Oedipus' guilt? and Theme choices

[khosch]

Is Oedipus guilty of committing grievous "sin" if he did not know what
he was doing? How do you view this? (Consider that in our society,
people who commit heinous crimes are often found "not guilty be reason
of insanity.") How did the characters and the chorus in the play view
this?

As you think about theme, what do you believe to be the major theme of
the play; why do you think this?

[tylern]

He didn't know he was doing anything wrong and so he's not at fault.
If his parents hadn't tried to kill him, none of this would have
happened. The prophesy being told is what caused it to happen. The
chorus blamed it all on him even though he didn't mean to.

[bpaterni]

On Sep 17, 3:59 pm, tylern <10tylnu...@gaggle.net> wrote:
> If his parents hadn't tried to kill him, none of this would have
> happened. The prophesy being told is what caused it to happen.

Yes, that's the thing that makes this story so bizarre! Everything
that happens is dependent upon extraordinarily weird circumstances.
First, a prophet tells Oedipus' parents that he will kill Laius and
then marry his mother. His parents believe the prophet and decide to
kill their son. Their son survives the attempt on his life because the
servant burdened with the task of killing Oedipus was civilly
disobedient (ohhh, botta-bing!) and passed him off as an orphan to
King Polybus of Corinth. And while in Corinth, Oedipus hears from a
prophet that he will kill his father and wed his mother. Oedipus,
still believing his parents are the heads of the state of Corinth,
flees the city in order to decrease the chances that he'd fulfill his
prophecy. Only he does just that when he kills his father on the road
and eventually comes to Thebes.

All those conditions aside though, I don't think Oedipus is guilty of
committing sin. I'm not denying he did it, but I don't think he
deserves external punishment for something he didn't know he was
doing. Now if he wants to go and punish himself, that's a whole other
matter.

Theme? Well, although I do not believe in it, I think the major theme
of this tale is fate because much of what happens is provoked by
outside sources such as prophets, oracles, and the likeness.

[Ryan]

I don't think that Oedipus commited grievous sin because he didn't
know it was his father that he killed. A major theme has to be destiny
or fate. When Oedipus was born a prophecy was told that he was going
to kill his father and marry his mother so his parents sent him off to
be killed. Unknowingly to Oedipus's parents he wasn't killed.

On Sep 17, 3:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Freese]

I dont think he can be punished for his actions. He had no clue of
what he was doing. the chours blamed him but i dont believe it's
right.

[Katherine]

I don't think Oedipus was guilty of commiting grievious sin because it
was more of his destiny than his fault. The chorus tries to blame him
for killing his father, but by running away from the people he thought
were his parents, he was trying to avoid the prophecy.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[AmandaStefl]

No, i don't believe Oedipus is guilty. If his parents wouldn't have
tried to get rid of him as a child and he killed his father knowing it
was his father then he would be guilty. But because his parent
situation was a lie he shouldn't be guilty.

[Kayla]

Oedipus's parents tried to kill him. If they wouldn't have done that
then none of this would have happened. he didn't know what he was
doing so there for he is not guilty. When the chorus blamed him for
killing his parents he didn't believe it. He was told that the was
going to kill his father and marry his mother. that was his destiny.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Treye]

Prophices always seam to end up like this. When people hear these
things they always want to make it not happen and it always works
opposite. When actions are made they seal your fate and nothing you
can do after that can change that. Oedipus didn't know that he killed
his father and he also didn't know he married his mom but that doesn't
change the fact that its a sin. Only the sin went on without knowledge
of it. I think Oedipus was a condemned man from the start. He either
would've been killed or know he is forced to live a life of exile and
a fate worse then death knowing how much pain he brought on others and
himself. The Chorus eventually found him guilty but by this time
Oedipus already put the guilt on himself.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[sharp]

He feels very guilty because he scrapes his eyes out and I think he is
so guilty that instead of facing his destiny and accepting what
happened he ran away to die in the forest. They thought he should be
exiled and judged him for what he did.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Jenn]

