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Is Oedipus a Victim of Fate Essay - 962 Words

Fate the un-avoidable Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze. One can attempt to change his or her fate. Numerous beings have put their entire lives into avoiding fate. Even if the strength†¦show more content†¦This denial would sprout into an utter defiance of fate by Oedipus and the final result would not be in his favour. Wisdom is an attribute that can be utilized in numerous ways. The most important aspect of the usage of wisdom is whether it benefits or harms the user. During the play a key line is said by the character Tiresias, the local prophet. When called upon by Oedipus, Tiresias states, â€Å"Wisdom is a dreadful thing when it brings no profit to its possessor†. This is a very significant statement. It clearly defines the situation Oedipus puts himself through. Oedipus’s lust for knowledge and thirst for admiration by his subjects spells his own demise. Through constant pressuring by Oedipus, Tiresias reveals Oedipus was the one who killed Laius. It seems Oedipus brought upon his own fate through the pestering of Tiresias. The unaccounted factor is the reason for Oedipus’s actions. Fate is responsible for a series of plagues that have engulfed Thebes and have situated Oedipus in a scenario where he must find the killer of Laius to undo the plagues. The forcefulness of Oe dipus is fuelled by fate ensuring Oedipus has a viable reason to obtain knowledge no matter the consequence. Once again Oedipus is inadvertently on fates path which only harm him by its end. Chance is a very interesting concept. The belief things happen unknowingly and by mere luck. In the play chance is over shadowed by fate, a pre-determined destiny. A prime example ofShow MoreRelatedOedipus Victim Of Fate Essay876 Words   |  4 PagesIs Oedipus a victim of fate or does he possess free will? Explain your reasoning. Do you think free will is a reality or an allusion? I find Oedipus to be a victim of fate rather than having free will. â€Å"()†. Free will could be seen to be more of an illusion than a reality. People and society like to make you think you have control over your own life while in you really do not. While it seems he could have tried harder maybe vowing to never sleep with a women or to never kill a man but is whatRead MoreOedipus the King: A Victim of Fate Essay956 Words   |  4 PagesOedipus the King would not have been successful throughout centuries as a tragic play, if Oedipus were clearly responsible for his own tragedy. The plays ongoing success was do to Oedipus innocence which immediately makes one think he can not be fully responsible and to blame. I do not believe Sophocles would have wrote the story, or I do not think people would have ever read it or studied it had it simply been a story of a criminals retribution. Sophocles himself believed Oedipus to be the innocentRead MoreOedipus: Tragic Hero or Victim of Fate1379 Words   |  6 Pagesthat can be translated as tragic flaw, or more simply, error in judgment. Upon close inspection of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, however, it appears as if Oedipus’ downfall was a result of the will of the gods and not a consequence of his â€Å"tragic flaw.† Therefore, in regards to Aristotle’s guidelines, can Oedipus truly be considered a tragic hero? At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is largely confident, and with good reason. He has recently freed Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx and has achievedRead More Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - Victim of Fate3445 Words   |  14 PagesThe Victim of Fate in Oedipus Rex The question has been raised as to whether Oedipus was a victim of fate or of his own actions.   This essay will show that Oedipus was a victim of fate, but he was no puppet because he freely and actively sought his doom, although he was warned many times of the inevitable repercussions of his actions. When first considering this topic, I speculated that maybe it was the destiny of Oedipus to suffer, but a friend asked me to explain why Oedipus, in theRead MoreOedipus: Victim of Fate or He Deserves What He Got? Essay538 Words   |  3 PagesFate is the development of events beyond a persons control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. It is a very common theme used in literature. We’ve seen examples from stories such as: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Iliad. We’ve been reading Oedipus the King written by Sophocles. My main thesis that I would be talking about is if: Oedipus was actually a victim of fate, or did he deserve what he got. In my opinion, Oedipus does not deserve what he got and is a victim ofRead MoreOedipus Fate Essay956 Words   |  4 Pagestragedy, Oedipus the King, fate is a predetermined course of events and is also an important factor that caused Oedipus’s downfall. Oedipus is ultimately a victim of his own fate because, despite his and Jocasta’s efforts, he could not escape the prophecies. Though others say that Oedipus created his own fate because he had the free will to handle the prophecies in becoming his own outcome, in the end, there was no chance that Oedipus could escape the prophecies. It was the fate for Oedipus gettingRead MoreOedipus the King by Sophocles1393 Words   |  6 Pages Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, has risen many questions concerning the main character and whether or not he acts on free will or if his future is predestined by the gods. I am going to test the theory that although Oedipus believes he is acting on his own free will, he is in fact a victim of the gods. I will analyze several different sources that discuss fate and human agency in Oedipus the King and then proceed to build my original argument on the archaic debate. There has been a great dealRead MoreWas Oedipus Responsible For His Own Fate?1384 Words   |  6 Pages Was Oedipus responsible for his own fate? Oedipus, the King Harmanjot Singh Parmar, 578087686 Vancouver Island University Author note This paper was prepared for Liberal studies, Section 250, taught by Mark Blackell Oedipus-the king is a true Greek novel in all sense. It is a tragedy at heart and explores variousRead MoreOedipus: the Mysteries of Fate869 Words   |  4 PagesOedipus: The Mysteries of Fate Robert Choi Among the first thing a historian discovers in his study of early civilization are records of peoples belief, or faith, in powers greater than themselves, and their desire to understand what causes these powers to act. People everywhere wonder about the marvelous things in the sky and on the earth. What makes the rain? How do the plants and animals live and grow and die? Why are some people lucky and others unlucky? Some believe in free will whileRead MoreOedipus Rex : A Tragic Hero882 Words   |  4 Pagesbelief in many gods. They believed that the gods would guide them and that everyone was destined to live out their fates. In the case of Oedipus Rex, fate drove him into a downfall. Oedipus Rex is a part of the great Sophoclean play, written by Sophocles. Sophocles wrote this story to exemplify a tragic hero, he uses specific character flaws to explain the downfall of his hero. Oedipus is a perfect tragic hero because his early life forces the audience to admire as a privilege young man and also pity

