Help with Oedipus?!?

Question

Develop an argument with one of these assertions:
a. Oedipus's fall is the result of fate, predestination, and the gods, and it would happen despite his character.

b. Oedipus's fall is the result only of his character and has nothing to do with fate or the gods.

Can someone help me with the above assignment i have no idea what to write or what to say!

Answer 1

it might help if you read it, it's pretty cool

Answer 2

a. His fall was due to fate. He did not know he killed his father and did not realize he married his mother, and though everyone tried to keep this from happening, it did anyway. He was destined to fall, and nothing could stop it. It was his situation, not his personality.

b. He fell due to his insatiable appetite for knowledge. He could not do as Tyrresius recommended and leave well enough alone. Instead, he was proud and continued to search for enlighhtenment, only to be horrified by the truth. This was the real reason for his downfall.

As you see, you can easily use either assertion. Both could make for an interesting thesis. Oedipus is one of my favorite plays. Good Luck!

You can e-mail me if you need any more help with this. [e-mail]

Answer 3

Oedipus Rex / Oedipus the King - Sophocles

I have found 10 summaries for you to look at, via the link below.

These links will give you a summary of the book, character analysis, plot and much more, so that you will be able to answer literary questions.

http://www.antistudy.com/search.php?title=Oedipus+Rex

http://www.freebooknotes.com/book.php3?id=497

Oedipus:

Oedipus is the central figure and tragic hero of Sophocles' play. Though he is initially the majestic king of Thebes, he soon becomes a dejected man, humbled by his horrible fate. As the oracle predicts, Oedipus kills his father and sleeps with his mother. When Oedipus learns what he has done, he chooses exile, leaving Creon to be king.

http://www.freebooknotes.com/page.php?link=http://www.novelguide.com/oedipustheking/index.html&book=497

Oedipus King of Thebes. As a young man, he saved the city of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx and destroying the monster. He now sets about finding the murderer of the former king Laius to save Thebes from plague.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-100,pageNum-9.html

The shepherd arrives and tells Oedipus that he was a servant of Laios and that Laios gave him his child to kill because of the prophecy that his son would kill him. Since the shepherd felt sorry for the child, he did not kill him, but gave him to the other shepherd. After this, Oedipus finds out that the prophecy came true. Iocaste commits suicide, and Oedipus gouges out his eyes. Then he says bye to his children, and leaves the city.

http://summarycentral.tripod.com/oedipusrex.htm

Good luck.

Kevin, Liverpool, England.

Answer 4

Choose which topic you think you can best answer, then come up with a thesis. If you're going to boil the paper down to one statement, what would it be? After that everything you include in your paper needs to support that thesis statement. I recommend organizing the whole thing by using an outline. I give my 8th graders the following outline to lay out their thoughts:

Par 1:
*Effective Start (set a scene, famous quote, ask a question, or state a fact)
*Additional Info
*Thesis statement (your purpose for writing your paper)

Par 2:
*Topic sentence supporting thesis 1
*Supporting detail 1
*Supporting detail 2
*Supporting detail 3
*Concl. Statement

Par 3:
*Topic sentence supporting thesis 2
*Supporting detail 1
*Supporting detail 2
*Supporting detail 3
*Concl. Statement

Par 4:
*Topic sentence supporting thesis 3
*Supporting detail 1
*Supporting detail 2
*Supporting detail 3
*Concl. Statement

Par 5:
*Restate your thesis (in different words)
*Give additional info
*Closing (leave your reader with something to think about)


hope this helps! good luck!

p.s. i think oedipus had character flaws, and gods have nothing to do with it, but it will certainly be easier to make a paper arguing that it was fate, gods, etc...

Answer 5

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