Oedipus

Over the last couple weeks our AP Lit class, we read Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This Greek tragedy answers  my big question on the opposite side of the spectrum from what my last post did. Oedipus fled from the family he knew, post- hearing of the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, in order to avoid fulfillment. However, who Oedipus had been calling "Mom" and "Dad," were not truly in fact his birth parents. As a result of his attempt to flee from his fate, he strikes a nobleman dead and all but one of the men traveling with him. He proceeds on to succeed the throne of Thebes because their king was gone, and he takes the queen to be his wife. Years later, the city of Thebes is burdened by a curse and Oedipus vows to do all he can to make it right- meaning bring punishment and avenge the murder of King Laios. By agreeing to such a thing, Oedipus unknowingly brings upon his own downfall because he was in fact the very murderer he condemns. The play goes on and eventually Oedipus gains all the facts and comes to the horrible realization he has fulfilled the prophecy. The result of this adversity upon Oedipus does not make him stronger and better suited for the future, no. It does the opposite. Oedipus chooses to fall a victim to his faults and conflict, gouges out his own eyes, and expels himself to a life lived in exile. The key to overcoming the hardships of ones life is the conscious decision that must be made. "No, you will not defeat me. I choose to conquer, not be conquered by you," is what one must say to themselves as opposed to what Oedipus chose to buy into," I am an abomination. I am no good, this trial defines me and has taken all that is left of me. I give up." I don't think that last choice sounds too beneficial, but that's just me.