山东财经大学学士学年论文
The unchangeable fate and fighting: On the title fate of Oedipus the king
by
Li Yali
Under the Supervision of
Chen Xin
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts
School of Foreign Studies
Shandong University of Finance and Economics
May 2012
B. A. Thesis of Shandong University of Finance and Economics
Acknowledgements
First of all, I would give my great appreciate to my respectable supervisor to constantly encourage me and guide me to do the research. Thank to his serious supervision and guidance, I have finished my thesis in the regular time. At the same time, my thanks to all my beloved teachers in the School of Foreign Studies of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, for they teaching me all the aspects of English.
L. Y. L
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ABSTRACT
The unchangeable fate and fighting:
On the title fate of Oedipus the king
Li Yali
Oedipus the king is one of the great tragedies written by Sophocles. The play tells his fate that he would kill his father and married his mother is doomed by God. When he knows the oracle, he tries his best to escape from it but unfortunately failed in the end. The theme of the subject is to express the unchangeable fate through the conflict contradictory between human beings’ nature and fate. Also, the play speaks highly of people’s fighting spirit with God and mysterious strength. Even though we can’t change the ending of the fate, we can change the attitude towards fate, facing it smiley and bravely.
Key words: Oedipus the king; fate; fighting
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摘要
无法逃避的命运和抗争
——浅析《俄狄浦斯王》的命运
李亚莉
《俄狄浦斯王》是索福克勒斯最伟大的悲剧之一。这戏剧讲述了俄狄浦斯杀父娶母的命运被上帝注定，但是他进他最大的努力想要改变这个命运，但最终以还是没能逃脱命运的悲剧。《俄狄浦斯王》通过人与命运的矛盾冲突揭示了命运的主题。这部戏剧也高度赞扬的人类和上帝这个神秘力量斗争精神。即使我么么不能改变命运的结局，但是我们可以改变对待命运的态度，微笑的，勇敢的。
关键词：《俄狄浦斯王》；命运；抗争
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………ii Abstract………………………………………………………….…iii Chinese Abstract…………………………………………………iv Introduction…………………………………………………………1 Chapter One ……………………....……………….........…………2
The unchangeable fate … …………………………………………2 Chapter Two………………………….………………………….3
Oedipus complex ………………..…………………3 Chapter Three ……………………………………….…………4
Realistic significance……………………………………4 Conclusion…………..………………………………….………….5 Works Cited……………………………………………………..…5
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Introduction
Sophocles, one of the most influential tragic writers of ancient Greece, was born a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490BC, died at the age of ninety in the winter of 406BC. He was also one of the three ancient Greece tragedians who write 123 plays during his life, including the most famous Oedipus and Antigone. Because of the little information, it is hard to make an exact chronology of his works, but taking in to consideration some style characteristics, specialist say that the probable chronological order is Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus the king, Trachiniae, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles has made great contribution to the drama by adding a third actor in particular, thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. The subject of his tragedies is almost related to the matters that the hero’s fate is doomed and couldn’t be inevitable. Also, Sophocles’’ play was alive with fighting spirit and reflected the mind human beings had in that out-date time.
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Chapter One
The unchangeable fate
Fate is a theme that often occurs in Greek writing tragedies. The idea that attempting to avoid an oracle is the very thing which brings it about is a common motif in many Greek myths. Also we can see this phenomenon in Oedipus the king in particular. To Louis, King of Thebes, an oracle foretold that the child born to him by his queen Jocasta would kill his father and marry his mother. So as soon as the son was born, the infant's feet were riveted together and he was left to die on Mount Cithaeron. But a shepherd found the baby and takes care of him, and delivered him to another shepherd who took him to his master, the King of Corinth. He being childless adopted the boy, who grew up believing that he was indeed the King's son. Afterwards doubting his parentage, he visited Delphi to find out who his real parents are. But to his shocked, the oracle gave him another prophecy instead of answering what he asked, which he would kill his father and marry his mother. In order to escape from this bad fate, he decided to flee away from what he deemed his father's house and in his flight he encountered and unwillingly killed Laius, also his nature father. This is the very beginning of Oedipus’s real tragedy; the prophecy is approaching step by step. Finally, after solving lots of difficulties, he became the king of thebe, marring the former queen, unknowingly his nature mother. when he knows the truth, he blinded his eyes and prayed for exile from Thebes.
