Oracles and Predestination in Oedipus the King - Essay Example

 An oracle came to Laius and Jocasta after they had their first son decreeing that the son will grow up, kill the father, and marry his mother. The news was hard to bear for this couple. To run away from this future tragedy, the couple abandoned the boy child in the wilderness to die. Luckily, a shepherd in his grazing mission found the boy and gave him out to a friend who could not get a child. It did not take long for Oedipus to discover that these were not his real parents when he grew up. His parents denied it after he questioned them and thus he decided to inquire about the oracles. The only message that seemed to come from the oracles was that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. To thwart the oracles, Oedipus left his adopted land Corinth for good. Unfortunately, he got into a fight with some travelers among them his father, and killed them. He later went to his motherland and married his mother. Additionally, he was made the king. Jocasta committed suicide on finding out while her son became a wandering beggar. This paper re-examines the events of the tale of Oedipus to establish if he is either morally or legally guilty of incest and the killing of his father.

Theories presented by Freud’s Totem and Taboo help explain the motivations behind Oedipus's behavior. According to Freud males often harbor an instinctive attraction toward their mothers of an incestuous nature. Although a male figure respects his father, the sexual feelings toward the mother can distract this and cause hatred towards the father as a rival (Kandel web). By today’s standards, Oedipus is not guilty. Oedipus was completely ignorant of his true parents when he killed Laius and married Jocasta. Oedipus's character is flawless and elicits respect from the viewer’s eyes. Aristotle's requirement in poetics supports the character of Oedipus as a hamartia because all his traits depict the character of Oedipus as a whole and no one trait supersedes the others. However, Oedipus will become a social misfit in society after they discover his actions. It is morally wrong for him to kill an old man even if he was not motivated by taking his wife.

Oedipus is not guilty by today’s legal standards. Sophocles arranged the play in a manner that the events of the play happened long ago before the play. For instance, Oedipus is guilty of incest and killing before the play opened. Although Oedipus received a curse from his father many years ago, we cannot link his behavior with the curse in the play. Additionally, the play's main events are not part of the prophecy itself. That is most of the actions on stage do not form part of prophesy. According to Jones, Oedipus's fault does not bear any relation to the actions from which guilt and sufferings flow and thus cannot be punished (Carel 102). In the US a mere guess or suspicion does not amount to enough proof to convict somebody. However, reasonable to believe, reasonable suspicion, probable cause for arrest, some credible evidence or substantial evidence will lead to further investigation of a party to prove if guilty or not. The fact that one of the men in the chariot saw Oedipus killing Laius is enough evidence today to have him investigated and bring the crime to book (“United Nations Cyber School” web)

In conclusion, the tale sheds more light on oracles and predestination. Many believe that something that is predestined to happen will, no matter how far we run from it. Oedipus's parents run from the oracle, and Oedipus too run from the oracle but were later to catch up on all of them. Additionally, predestination frees people from worry now that people understand that it is not possible to run from it. Oedipus was ignorant of his true parents, which made him kill his real father and marry his mother. However, using the theory of ambiguity, Oedipus is an intelligent man who is fully aware of his actions and thus morally wrong. The events of this tale or play happen long before the play started and thus it is hard to convict Oedipus. A conclusion from this tale is that Oedipus received his fair punishment from the gods.