Med. 5

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever read. It was too much sorry for a man who truly didn’t deserve it. He was a jerk when he killed Laios, but he didn’t act any differently than any other member of royalty would. There was so much discussion in class about how wrong it was to try to find out things that someone shouldn’t, how ignorance is bliss. I only agree with that to an extent. I agree that someone shouldn’t go to the oracle and ask their future; in that respect, ignorance is better. I don’t agree that people should be left in ignorance about their own past. Oedipus had every right to know what he did, however painful it was. He’s a man who absolutely cannot go without knowing, which can be admirable, only in this case it turned out to be disastrous. I think what truly caused this tragedy was when Laios received the Delphic Oracle. I believe that if he had not received her, none of this tragedy would have happened. If someone asks for their future, it will come to pass, but who says that asking doesn’t change it. Maybe he Laios would have had a different fate had he not asked about it. Maybe Oedipus would not have killed his father had he not asked the Oracle what would happen when he went to Thebes. No one can ever know.