blog 1 Oedipus

Do we really know who we are? Who we are meant to be? Its safe to say that majority of people believe that we can change our fate. That our destiny is determined by the choices we make not already laid out for us. In the play Oedipus, Oedipus thinks that he has escaped his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. Little does he know, he did exactly what the prophecy said he would. Oedipus starts off in the play as the mighty king who will save that city from their plague, however in the end he finds out that he is the plague and ironically, he becomes a better person. King Oedipus wants to cure the city from the sickness and everyone sees him as the savior. Being excessively self-confident and arrogant blinds Oedipus from figuring out that he is the plague. At the end of the play he becomes a beggar begging to be sent away from the city he once ruled. Even though in the end he becomes blind, he finally sees the truth. No longer is he arrogant and full of pride. Which is ironic because he sees the light in darkness. Also, he ridiculed Tiresias for being blind. The irony of this play makes one wonder, who are we really? Oedipus didn’t have bad intentions. If anything, he wanted to be a better person and escape his destiny. Are we really in control of our life or did the gods already plan it out for us? The sad part is I wonder is there was anything Oedipus could've done  to prevent this tragedy from happening.


Anna--I admire the questions you raise at beginning especially--who are we, what are we meant to be...but I think you partly answer them when you say that our destiny is determined by the choices we make...at the end you ask if the gods have already planned it for us--if our choices determine our destiny then our fate lies within us, no?  Just pointing out a sort of paradox in your post.

dr van