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CCO103 Critical Readings TMA
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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