A story of fate versus free will, innocence versus guilt, and truth versus self-denial, Sophocles weaves Oedipus the King with suspense through his use of dramatic irony and achieves a tragedy excellent. The drama opens and we meet Oedipus who tries to understand why his land is cursed and his people suffer. His quest to find out who caused the fall of Thebes ultimately leads to his downfall. We learn of his triumphs when he saved the people of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx, and thus his character reflects someone who has the ability to seek the truth and also someone who has the flaw of arrogance. He reacts rashly when confronted by Tiresias and Creon when their revelations threaten his reality. This certainly reflects the attitude of a man lacking patience and self-control. Let us see how he could have reacted to Laius many years ago at the symbolic crossroads. It is questionable whether Oedipus could have escaped his fate, a fate already predetermined by the Gods. Throughout the play his character reveals how he determines his behavior which leads to his self-revelation and self-destruction. Oedipus is very confident that he knows who he is and what he represents to his people. When Creon returns from Delphi with the news of the oracle, he urges Oedipus to receive the news in private, but his response is: “Speak/speak to us all. I grieve for this people of mine, / More than I fear for my own life” (104-6). This move works against Oedipus as it ensures that the truth is revealed to all. He continues to take hasty shots: “Now my curse on the killer. Whoever he is, /…/ let the curse that I have just cast upon him befall me” which ultimately seals his fate (279-87). Oedipus is a puppet of......middle of paper......art of resisting prophecy. Oedipus' revelation of the truth came from his relentless investigation and abuse of the holders of the truth. Despite this atrocious crime, Oedipus takes responsibility and no longer wants to see, then he gouges out his own eyes in the final symbolism. Now he has full vision but does not want to see anything. Did Oedipus take the necessary steps to undo the prophecy? In fact, Oedipus left Corinth to try to resist the oracle's prophecy, but he made destructive choices to kill a man old enough to be his father, and then marry a woman old enough to be his mother. Surely if Oedipus had been more alert, less proud and made more informed decisions, perhaps he would have been able to change his fate. Works Cited Lawall, Sarah N. "Oedipus the King." The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. 612-652. Press.