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In the famous Greek play Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Oedipus is
fated to kill his father-Laius and marry his mom-Jocasta. Knowing the oracle,
King Laius and Jocasta, the parents of Oedipus, abandoned him and pinned
on his foot in order to prevent Oedipus from fleeing. However, Oedipus does
not believe in his fate and even wants to challenge the fate. In fact, on his way
from Corinth to Thebes, he kills an old man who he would never think of is his
father, King Laius.
Some people may think that Oedipus is not innocent because he kills his
own father, which is also called a patricide. Therefore, Oedipus deserves the
punishment he receives. He can choose whether to accept the fate or not. In
my own opinion, Oedipus is innocent because he doesn’t have any choices
about his life. The oracles from the gods set all his life. Moreover, Oedipus
should not shoulder the fault of Laius and be cursed to kill Laius and marry
Jocasta because it’s not Oedipus’ business but Laius’.
First of all, at the beginning of the play, all the citizens in Thebes believe
that Oedipus can save them from the pledges because Oedipus had once
saved them. Oedipus is actually a nice king who is willing to help his residents
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wholeheartedly. Then, why will people think Oedipus isn’t innocent? He’s
eager to find out a method to solve the pledges as soon as possible. At this
point, Oedipus doesn’t even think that he is the miasma of the whole incident.
These events were all placed by the gods because they think Oedipus deserve
the punishment. This explains that Oedipus is innocent because he doesn’t
know he’s the pollution but helps the city Thebes so much.
Another reason I think Oedipus is innocent is that he wasn’t able to
choose his life at all. This is one of the reasons that he wants to challenge the
oracle. Oedipus doesn’t think that his life would follow the pattern of the oracle,
which he’ll kill his dad and marry his mother. It’s hard for people to think this
kind of suspicious oracle will come true. Greek mythology is often based on
oracles. Though the oracles are rarely wrong, people still intend to challenge
their own fate. Although people respect the gods, they don’t believe in
everything they have been told. In addition, Oedipus believes that his parents
are Polybus and Mérope, the king and the queen of Corinth. To prevent the
oracle from happening, the fear of killing his own father had already driven
Oedipus to leave Corinth. So, Oedipus trusts that it’s impossible for the saying
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that he killed his father. For me, it’s unfair for Oedipus to do so many but still
receive the harsh punishment.
Furthermore, there’s no reason that Oedipus needs to be punished
because of his father Laius’ crime. In Greek mythology, Laius kidnapped and
raped his student Chrysippus, who was the son of Pelops, the king of Pisa. As
a result of this hubris, Oedipus and the rest of the family members are destined
to be punished by the gods (Reference 1). Nevertheless, Laius’ crime doesn’t
have anything to do with Oedipus that he’s faultless.
Oedipus thinks that he is innocent, yet he doesn’t get angry or curse the
gods. For one reason, I think he’s angry to himself because he doesn’t know
all the things, but the gods set down everything for Oedipus. He’s angry that he
killed his father and even got married with his mom. Oedipus blames himself
for his own unintelligence and unawareness. He feels that he’s the one who
doesn’t realize the truth from the beginning to the end. So, he blinds himself at
the end.
Additionally, Oedipus doesn’t get angry and curse the gods because he’s
afraid of the gods. In Greek mythology, the gods have the divine right to control
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everything, which people are not able to stand against the gods. If Oedipus
curses the gods, he’ll get a harsher punishment.
However, Oedipus does blame the gods at the end of the play when he
knows the oracle comes true. “Friends, it was Apollo, spirit of Apollo. He made
this evil fructify.” (P.257) This shows that Oedipus blames the gods for not
telling him the truth straightforwardly. He is an arrogant person that has kept
searching for the pollution of Thebes, but in fact, he’s the miasma of the city.
Therefore, Oedipus thinks that the gods have tricked him around and it’s
embarrassed for him to change from an expectation to a pollution of the city.
“The gods? They are my enemy.” (P.263) From the sentence, we can conclude
that Oedipus has lost his trust in the gods after being through so many events.
The things he once believed is true are now disappear.
In conclusion, Oedipus is innocent because the gods control all his life, his
pomposity has led to his unawareness and his father’s crime has no
connection to him. Oedipus has been fated since he was born, but he has no
power to fight against the gods. Instead, he blames the gods for commanding
his life and playing tricks with him.
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Reference
1. "Laius." Laius. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
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