TMA CCO103
KING OEDIPUS
MERVIN SIM MENG WEE
TG04
Question (B)
Student ID: B1581195
Introduction
The theme fate and free will could be seen throughout the play Oedipus the King.
After hearing a prophecy on how his son would kill him and marry his wife, King Laius revert
Oedipus’ ankles together and ordered his servant to abandon Oedipus at the mountains out of
fear. Due to the kindness of the shepherd, Oedipus survived and was given to the king and
queen of Corinth. When Oedipus learnt of the prophecy, in order not to harm the king and
queen of Corinth whom he thought were his parents he left the country. Just as Oedipus thought
that he was free from his fate, he became entwined deeper into it when he was attacked at the
cross road by King Laius who turned out to be his father and in his anger he killed the King.
He then encountered a Sphinx who was terrorising Thebes and his heroic act of defeating it by
solving a riddle gained him the throne of Thebes. He then married queen Jocasta whom he later
found out was his mother.
If King Laius did not abandon Oedipus
These series of event became true due the fear King Laius had upon hearing the prophecy.
Things may turn out differently if he chose to ignore the prophecy and raise Oedipus up. If
Oedipus’s nature remains the same, he will leave Thebes if he happens to hear about the
prophecy in order to protect his parents and his unwillingness to harm them. In doing so, he
would succeed in protecting both Laius and Jocasta.
If Oedipus ignored the prophecy as well, choosing not to leave Thebes and considering that he
still have the ability to solve the riddle by the sphinx. He will be known as a local hero who
saves Thebes from the creature and will be highly likely to succeed the throne from his father
when the time comes. He will have no reasons to kill his father, knowing that he is afraid and
fearful of harming who he thinks is his birth parents when he left Corinth. Moreover, he will
not marry his mother knowing who she is considering his reaction when he finds out about the
truth in the play. Perhaps this can lead to the family having a happy ending as the events which
lead to tragedy unfolded due to ignorance of each other’s identity.
However as the Oracle of Delphi has been very accurate in her past predictions, King Laius is
driven by fear knowing that his son will one day kill him. Due to his fear and belief in the
accuracy of the Oracle’s words, he has no other choice than to abandon Oedipus in order to
protect himself and his wife.
If Oedipus did not kill the King
At the crossroad where Oedipus was pushed aside by King Laius’s men if he had chosen to
walk away or control his anger, he would not have killed anyone there. As he was furious due
to the incident, he had chosen to kill the men there and unknowingly his father too.
If he choose to walk away and still manages to solve the riddle by the sphinx, he will still be
known as a hero in Thebes. However, Oedipus will not be offered the throne as King Laius is
still alive and due to this he will not be given the opportunity to marry his mother and the
prophecy will not be fulfilled.
Oedipus will still discover his origins with the death of his adopted father. The messenger will
arrive and try to convince Oedipus to return. After Oedipus informs the messenger of the
reasons that made him leave, the messenger will inform Oedipus that he is adopted.
At this point Oedipus can choose to return to Corinth and inherit the throne if he so not wish
to harm his birth parents.
However, when Oedipus choose to leave Corinth in order to not harm his parents, different
emotions ran through him. He could be feeling sad that he has to leave Corinth, he could be
feeling enraged at the gods for giving him this fate, and he could also be feeling lost as he has
to start his life alone and without his parents. When he is pushed to the ground by the King’s
men, anger built up within him and being crushed by all his emotions from learning the
prophecy, Oedipus acted out in rage taking his anger out on those who tried to harm him.
Therefore, the chances that this event would occur is still relatively high due to the
circumstances which Oedipus was facing.
If Oedipus did not choose to find out the truth
Being stubborn and with the thirst for knowledge, Oedipus keeps digging further into the truth
even though many people who knows the truth refuses to tell it to him. That ultimately led to
his downfall, if Oedipus let down his pride and stubbornness of trying to solve the mystery of
King Laius’s death, although the prophecy will still be fulfilled, Queen Jocasta and Oedipus
will not suffer from the horrible fate.
Due to Oedipus’ pride and perhaps him wanting to feel the same glory from defeating the
Sphinx by solving the riddle to the death of King Laius. Oedipus pushes on forcing those who
know the truth to speak up. This situation will be hard to prevent due to the personality of
Oedipus and the words of gods which demands either the death or exile of the King’s killer.
These factors will force Oedipus to push on and get to the truth of the situation.
If Oedipus did not take up the throne
By solving a riddle, Oedipus defeats the Sphinx. He could have chosen to not take over the
deceased King’s throne. He could have also refused to marry Queen Jocasta. Oedipus made the
decision to accept these gifts out of his own free will which ultimately lead to his demise.
If Oedipus had choose not to accept these gifts, things will turn out differently. Although there
is still be a chance that Oedipus’ crime of killing his father will be discovered, he will not have
married his mother. As Oedipus had saved the country from the Sphinx, he may not be sentence
to death, instead he would be kicked out of the country.
In the play, after his heroic act of saving the country from the Sphinx, Oedipus was offered the
throne which was vacant due to the death of the previous king. Oedipus would have the choice
of not accepting the throne. However as Oedipus had left Corinth and had no place to return
to, an offer like this would meant that he would be treated like a hero and would have a place
which he could call home. Moreover, there was no reason for Oedipus to reject the throne.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although there are many different ways for Oedipus to escape his horrible fate,
the chances of the events being changed are very slim due to the personality of the characters
and how the events turned out.
If Oedipus was doomed by the gods from birth, would there really be a way for him to be
saved?
Total Words
1164
Reference
Watling, E., & Sophocles. (1947). King Oedipus. In The Theban plays (pp. 25-68).
Harmondsworth: Penguin.