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King Oedipus Investigation

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After long-term search on the true murderer of King Laius, his son, or the new king Oedipus was found guilty of the crime. Queen Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife and mother, hanged herself committing a suicide after learning this horrific truth as she wept for her gone husband and her cruel fate. Guilty Oedipus who saw his wife dead in her room stabs his eyes as he cried out that he does not deserve to see the world now that he has learned the truth.
The former king, Laius, and his travelers who were on their way to consult an oracle were killed by a band of thieves all but one. No attempt of investigation was made to search the murderer of the king, because it was interrupted by the appearance of the man-killing Sphinx. The Sphinx whose face was …show more content…

When no one responds to Oedipus’ request, he becomes furious and curses the murderer with harsh punishments. The chorus advises Oedipus to bring the blind prophet Tiresias for help, but Oedipus responds by telling them that he already did. Tiresias then came in and Oedipus asks him to tell who the murderer of King Laius is. Tiresias who knew the murderer answered that he’d not rather tell them. Oedipus became furious at him and starts to accuse him as the murderer since he would not tell the truth. He then insulted Tiresias’ blindness and criticizes his power that provoked him to say who the true murderer is. Tiresias confessed that the true murderer is Oedipus, and raged by this statement, Oedipus accuses of Tiresias and Creon that both of them were planning to overthrow him. The attempt of the Chorus to calm Oedipus down was futile, and Tiresias continued to taunt Oedipus even further stating that he does not even know who his real parents are. When Creon enters the room, Oedipus accuses him of attempting to overthrow him with Tiresias, since it was he who suggested calling Tiresias for help. Creon tries to talk with Oedipus that he does not have the intention to

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When the people of Thebes find out Oedipus is the killer of Laius, the former king, Oedipus goes through his tragic downfall of great suffering. Oedipus boosts himself up and degrades others, but it turn he ends up suffering greatly and pitying himself for it. Oedipus’ display of pride throughout the story causes him to feel great pity for himself as he suffers his ultimate downfall.

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Oedipus’s duty as King is to resolve any conflicts, including the mystery of the murder of King Laius. His pride takes over, and Oedipus becomes very single-minded. His cynical stubbornness writes the story itself, “Let the storm burst, my fixed resolve still holds, / To learn my lineage, be it ne’er so low. / It may be she will all a woman’s pride /

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Although he was ashamed of the life he had been living, he realized that the mistakes were his own, and no one can bear the weight but him. He even said it himself “No one but me can bear this weight.” The grave consequences which Oedipus suffered in the end consisted of the loss of his mother/ wife by suicide, as well as his grief becoming a threat to himself, as he stabbed his own eyes out, blinding him permanently. After suffering dreadful pain from these actions in grief, Oedipus went on to face the other consequences given by the gods and Creon. He cursed himself many times in the book saying that whoever killed Laius should be banished or killed, and he would even go on to be cursed by his wrongful actions of incest.

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However, they do not ensure the death of their son by murdering him themselves. Although the intent was to kill Oedipus, Jokasta and Laius are attempting to avoid the natural inclination to feel guilty for the direct death of their son. Similarly, the shepherd’s decision to give Oedipus a second chance at life demonstrates a human inability to show violence towards something innocent, such as a young child. Furthermore, Oedipus’ denial upon learning that the death of the king was his own doing, demonstrates human ignorance. As human beings it is often hard to be told we are wrong or that the decisions we have made in life have led to severe consequences.

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Oedipus’ peripeteia occurs when he comes to the realization that he fulfilled the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother. The panic and fear Oedipus carried with him of the prophecy coming to fruition becomes his reality, where everything he knew was never his decision. In the midst of his panic before the reality he knows is pulled under his feet, Jocatsa attempts to calm Oedipus down, by telling him that prophecies can be defied. Jocasta tells Oedipus how her previous husband, Laius, and herself defied their prophecies, just like he can. She tells Oedipus of her prophecy, “It was said Laius was fated to be killed by a child of ours, one born to him and me.”

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In response to learning that he is the killer of Laius, he takes Jocastas brooches and sticks them in his eyes, blinding himself. He cries out, “Why should I see whose vision showed me nothing sweet to see” (Sophocles 476). Oedipus feels he must suffer due to his horrible crimes. He also asks Creon to have him exiled just as he once was going to exile him. He also requests to be left alone, “Leave me live in the mountains where Cithaeron is, that’s called my mountain, which my mother and my father while they were living would have made my tomb” (Sophocles 480).

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Do you know your true decent? And secretly you are an enemy to your own kin." (433-437) Oedipus sends his brother in law, Creon, to visit an at Delphi.

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As Oedipus interrogated the old man he refuses to answer for he knows Oedipus will not be ready for the traumatic response he will receive. The more Tiresias denies the king’s requests the more hostile the king becomes causing Tiresias to spew out

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Throughout the tragedy of Oedipus the King, Oedipus displays his imperfectly noble being for all to see. While Oedipus had saved the Thebans from the Sphinx’s riddle, Oedipus’s nobel pride and anger lead to his destruction as he attempted to find Laios’s murderer. In his mistreatment of Teiresias, and his false allegations towards Creon being a usurper, Oedipus shows his imperfectly noble character as he foolishly attempts to fight fate and the gods will. Oedipus and his imperfectly noble nature appear again and again as he attempts to solve the murder of the previous King.

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Oedipus is first known famed for his intelligence, quick comprehension and clear-sightedness, however it becomes evident that he has been blinded to the truth all along even though the odds say otherwise, as the prophet Tiresias says” Since you are the unholy polluter of this land” (l.366-367). He sticks onto the single detail in hope of exonerating himself that king Laius was murdered by “strangers” rather than one man, as Oedipus had solely killed men at the same crossroad. Both Oedipus and Jocasta do not doubt the servant’s story, for the alternative would mean that the prophecy had been true “It’s best to live at random, however one can. Do not worry you will wed your mother, for many mortals already have lain with their mothers in dreams” (l.1001-1004). Perhaps this is a reason why Jocasta tells Oedipus of the prophecy of her son murdering his father, leading Oedipus to also share his similar prophecy.

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Once Oedipus found out about the killing of his father and marrying of his mother, everything goes downhill. Jocasta hangs herself after finding out about her son also being her husband and her son killing her past husband. Oedipus finds her and gouges his eyes out. These events led up to Creon taking over as king and exiling Oedipus soon after his request to be exiled. The few interactions led up to the expulsion of the main character, Oedipus.

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Introduction The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.

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Oedipus the King is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who kills his father and marries his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would murder him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, had a son, he exposed the baby by first pinning his ankles together. The infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife was then brought up as their very own.

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The Queen, Jacosta, Oedipus’ wife tells him not to believe in the prophet, because they’ve been wrong before, she then tells Oedipus about how she and King Laius had a son who was prophesied to kill Laius and sleep with her but since the child was supposedly dead the prophecy couldn’t be true. Oedipus becomes a bit weary because as a child an old man told him he was adopted and that one day he’d kill his real father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus did also kill a man at a crossroads which sounded like the way Laius died. Oedipus continued questioning the messenger and found out that he was the man everyone spoke of and Jacosta then comes to the realization that Oedipus is her son and kills herself.

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