Lauren Kane
Period 3
January 5, 2012
The Puppet of Fate and Prophecy Fate can be defined in many ways from many different opinions. It can be defined as what one’s actions are or what one’s God has planned for him. Usually, fate is determined beyond one’s control. In the tragic play, Oedipus the King, Oedipus often faces many difficult situations that result in his own suffering. Displaying his harmartia, Oedipus could have used his mental vision and problem solving skills to prevent himself from being turned into a puppet of fate and prophecy. A major motif used to show Oedipus’s will to control his own fate is his blindness. First, Oedipus is not aware of his surroundings. Oedipus does not want to agree with the fact that Tiresias, the blind prophet, tells him he is the killer of Laius. As a result, Oedipus is mentally blind because he is not willing to accept the horrid fact. Another example of Oedipus’s blindness is his kingdom’s plague and downfall. Even though Oedipus’s plan is “to stop the plague” (14) in his city of Thebes, it seems as if he thinks it will just leave one day without him doing anything. If Oedipus had perfect mental vision, he would go out and do something to stop it, not sit around and think about himself. Finally, the last example causing Oedipus to be mentally blind, and therefore controlling his suffering fate, is his hubris, or excess of pride. When Oedipus thinks of himself as a ruler of a corrupted city and supposedly the killer of the mighty King Lauis he uses his pride to run away from his fate. “Say it again. I must have it straight” (21) is an example of his excess of pride. When Oedipus was told he was the killer, he thought there was no possible way. Again, instead of going to do something about it, Oedipus thinks about himself and gets in more and more trouble with the outcome of his fate. Without a doubt,