I don't think that any of this would have happened if his parents
wouldn't have tried killing him. I don't think that its fair for him
to be punished for something he had no control over or something he
didn't realize what he was doing. He did commit a crime though, she
shouldn't just be ignored for what he did like nothing happened. the
Theme is pretty much outside sources.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Joc]

He really didn't no what was going on, so therefore he can't be wrong.
His parents try to kill him, but it doesnt work. This happens because
the servant chickens out pretty much so then he gets passed off as an
orphan to King Polybus. I don't think that Oedipus deserves the
punishment because he didn't really know what he was doing. For the
theme i really don't no it. Sorry

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Adrianne]

I dont think he is guilty because he didnt really know what he was
doing. He was trying to
run away after he was told he was going to kill his father. But not
knowing that his real
father was Laius, he ends up killing him when they meet on the road.
The characters and the chorus all blame Oedipus for
killing his father. Im not really forsure what the theme is. Its a
little confusing to me :S

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Dalen]

Yea i dont think he should be guilty because he didn't know what he
was doing. He's already blind so what more could he be punished
with? I think for the time this would have been okay but these days
you can't really get away with anything by just saying that you didn't
know what you were doing.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Nick M]

I don't think Oedipus is guilty of committing any grievous sins
because he had no idea what he was doing. He couldn't have stopped
himself from killing his dad or marrying his mom because he had no
idea because he didn't even have a clue of where he originated from.
he believed his dad already died and that his mom still lived at his
old land.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Nick M]

Oedipus tries to change his fate by moving to a foreign land away from
his what he believes his prophecy has foretold. it is ironic because
he actually ends up moving to where and doing what his prophecy said.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Jesse]

He should be guilty because even in today's society people who are
supposedly insane still are found guilty because what they did was
common sense and shouldn't have done it. If a prophesy told me to do
something wrong I wouldn't do it, but Oedipus is his own person so he
could do what he wants.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Zinnel]

I don't think O is guilty because he did not now what he had done and
the killing of his father was an accident. But the people in the play
would have thought that he was guilty, even tho they knew that he
didn't mean for this to happen. What happend to him was because of the
gods and if any one would interfer with what is supposed to happen to
O they would be punished.

I think that the major theme would be that if ever killing another
human is ever ok. Weather it be in self-defense, an accident, or on
purpose. And another would be destiny.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[morgan jo]

No i do not think he is guilty because he is mortally insane. In
today's society, he wouldn't be found guilty because of his disease.
He didn't know what he was doing. I don't know about the theme.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Brittany]

I believe that fate is the main theme in the play. I don't believe
that Oedipus should be able to be treated with the same punishment
because he was clueless and didn't know anything that was going on.
He didn't know who his father was or who his mother was. He thought
he was doing the right thing. I think that he is not guilty of
committing the crime. The members of the chorus state that he should
be punished the same way as any other would be punished.

[khosch]

Many of you have posted insightful responses -- some are very similar
to others. Treye offers another perspective. Be sure to read and
consider the ideas of all of your classmates. Be sure you are
considering theme.

On Sep 17, 3:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[khosch]

Many of you have posted insightful responses -- some are very similar
to others. Treye offers another perspective. Be sure to read and
consider the ideas of all of your classmates. Be sure you are
considering theme.

[spenc]

I don't think that Oedipus is guilty of committing a grievous sin
because he didn't know that it was his actual mom and he tried to get
away from the ones he thought were. He tried doing what is right and
it ended up being bad for him. If it were to acutally happen in my
town I would try to think of him as not guilty if he really says he
didn't but I think it would be really hard to consider him not
guilty. All the characters in this book thought he was weird and
hated him after they found this out because he kept them all from
being prosperous and they wanted him out. I think the major theme of
this book is Irony. It would be irony because the parents thought
that they had gotten rid of the child and then he comes back and ends
up doing everything the prophecy said he would. Also when Oedipus
hears what Apollo says he tells all the people that whoever had hand
in this or knew of anything would get banished and all and he even
included himself. In the end he finds out it was him all along and
the parents he thought he was getting away from he actually went to
his real ones.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Janae Nibbelink]

