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Oedipus Prompt 5 Debate

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Oedipus could not have known he was fulfilling the very prophecy he was trying to avoid, and could not have acted differently The story of Oedipus offers insight into many aspects that point to the fact that he fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father without his knowledge. First of all, Oedipus knew that his father was King Polybus and Queen Merope and not King Laius and Queen Jocasta. This fact stems from the fact that he had been raised by the former and not the latter. To show that he was not aware of his actions being part of the prophecy, Oedipus left Corinth after learning from the oracle at Delphi that he was to marry his mother and kill his father. In the best interests of his family and himself, he left Corinth as a way of avoiding fulfilling the prophecy. It can be deduced at this point that Oedipus was not yet aware of the fact that his real father was King Laius and that maybe staying in Corinth could have worked better for him. Oedipus could not have acted in a different way since he did what anyone with the wish of not seeing the prophecy fulfilled would have done. Besides the factors mentioned above, Oedipus had been raised in the king's palace as a prince. “He is rescued, and grows up as a king’s son in a foreign court,” (Freud, p. 12). To him, the father he was supposed to kill was a king and the mother to marry a queen. However, he meets his father, King Laius, not in the royal robes but as an old man with a chariot. After the argument in which he ended up killing the old man, Oedipus knew little that he had killed his father and fulfilled part of the prophecy. He could not have acted differently since he knew that his father was King Polybus and not an old man on a lonely path (Sophocles 2005, p. 39). To further show that Oedipus did all he could do to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy, Oedipus had kingly ambitions which led him to solve the riddle of the Sphinx and assuming the throne of the dead king. It should always be remembered that, up to this point, Oedipus still knew that his father was King Polybus and not the dead King Laius. While it can be said that he acted ignorantly and did not question his journey to the throne, Oedipus knew in his heart that he had run away from killing his father the king Polybus and was far away from him. As the king of Thebes, Oedipus married the dead king's widow without knowing she was her mother. In doing so, he fulfilled the remaining part of the prophecy without his knowledge. Given that the queen had known that they left a son for dead given that he had been prophesied to kill her husband and marry her, she should have questioned the flow of events but did not do so. Oedipus could not have acted differently given that his journey to the throne was not too easy that it would raise eyebrows. He simply did not anyone else could do to prevent such a shameful prophecy from being fulfilled. “There must be a voice within us which is prepared to acknowledge the compelling power of fate in the Oedipus,” (Freud, p. 13). In conclusion, Oedipus never knew that he was fulfilling the prophecy by the way he acted. From killing a king who was alone on a path to solving a riddle by a Sphinx to marrying a widowed queen, nothing seemed to be part of the prophecy. Worst of all, he had left the person he knew was his father back in Corinth and was simply building a new life for himself away from his father and mother. He knew his parents were King Polybus and Queen Merope. In general life, one cannot be expected to interpret all aspects in relation to a given event since life is multifaceted.

Reference Sophocles (2005). Oedipus Rex: Literary Touchstone Edition. Delaware, Prestwick House, Inc. Contact: kampusmoney at g mail dot com for quality custom papers delivered on time

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