Even through he could not escape from the cage of the fate, we could not ignore the efforts he had done, and also, we could not ignore the contributions he has made to his state. Oedipus is a true man, a real hero who solves the riddle of Thebes. At the same time, he is a straight king who loves the subjects of his kingdom, protects the interest of his own country. In order to investigate the murder the former king Laius, he passionately curses he murder, and unknowingly that he curses himself. The subjects of the kingdom love and respect him and see him as the most honorable person. He fights for his own fate using the strong will. Even though he finally fails, his fighting spirits exist forever. The theme of Oedipus the king is not to express the human being’s sorrow, helpless and disappointment when it comes to destiny, but to indicate
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that people is free and has freewill. People have energy and will to fight against his terrible fate, persistently and unyieldingly. In conclusion, human being could not be an accessory of god and fate, but a free individual, a free soul.
Chapter Two
Oedipus complex
Why Oedipus the king is so popular all around the world? I think that there is a kind of complex which links us and the play. We can know that Oedipus is not only a tragedy of fate but also the tragedy of character which comes from Oedipus complex. Freud thinks that Oedipus complex often occurs between 3-5 years .He considers it a stage where the child experiences an erotic attachment to one parent and hostility toward the other parent. The ensuing triangular tension is seen as being the root of most mental disorders. Freud cites the incest taboo as the root of many other prohibitions. 'We cannot get away from the assumption that man's sense of guilt springs from the Oedipus complex and was acquired at the killing of the father by the brothers banned together'(Freud, 1930). In little boy’s mind, mother is his own object which could not be shared by others. The primitive desire for one parent may also awaken in the child a jealous motivation to exclude the other parent. Oedipus would like to occupy his mother by himself; the primitive desire exists in his mind for a long time, so that in his deep heart, the view of killing his father, marring his mother really exists. In order to escape the irresistible fate, Oedipus made the oracle come true unconsciously; this indicates the tragic spirit in the play.
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Chapter Three
Realistic significance of Oedipus the king
In Oedipus the king, fate is destined and can’t be changed by people, no matter who you are. Oedipus fights with it even though he knows the oracle has been done by god. So when we confront with the fate, what should we do? Should we just sit here for seeking help or should we stand for fighting? Maybe one would say that we can’t change it no matter what we do, so that why we should waste lots of time, energy to do the meaningless thing? We should treasure what we have possessed instead of thinking how to change the fate all day. However, as far as I am concerned, we can’t make great progress if we just stay the original state comfortably, not going up ahead. For example, Helen Keller, a blinded woman fights against her disabilities all her life. At first, she could not communicate with others owing to the blindness, but she doesn’t waste the time of life for complaining the unfair of the fate, what she does is to seize all the opportunities, spend all the time, more than 10 times than others to learn knowledge. Also, she dedicates to tireless advocacy and fearless activism that opened wide doors of possibility for people with disabilities.” I will not just live my life, I will not just spend my life, I will invest my life” is a real description of Helen Keller for fighting against fate. We can’t escape the fate, such as disabilities, difficulties the God gives us, but we can take active actions to live an excellent colorful life. In our common life, we also may come across many troubles, and it is hard to have a plain sailing in the ocean. If we just think to avoid the difficulties, staying in the comfortable place, we may loss the opportunities to improve our abilities, increase our knowledge. Sometimes, we may complain the hard situation we are in, but it will enrich our mind. Try to change the attitude towards the hard situations or the unfair fate, be optimistic and take positive measures when we come across it. We are free individuals, we have our own right to control our lives, and we have abilities to decide what kind of road we should walk. To be ourselves and do not be bounded by destiny, this is what I learned and what we should do in the near future through Oedipus the king, also is the spirit of Oedipus the king.
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Conclusion
Oedipus, one of the great tragedies, was created by the playwright Sophocles in Greece according to the legend. It was regarded as the perfect tragedies by which expressed the impressive profound theme-the fate, through the conflict contradictory between human nature and fate. Human beings are small within the nature and controlled by destiny, which could not be changed by us. Oedipus’ fate is not only the tragedy of himself, but also the trouble of human beings. Although Oedipus spares every effort to try to escape the horrible destiny continually told by oracle, the fate is approaching to him. In this situation, what we should do is take actions positively to fight against the fate when we confront this trouble even though we could not escape it, as Oedipus does. As far as I am concerned, the significance of Oedipus the king is a moral victory of human beings, which praise the unyielding will and fighting spirit of human beings.
Works Cited
龚北方;无奈与反抗——《俄狄浦斯王》命运悲剧典型性探微[J];大庆高等专科学校学报;20xx年02期
命运的注脚——俄狄浦斯王--《青年文学家》20xx年13期
古希腊三大悲剧作家研究［M］．中国社会科学出版社．1980
刘晨风 俄狄浦斯王悲剧感 [J] 国外文学. 1998 (16)
命运的悲剧 陕西师范大学报 张帆 2009.7
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