedipus Rex Essay, Research Paper
Dear Oedipus Rex,
In so many ways I feel very sorry for you because you?ve had to deal with the guilt
of having inadvertently murdered your father and married your mother. You deserve your
fate no more than any other person deserves the circumstances of their birth. The only
responsibility one has is to make the best of one?s circumstances. Whether one deserves it
or not is a pointless question.
It is the gods who set the fate for all in your world and also predestined your life.
Whatever will happen, does happen. Man may think he is in control of his actions, but this
can be simply looked upon as trickery by the gods. You do have free will, because no one
forces you to do anything. Although, I think it is the person?s character that plays a huge
part in their future. So I believe it was your own character that fulfilled your prophecy.
After consulting the oracle, you leave Cornith because of your own family morality. You
don?t want to kill your father or sleep with your mother, but trying to avoid it complicates
matters anyway.
Oedipus, I believe you are in a way an inspiration for man, because you live to be a
truth-seeker, even if others try to block your path. You follow morality and accept
responsibility for your actions, whether they were deliberate or not. No one else had
enough courage to do so. Looking at Jocasta, she attempts to comfort you and tells you to
let it go time after time. She also takes the quick way out of certain situations. The old
Theben shepherd proves to be even worse, since he never told the truth unless he was
threatened. And in all this, Jocasta and the shepherd only enlarge your heroism. Oedipus,
you are very much an unique hero, a hero unlike any other. You realized that your quest for
knowledge may end in pain and heartache, which to you seemed to be better than ignorance
and happiness. In the end you even punished yourself (rather brutally, too), once again
showing responsibility and justice for your actions.
Like any other man, you also have certain character flaws. At times, you showed too
much pride, and arrogance. You believed that you are able to understand and conquer all,
yet this probably was one of the reasons for your downfall. You were also pretty ignorant.
You unknowingly cursed yourself when you spoke of punishment for the murderer. You
also blindly accused Creon of being an enemy, “You?re quick to speak, but I am slow to
grasp you, for I have found you dangerous, and my foe.? In both these situations, you have
acted without evidence. Also, you were very hotheaded, displaying irrational thoughts,
which is something everyone can do at one time or another.
But, given all these traits, I want you to know that you were a great man and
became a hero in the end. You pursued the truth at whatever personal cost and had the
strength to accept and endure it when found. And I think that is something to be proud of.
Sincerely,
Dawn Kidle
Bibliography
None except for the play, Oedipus Rex.