Oedipus Rex

            Sophocles's play, Oedipus Rex is possibly one of the greatest tragedies ever written. It is the story of the downfall of a man. When the play begins, Oedipus is an honored king, respected and admired by his people. By the end of the story the name of Oedipus is a curse. Some would argue that all of his misfortune has been fated by the gods, because of the sins of his father. Others might say that his downfall is due to his personality. In response to the latter argument, it is through his personality and its effect on his reasoning and decisions that fate is carried out. The cause of Oedipus's downfall is his impulsiveness. In so many instances, Oedipus jumps to conclusions too easily and is guided by irrationality. .
             When the play opens a plague is afflicting Thebes. Creon, the queen's brother, tells Oedipus that Apollo has commanded, "To take revenge upon whoever killed Laius" (Fitts, p.8) and that will put an end to the plague. Thus, Oedipus begins a quest to find Laius's killer. In the process, he is told by the blind prophet Teiresias, "you are the murderer whom you seek" (Fitts, p.20). Oedipus immediately become defensive, denies the old man's accusations and goes so far as to accuse Teiresias of being a part of a conspiracy with Creon. Oedipus is basically willing to do anything to prove that he did not kill Laius, even though all of the signs begin to point to that very conclusion.
             Jocasta reveals that an oracle told her husband that their son would one day kill his father and marry his mother. In order to avoid this fate, the baby's ankles are pinned together and it is abandoned on a mountaintop. What she is unaware of however, is that their plan is thwarted when the baby is rescued and allowed to live. It is adopted as a son by the king and queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope. Laius and Jocasta made a rash decision to abandon their son in order to avoid the forecast of the oracle.