CCO103 Critical Readings

Tutor-Marked Assignment

Question:

b) In your consideration, can the events that take place in King Oedipus be rectified? In your

answer, identify Sophocles’ engagement with the issue of redress. Show how the outcome

may or may not be different under other circumstances.

TG04

Yong Jie Hui Jeffrey

Student ID: W1581001

Date of Submission: 20-10-2015

Word Count: 1100

The events in “King Oedipus” may have seemed preordained, but I think that the outcome of

the play have been justified by human agencies. The outcome would have been different if

events were rectified. Characters in the play such as King Laius, King Oedipus, Jocasta,

Creon, the shepherd which was King Laius’ servant, the messenger which was King Polybus’

servant, have each committed human agencies which have led to the outcome of the play.

The play is revolved around the belief in gods, relying on the gods by praying to them for

answers. There are a few instances in which the characters decide to believe more than gods’

than humans, such as the Priest praying to Zeus and Phoebus, Oedipus giving praise to

Phoebus, Jocasta prayer to Apollo although it is her first time praying, people of Thebes

calling out for gods such as Athena, Artemis and Phoebus, and the “God whom all other gods

abhor to see”, which basically means praying the best god. Although it is plausible to say that

the prophecy had happened because of gods’ predictions, it was the human agencies

committed in the play that have justified in the outcome.

Firstly, it all began from the prophecy by Apollo’s oracle that foresaw King Oedipus would

kill his father, King Laius and marry his mother, Jocasta. However, if King Laius and Jocasta

have chosen not believe in the prophecy, they could have trusted their King Oedipus, their

child and educated him the way they want him to.

They could have also believed the prophecy but kill the King Oedipus right after he was just

born. Yet, in order to “comfort” themselves for not committing infanticide, they delivered

King Oedipus to King Laius’ servant who was a shepherd, with instructions to abandon King

Oedipus on the mountain-side and to pierce his feet so that he had no chance of survival. If

King Laius and Jocasta had been more ruthless when they decided to believe the prophecy,

King Oedipus would not have survived. In my opinion, Sophocles was trying to tell us that

humans are sometimes optimistic when they have committed sins, trying to get out of the

situation by assuring themselves they are not guilty.

The servant did what he was told, however human compassion managed to get the better out

of him, as he entrusted King Oedipus to one of his fellow labourers of Corinth which

happened to be the King Polybus’ servant. In my opinion, Sophocles is trying to warn us that

human compassion might not be always good. In this case, human compassion has allowed

King Oedipus to survive and made the tragedy happen.

Before he even came to Thebes, the prophecy has spread to Corinth that he will kill his own

father and marry his mother who he taught was King Polybus and Queen Merope

respectively. Under the influence of Corinth’s subjects, he feared the prophecy and his

emotions prompted him to flee Corinth to Thebes. If he had remained more rational in his

thinking, he would have stayed in Corinth and not come to Thebes.

Even the obstacle of the Sphinx’s riddle did not stop King Oedipus from returning to Thebes.

No one could answer the riddle yet King Oedipus could, which tells us that his knowledge

and intelligence have gone against him.

These events so far has seemed predetermined to make King Oedipus return to Thebes, to

fulfil the prophecy. Despite all the human agencies that was committed by other characters

when King Oedipus was a child, King Oedipus’ actions also played main part which led to

the outcome. His emotional behaviour, pride and stubbornness led to the chaos subsequently.

Before he became the king of Thebes, his pride and short-tempered behaviour triggered him

to kill King Laius and his men, who ordered him to get out of the way where the three roads

met. The ridiculous amount of pride he had was so much that he would kill anyone who dared

to order and criticise him, regardless of status. If he had managed to endure the criticisms

about himself and just walked away, he could have avoided killing his own father, and could

have avoided the first part of the prophecy, “killing his own father”. Somehow, the answer to

Sphinx’s riddle and the killing of his father led to the second part of the prophecy, “marrying

his mother”. Today we make rash decisions, just like Oedipus, without consideration. This is

a lesson to think twice before we do something, and be calm and rational before doing it.

King Oedipus’ stubbornness proved to be a major factor that further made things worse. He is

insistent of his own ways of doing things and always tend to not believe in others.

Firstly, he summoned the blind prophet, Teiresias, who told him he was the killer of his own

father, King Laius. However, he immediately dismisses it as if it was impossible. If he had

considered the sligtest of possibility that he could have killed his own father, he could have

quietly left the country, not causing Jocasta to learn the truth, prevented her from taking her

own life as well as the imminent chaos that he was about to face.

Secondly, when Jocasta learnt of the truth of King Oedipus’ killing of King Laius, she tried to

persuade King Oedipus from finding the King Laius’ servant who was tasked to abandon

King Oedipus. However, King Oedipus was deaf on his ears as he proceeded to find the

servant. If he was less stubborn and listened to Jocasta’s advice, he would have known the

truth, which could have prevented Jocasta’s death and he would not have blinded himself due

to the insurmountable of guilt consuming him.

Lastly, we come to the decision of King Oedipus sending Creon to the Pythian house of

Apollo. If he had the will to purify the country through his own effort, and not rely on Creon

in finding the answer, he would not have known the death of King Laius, and do not need to

carry out the responsibility of bringing the killer to justice, which was himself. Oedipus’

curiosity to know every single rumour made things worse, as he eventually found out he was

the killer of his own father, he who married his own mother.

Sophocles is trying to tell us that events are interlinked with one another, with human

agencies as the bridge in making these events happen. “King Oedipus” depicts the mankind’s

struggle against fate, but if we learn from previous mistakes and change our methods, then

we might see a change in fate.

References

“King Oedipus” of The Theban Plays by Sophocles, translated by E.F Watling published in

1947