Man Is an Architect of His Own Fate Essay - 1821 Words.
In Oedipus the King, the actor playing Oedipus wore a mask showing him simply as a king, while in Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus appears in the mask of an old man. As Sophocles saw him — and as actors portrayed him — Oedipus displayed no personality or individuality beyond his role in the legend. The point of the drama, then, was not to uncover Oedipus' personal motivations but to describe.
Oedipus Rex is one of the greatest creations of Sophocles where king Oedipus is the protagonist who is the victim of his own fate. Generally, fate is one of the opposition elements of the play which is influenced by one’s own action but ultimately is dictated by events beyond anybody’s control.
In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King.
He has already fallen into his fate. One could argue that he does have free will, however, in his decision to pursue the facts about his past, despite many suggestions that he let it go. In this argument, Oedipus's destruction comes not from his deeds themselves but from his persistent efforts to learn the truth, through which he reveals the true nature of those terrible deeds.
As I said before, even though he is not the only one to blame for his downfall, he is the major person responsible for his ruin. Oedipus is responsible for his own downfall because of his ability to solve riddles. He was the one that saved the city of Thebes from the Sphinx by answering the puzzle. If he had never answer the riddle he would not have been named the King of Thebes. Tiresias says.
There is always a flaw in the character of a tragic hero. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is responsible for his own downfall.
Each man is the architect of his own fate'' (Appius Claudis). Peoplecan determine their own fate based on their actions, this could be avery hard task to do in life. In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, bySophocles, the tragic hero, Oedipus, made some bad decisions that couldhave changed his.