The Melodies That Made Me free essay sample

Dressed upin my Halloween costume a week, before it was even Halloween my five-year-old self ready to leave for a concert. This was my first concert. We drove downtown to the Denver Performing Arts Center; everywhere I looked I saw people in Halloween costumes flocking towards the Boettcher Concert Hall, where the Colorado Symphony was performing. I do not remember much about the concert exceptthat I really enjoyed it. That year we went back to more symphony concerts, the appearance of Santa and Mrs.Claus running down the aisle right next to me during the Christmas concert made that one my favorite. Soon, going to the symphony became a tradition. In elementary school we had three different specials: art, gym, and music. My favorite was always music, I loved that we got to sing, play rhythmic games, and play instruments. In fourth grade I joined the Choir at my school.I loved to sing . We will write a custom essay sample on The Melodies That Made Me or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Fifth grade came and I started playing the flute. I loved band, learning how to make music with a flute was my favorite part of the day. Flash forward to high school, where the opportunities to perform and be involved in music were abundant: marching band, concert band, choir, show choir, and musical are just a few examples. I fell in love with music and performing several times and continue to fall in love to this day. When I first heard the Colorado Symphony play spooky Halloween songs, when I was sitting in music class, hearing the applause after performing, the firstnoise that come out of my flute, are some of the moments I fell in love. I am the person I am today because of this love.Marching band is a big time commitment. From the beginning of August until the end of October bandpractices for more than ten hours a week.I take honors level and AP courses; juggling my homework load, marching band, a job, book club, and whatever life throws at me has taught me how to manage my time. In marching band â€Å"early† is on time, â€Å"on time† is late, and â€Å"late† is dead. That lesson has carried over into other areas of my life, leading me to be a very punctual person. In choir and band we set goals, we are always working toward something: a concert, a competition, a score, etc. Iamvery goal oriented because of this. I like to set goals for myself, if I do not know what I am working toward or why I am doing something it’s hard to do the work. My goals motivate me. I hope to live a life that will be fulfilling and filled with happiness. Going to college is the first step towards finding a c areer that will make me feel fulfilled and finding something that will make me happy. I am very dedicated; if I say I’m going to do something I do it and I give it all that I can. If I have a rehearsal or performance of some type I will do everything in my power to be there. I got concert tickets for my birthday, but ended up skipping the concert because I had marching band. Without music in my life I would not be the dedicated, hardworking, goal-oriented person that I am today. I have learned so many lessons from music and performing and these 650 words don’t do justice to what music has given me. I am thankful to my Grandma for taking me to the Colorado Symphony when I was little, and for all the music teachers that I have had ; it is because of them that I fell in love with music and became who I am today.

