Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles about a man whose fate is stronger than his power. Dramatic irony is a major device used in this play. Attempting to end the plague by finding the murderer of Laius, former king of Thebes, Oedipus's destiny slowly drives him to his tragic death. Oedipus feared that he was destined to sleep with his mother and kill his own father, but his desire to avoid this prophecy led him to believe that he could avoid it because he knew something about it and could try to prevent it. Oedipus would later realize that his efforts to prevent the prophecy from fulfilling itself were hopeless; in fact what he did to avoid the prophecy ironically made it come true. This shows that certain events in life are simply inevitable.
The primary conflict in the play begins when Oedipus decides to avenge the murderer of the Lauis. His search for justice ended up with him finding out the truth that was inconceivable to him. Oedipus was also in pursuit of the truth to find out what really happened with his birth and life. All this tied together led him to somewhat victory, but ironically his death. .
Oedipus took great pride in saving people and being seen a hero. "I'll fight for him, I'll leave no means untried, to catch the one who did it with his hand." He wanted to maintain control and save the town from the plague. He was a prideful individual; his need-to-know characteristic was one of the things that also led to his ruin. If it had not been for Oedipus's determination and motivation to find the criminal, no one would have discovered the murderer. Oedipus fails in trying to pursue the truth.
The fact that humans have little control of their lives because fate always catches up with them is a major theme in this story. Oedipus avoiding the truth and running away from what he thought was his family ironically led him closer to his destiny. Mistakes and wrongdoings toward other people will be paid is another theme seen in the play.