The Punishment of Oedipus the King

The Punishment of Oedipus the susceptibility At the finish up of Sophocles Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, king of Thebes, ends up banished forever from his state. Additionally, Oedipus somatogenicly puts out his accept eyeball, for several reasons which will be discussed later. The re pursuit is Did Oedipus deserve his punishments? There argon soldieryy a nonher(prenominal) factors that mustiness be considered in respond this, including how Oedipus himself felt about his situation. His cheating was as much symbolic as it was physical perturbful sensation.After all factors drop been considered, I think that altogether Oedipus banishment was the requisite punishment.. It is important to keep in brain the whole basic reasoning for Oedipus search for Laius killers he wished to put an end to a deadly disgust, and that plague would nevertheless be stopped when said send attainer is kil gull, or driven from the land (pp 4-5). Thusly, when it is revealed that Oedipus himself m urdered Laius, wherefore banishment seems to be the only option. Death, in my mind, is non valid plainly because of what it might do to the kingdoms people.Even though it seems that Oedipus has not been a oddly good monarch, in fact his only major effect seems to be cleaning the Sphinx all those historic period ago, having a king put to closing could have serious repercussions on the substitute of the kingdom. So in the end, the only representation to recover the plague and keep the kingdom stable seems to be the banishment of Oedipus. In this case, the question of whether or not he deserved to be punished seems inapplicable Oedipus only goal was to stop the plague and by leaving, he has accomplished that goal. proscription was the only alternative.But what exactly was Oedipus creation punished for? Even after re- meter reading the run for, this still seems to be a grey-headed ara. Incest? Immoral, to be sure, further Oedipus was obviously sottish to his actions, and to my knowledge, in Sophoclean times, there was no scripted law against it and therefore no punishment for it. Oedipus punishment whitethorn have been for killing Laius, exactly how could you punish some peerless for cosmos a victim of fate? Greeks believed at the time of the plays writing that a mans smack was woven by the 3 fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) and that he was irrevocably bound to that destiny. keen this, and crafty that Oedipus became king of Thebes only because it was his destiny to murder Laius and kill the Sphinx, how could he rightfully be punished? Even Oedipus himself knows that his actions are not by choice, but by acts of the gods, he mentions this twice in the play slightly savage power has brought this down upon my head. As well as My god, my god what have you planned to do to me? Such quotes distinctly show that Oedipus knew that he had no choice in his actions. In this manner and in this manner alone, Oedipus is undeserving of said pu nishment.Oedipus may not have been a particularly good man, but in the end he knew what was best for his kingdom absent of this kingdom cast me with all whet for only that would save his former subjects. Were that Oedipus only punishment, the play might have been sort of a bit simpler (and this essay sort of a bit shorter), but Oedipus, in a fit of rage, stabs his own eyes with Jocastas dresspins. This was Oedipus way of trying to punish himself, as well as an escape. Oedipus would no prolonged gaze upon the faces of his subjects, his brother (uncle? Creon, or level those of his children. He is plunged into a world of darkness. It must be noted that this was to a greater extent than simply a punishment, though Im sure that it was one of the ways Oedipus intended it. The physical pain alone seems to prove that. There are much easier ways of becoming blind to the world than stabbing ones eyes out. As I have stated forward though, Oedipus was blinded by his foolish pride long before the beginning of the novel. He only realized the truth piece of tail Laius murder when it was right in presence of his nose.He was by no meaning stupid, in fact he came off as quite a cunning man, but his was a world of blindness because of pride and power. I have been cin one casentrating on the two most obvious of Oedipus punishments, but there is another one that may not seem so clear. retentivity in mind that Sophocles made it precise clear that Oedipus was a man of so much pride that he may have thought himself to be identical to a god, was not Oedipus basically simple(a) of that pride at the end of the play? The true punishment has been revealed.Oedipus life was found on pride. It was what led to the murder of Laius, which in turn led to the killing of the Sphinx, which led to his becoming king. As he continues on his particular thread of life, Oedipus becomes more and more powerful, and as such, his pride also increases proportionately. He threatens both Tir esias and Creon, and single-handedly tries to unravel the secret of Laius death. What must go on intimate his mind when he finds out that not only did he murder his father, the king, but he also slept with his mother?Knowing full well that his kingdom would ultimately find out his acts, how could he use up his head up when walking finished the city streets? How could his subjects respect and revere a king who was a murderer and commiter of incest? Oedipus is thence stripped of his pride, the driving force groundwork his whole personality. He has been crushed, and that which he had so much of before has been denied him. Where he was once at one extreme (hubris), he is now at the other. To take away the very thing that drives a man is worse than any physical pain or even death itself.That is truly, as Sophocles intended it, Oedipus ultimate punishment. When the curtain travel and the lights go out on Oedipus Rex, the kings punishments replete(p) three. Though in my mind at le ast, one far outweighs the other two, they are all important and they all stick out to the total experience of the Greek tragedy. In the end, I do not feel that Oedipus truly deserves the punishments he is handed, but that is only because of the fact that I place myself in the time period that this was written in, employ the beliefs of that time for my own.Were this story to have taken place in modern times, Oedipus sure enough would have deserved his punishment, but this inclination is irrelevant because, quite simply, this did not take place in our advanced civilization. Oedipus was a victim of fate, incapable of free will, and as such he should have not been punished, save banishment only to cure the plague. The Punishment of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)