Sexuality Essays - Gender, Interpersonal Relationships,

Sexuality As Process The aim of this essay, is to try and establish if sexuality, is an innate biological process that takes place as a result of our genetic make-up or wether sexuality is a result of our cultural back ground and the environment in which we are raised. These two differing theories are known as the nature/nurture debate, nature representing the biological theory for our sexuality and nurture representing environmental influences for our behaviour. The first part of the essay, will focus on the biological side of our sexuality and will put forward theories by Barnard, Hamer and Young, who will argue the point, that our sexuality is established at the foetal stage of our development. It is at this early stage of life, that genes carry specific information about who we are. A gene is a unit of hereditary that our sexuality is established through and the genes determine the biological characteristics of an individual, both physically and mentally. The essay will then give further evidence that our sexuality is biologically driven, by describing the changes our bodies undergo when we reach puberty, changes that are triggered by hormonal transitions. Hormones are chemical messengers, they send massages from glands around the body, which triggers a response in other parts of our anatomy. The essay will give evidence that, hormones are a biological indicator that we are biologically driven towards our sexuality. The second part of the essay will argue that, sexuality is greatly influenced by environmental factors, environmental factors such as rearing styles and differing cultural practises. It will look at different societies and the way in which they perceive sexuality and argue that sexuality is learned through a combination of expected social norms and observational learning, giving evidence from Bandura, Mead and Money along the way. Finally the essay will look at the evidence that has been put forward and sum up what has been debated, it will then draw a conclusion. From the point of conception, human beings are made up of 46 chromosomes, 23 male and 23 female. After insemination, paternal and maternal chromosomes fuse, this fusion determines the sex of the child. The amalgamation of two X chromosomes creates a female child, while the combination of X and Y chromosomes, leads to the development of a male offspring. Each chromosome contains thousands genes and each gene contains specific information about how part of the body will be formed. Genes are responsible for almost every aspect of the human body, from hair colour to the development of our organs, organs like the brain and it is within the brain were the biggest changes take place when our bodies under go their sexual metamorphous, during sexual maturation. When we reach sexual maturity, we have our first insight into our sexuality, an insight which is genetically programmed into our consciousness through our DNA, this theory is supported by the work of hamer et al ( 1993) who conducted a study of male sexual orientation. "Hamer examined 40 pairs of gay brothers. He examined 22 genetic markers distributed across the X chromosome in order to see if brothers concordant for homosexuality, were also concordant for the markers. He found that the chromosomal region of xq28, at the tip of the long arm of the X chromosome, 33 of the 40 pairs of brothers shared all the markers. This was statistically different from the expected rate (20 out of 40) suggesting that the gene influencing male sexual orientation, lies within that chromosomal region" In this study, Hamer along with many other fellow geneticists, is claiming that he has found the gene which dictates our sexual orientation, therefore genes are a precursor to our sexuality and our sexuality is decided at an anatomical level in the womb. Whilst in the womb, it seems that our sexuality is being pre programmed by our genes but there are other biological developments taking place, namely the formation of our hormones, hormones which will lie dormant until the onset of puberty. "The hypothalamus an important co-ordinating centre in the brain, signals the onset of puberty. The hypothalamus stimulates a gland just below it, the pituitary, to secrete hormones (chemical messengers carried in the blood). These are carried to other hormonal secreting glands. In their turn these release other hormones which regulate physical growth and development" (DR Christian Barnard. 1981) The two main hormones released at sexual maturity are testosterone for males and oestrogen for females. When Testosterone is distributed throughout the sexually maturing male, his testes will enlarge and begin producing sperm. His body will begin to