Making the Best of the Worst

The play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is about the vulnerability and volatility of all human life. Oedipus's story raises the issues of humility and staying true to one's word because that is the only way in which Oedipus is able to find the moral high ground in the most repugnant of situations. The story is considered a tragedy because Oedipus, the main character, falls from the highest position of honor to the greatest disgrace without even being aware of the path that he had chosen.

Throughout his life, Oedipus believes that he is making the best choices for both himself and others. When he becomes aware of the prophecy that he will murder his father and lie with his mother, he moves away from Corinth in order to keep the prophecy from coming true. He is also unaware that the person that he kills in a skirmish on the way to Thebes is King Laios and that King Laios is his true biological father. All of the events that are part of his eventual downfall occur only because he is trying to save the people that he loves. Thus, when he marries Iocaste and becomes king in Thebes, he is content and believes that he deserves his success. This feeling of self-assurance and satisfaction makes it difficult for him to accept his ill fate told to him by Teiresias. The experience humbles him significantly because once he finally realizes that the prophecy had come true, it becomes clear that no type of prosperity guarantees a person a blameless and comfortable life.

Once Oedipus discovers his fate, he must not only accept it but also punish himself accordingly for being the murderer whom the city of Thebes has to eradicate. When he sets out to find the murderer, he promises the citizens of Thebes that he will exile him and that the perpetrator will not be welcome anywhere in Thebes, a promise that becomes very significant once he discovers that he himself is the guilty one. Instead of trying to save himself from this unfortunate fate, he accepts it without hesitation and feels so much guilt that he gouges his eyes out to prevent his looking at the stained life that he inadvertently created for himself. Because he takes full responsibility for his own actions, he engenders sympathy in the viewer, allowing the story to be an effective tragedy (398).