Dear Oedipus Rex, In so many ways I feel very sorry for you because youve had to deal with the guilt of having inadvertently murdered your father and married your mother. You deserve your fate no more than any other person deserves the circumstances of their birth. The only responsibility one has is to make the best of ones circumstances. Whether one deserves it or not is a pointless question.
It is the gods who set the fate for all in your world and also predestined your life. Whatever will happen, does happen. Man may think he is in control of his actions, but this can be simply looked upon as trickery by the gods. You do have free will, because no one forces you to do anything.
Although, I think it is the persons character that plays a huge part in their future. So I believe it was your own character that fulfilled your prophecy. After consulting the oracle, you leave Cornish because of your own family morality. You dont want to kill your father or sleep with your mother, but trying to avoid it complicates matters anyway.
Oedipus, I believe you are in a way an inspiration for man, because you live to be a truth-seeker, even if others try to block your path. You follow morality and accept responsibility for your actions, whether they were deliberate or not. No one else had enough courage to do so. Looking at Jocasta, she attempts to comfort you and tells you to let it go time after time. She also takes the quick way out of certain situations. The old The ben shepherd proves to be even worse, since he never told the truth unless he was threatened.
The Report on Do We Really Get What We Deserve?
... written by Louis Pojman, he argues that we deserve what we earn. Others might argue that we ... those that help rather than hurt human flourishing, deserves to be rewarded for their efforts. In ... Celebrity status should not automatically determine if one deserves a necessary procedure over a non-celebrity. Living ... the other. The question posed is does she deserve to have a reduced sentence since she ...
And in all this, Jocasta and the shepherd only enlarge your heroism. Oedipus, you are very much an unique hero, a hero unlike any other. You realized that your quest for knowledge may end in pain and heartache, which to you seems to be better than ignorance and happiness. In the end you even punished yourself (rather brutally, too), once again showing responsibility and justice for your actions.
Like any other man, you also have certain character flaws. At times, you showed too much pride, and arrogance. You believed that you are able to understand and conquer all, yet this probably was one of the reasons for your downfall. You were also pretty ignorant. You unknowingly cursed yourself when you spoke of punishment for the murderer. You also blindly accused Creon of being an enemy, “Youre quick to speak, but I am slow to grasp you, for I have found you dangerous, and my foe.
In both these situations, you have acted without evidence. Also, you were very hotheaded, displaying irrational thoughts, which is something everyone can do at one time or another. But, given all these traits, I want you to know that you were a great man and became a hero in the end. You pursued the truth at whatever personal cost and had the strength to accept and endure it when found. And I think that is something to be proud of.
Sincerely, Dawn K idle Bibliography None except for the play, Oedipus Rex.
