Iridian Carranza
Ms. Green
AP American Lit.
Oedipus Rex
1. The oracles had prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and beget children by his mother.
Is Oedipus therefore made to do these things? Is the play premised on the notion that Oedipus
is bound or free—the puppet of fate or the creator of his own fate? Or some of each?
When Oedipus is born, his birth parents receive a prophecy that states he will kill his father and
have children with his mother. As a result, he is sent away to be killed so that the prophecy does not
come true. The man who is hired to kill Oedipus is sympathetic towards him and leaves him tied up
on a hill. Oedipus is found and adopted by the king and queen of Corinth who raise him to believe he
is their child. When Oedipus grows up, he becomes aware of the prophecy and seeks to consult with
the oracle; “The oracle, without answering the question about his parentage, prophesied that
Oedipus would kill his father and beget children by his mother. Horrified, resolved to avert his fate,
Oedipus determined never to return to Corinth” (1217). Oedipus is bound by this prophecy from the
beginning of his life. By being sent away by his parents, Oedipus is only set up to return to Thebes to
fulfill the prophecy. Oedipus creates his own fate by making his own decision to leave Corinth;
however, he becomes a puppet of fate because he does not escape the prophecy. Entering Thebes,
Oedipus answers a riddle from a Sphinx correctly and the Sphinx destroys herself, “As a reward,
Oedipus was named King of Thebes to replace the recently slain Laius and was given the hand of
Jacosta in marriage” (1217). Without knowing, Oedipus has led himself directly into the fulfillment
of the prophecy. This event is not a coincidence, it is Oedipus’s fate to kill his own father and marry
his mother; however, he does not know who these people are and can not escape the prophecy.
7. Why does Oedipus blind himself? Is this an act of weakness or of strength? Why does he ask Kreon to
drive him from Thebes? Does he feel that his fate has been just or unjust? Is his suffering, in fact,
deserved? Partially deserved? Undeserved?
Oedipus is devastated when he discovers that he has driven himself to his own destiny. After
knowing that he has killed Laios and married his own mother, Oedipus cannot bear to witness any more
pain. Oedipus says that Apollo is the god that drove him to blind himself but adds, “But the blinding
hand was my own! How could I bear to see when all my sight was horror everywhere?” (1287). Oedipus
blinds himself because he does not want to see the pain he has caused his family and himself. This was
an act of weakness because he should have taken responsibility and taken action to mend his family
back together. It could also be considered an act of strength because being able to bear the pain of
pulling his eyes out is courageous. Oedipus asks Kreon to drive him from Thebes so that the kingdom
does not have to stay in his presence. His request is to be driven to where his parents originally sent him
to, “To Kithairon, that has won such fame with me, the tomb my mother and father appointed me, and
let me die there, as they willed I should” (1399). Oedipus believes that his fate has been just and he
deserves to suffer for what he has caused. I believe that his suffering is only partially deserved. On the
one hand, it was Oedipus’s fate to kill his own father and have children with his mother and it could not
be stopped. On the other hand, Oedipus did not have to kill Laios when he came across him. He made
the choice to kill him as an act of self-defense. Laios was an innocent man and did not deserve to die.
Oedipus is unaware that Laios is his father at the time, but he could have decided not to kill this man.
14. What does the final speech of the Choragos tell us about human life?
The final speech of the Choragos is about Oedipus and his fall from power. This speech tells us
that Oedipus rose and was envied by many; however, he still fell from power in a matter of hours. “No
mortal eyes but looked on him with envy, yet in the end ruin swept over him” is a powerful statement
from this speech (1470). Humans have the ability to rise in power and succeed in many ways, but can
also fall quickly and without a warning. This teaches us that nothing is certain in life and every moment
of prosperity needs to be appreciated. Things have the ability to go from positive to negative in an
instant and no moment or opportunity should be taken for granted. The Choragos states, “Let every
man in mankind’s frailty consider his last day; and let none presume on his good fortune until he find
life, at his death, a memory without pain” (1472). This statement is advising humankind to not judge
their life until their last days because success can be taken away in an instant. This was a lesson learned
by Oedipus who had every man’s dream and then had it all disappear. Humans should not show off their
success or judge others of their own because life is unpredictable and it can be ruined. Not until a man is
on his deathbed will he be able to judge and boast about his accomplishments. Many lessons can be
taken from the last speech of the Choragos, but this is the strongest one.
16. The plot of Oedipus Rex has been called on of the most perfect dramatic plots ever devised. Why is it
admired? What are the most outstanding characteristics?
Oedipus Rex is admired because its plot is extremely dramatic. The author manages to capture
the reader’s attention right at the beginning of the play by providing the Sophocles, which explains the
background of the play. After reading the beginning, the reader is hooked and wants to follow Oedipus’s
journey throughout the story. The most outstanding characters are Oedipus and Teiresias. Oedipus is
the protagonist throughout the story and leaves the reader questioning his destiny. His life becomes
interesting to follow and the choices he makes make his character questionable. At the beginning of the
play he is a hero for trying to escape the prophecy and solving the Sphinx’s riddle. However, towards the
end his actions confuse the reader on whether or not he deserves his death. Teiresias is a holy prophet
who knows the truth about Oedipus the entire time. He is not afraid to confront Oedipus and tell him
the truth. He tells Oedipus that he is the man that killed Laios and makes him realize that he is Jocasta’s
son. “Listen to me. You mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you, with both your eyes, are blind:
You can not see the wretchedness of your life, nor in whose house you live, no, nor with whom,”
exclaims Teiresias to Oedipus after a heated discussion (398). He is not afraid to tell Oedipus the truth
which makes him stand out. Not even Oedipus’s adoptive parents could tell him that he was not their
son. They could have prevented the prophecy’s fulfillment, but they were afraid of Oedipus’s rejection.
Both Oedipus and Teiresias are significant characters in this play.