Essay Example on Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a greek Tragedy

As a consequence for this the prediction does occur Eventually Oedipus believed that his prophecy was no longer reasonable or valid Because of the fact that Oedipus first instinct was to turn his back and run away from the prophecy in an attempt to escape it it can be deduced that Oedipus believed that the god s prophecies could be prevented from happening the prophecy would not really happen and that he could change them This demonstrates Oedipus disrespect for the gods because it shows that he doesn't really think that they are all knowing This disrespect and impulsive behavior is what led him to Thebes and this disrespect is what made him try and thwart the prophecy when the opposite effect took place He actually fulfilled it and caused his own downfall ironically enough While speaking with the chorus Oedipus even compared himself to the gods You pray to the gods let me grant your prayers Sophocles 245 Here disrespect of the gods is taken to the next level because Oedipus even compares himself to them For a great deal of his life Oedipus wanted to escape his fate With open ears he heard the Oracle say that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother Refusing to accept this Oedipus fled Corinth for Thebes to avoid his fate He comes face to face with an old man who happens to be his father Oedipus and the old man quarrel for really no good reason at all He refuses to let the old man pass by 

Fate is not responsible Oedipus could have been more careful and could have thought longer and harder about what he was doing and why he was marrying a woman so significantly older than him Oedipus tragic flaws his arrogance and his temperament that are personal to him caused him to make the decisions he did Oedipus downfall really was up to him and he holds responsibility for his rash and temperamental actions They can not go unnoticed because he really brought all of the events that transpired onto himself It all began when Oedipus received his prophecy from the gods disrespected their vision thinking he could trick and outrun his fate Using this mentality he left Corinth and killed an innocent man who had done nothing to deserve being murdered fulfilling the first part of the prophecy For the second part he married his mother when he entered Thebes when he had a choice While fate does play a prevalent part in the play Oedipus still a great part in his downfall that could have been resisted if he approached all of the situations differently