Yes he is guilty because ignorance is not a justifyable excuse against
something that is morally wrong but( marrying someone old enough to be
his mother) But he is not guilty depending on how you look at it.
They viewed it as grivous once they found out the identity of Oedipus'
true birth. I think the major theme of this play is destinay because
all through the play problems arised from the characters running from
the prophecy pertaining to Oedipus instead of trying to get by it by
letting the truth be known and let education and knowldge try to solve
the problem.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Chris]

A crime is a crime no matter what state of mind the person is in. He
is still guilty of committing a crime even though he didn't know what
or who he was killing.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Ashley]

i don't think so because he didn't know what he was doing, he was
trying to prevent it from happening and then realized he kinda made it
happen. plus he hurt himself and stabbed his eyes out so i think that
was a good enough punishment and he will probably think about it
everyday and never forget it and also hate himself and maybe go crazy
bacause of it.

On Sep 17, 2:30 pm, khosch <kho...@spartanpride.net> wrote:

[Jess]

No I don't think he is because he had no idea he was killing his
father. His parents should be at fault because their the ones that
tried to kill him. The chorus blames him. And I think a major theme is
probably destiny and fate because the whole story is based upon a
prophecy and the only reason it was right is because people listened
to it.

[bpaterni]

On Sep 19, 11:05 am, Janae Nibbelink <09janni...@gaggle.net> wrote:
> something that is morally wrong but( marrying someone old enough to be
> his mother)

Lots of older men date younger women, is that wrong also? If so, what
is proper age gap in order for a couple to marry each other?

[bpaterni]

I'm in no way defending Oedipus' actions, by the way. I'm just curious.

[jacy]

I don't believe that Oedipus is guilty of his actions, because he was
un-aware of who his real parents were. I think that if he would have
been aware that his adoptive parents were not real relation and he
would have known that he killed his real father and that his real
mother was now his queen, he would have been held accountable.
Otherwise, he didn't know. And at the moment, I think that "ignorance
is an excuse" would be a proper theme. It fits this topic because
Oedipus not knowing the truth about his parents gives him an excuse as
to not be guilty.

[taylor]

I dont think its his fault because his parents tried killing him and
he was sent out later to kill his father for what they did to him and
he didnt know what he was doing so i dont think it was his fault.

[Angel K.]

I don't think Oedipus is quilty because he didn't even know what was
going on.
He didn't know that he killed his father or that the woman he married
was his mother.

[day]

i dont think that O commited sin because he didnt know that the person
that he killed was his father .

On Sep 17, 8:22 pm, Ryan <10ryaki...@gaggle.net> wrote:
> I don't think that Oedipus commited grievous sin because he didn't
> know it was his father that he killed. A major theme has to be destiny
> or fate. When Oedipus was born a prophecy was told that he was going
> to kill his father and marry his mother so his parents sent him off to
> be killed. Unknowingly to Oedipus's parents he wasn't killed.

[day]

he didnt know that the man he kille dwas his father so he didnt mean
to fulfill the prophosy.

On Sep 17, 2:59 pm, tylern <10tylnu...@gaggle.net> wrote:
> He didn't know he was doing anything wrong and so he's not at fault.
> If his parents hadn't tried to kill him, none of this would have
> happened. The prophesy being told is what caused it to happen. The
> chorus blamed it all on him even though he didn't mean to.

[nathan]

I dont think he is because he didnt no what he was doing. the prophecy
caused all of this to happen. A major theme would be destiny.
Everything is based around what the person is destined to do.

[Ed]

i think that he can not use not knowing as an excuse because he still
did what he wasn't supposed to and it was still wrong. I think that
the major theme is is ignorance an excuse.

[Shelby]

I think he is still guilty. I know he didn't know who his real parents
are, but either way he still killed another man. Oedipus wasn't
insane, he just wasn't educated on the subject of his birth.

I think the biggest theme is that the blind "see." It seems to come up
a lot

[KSchoolman]

I think Oedipus still guilty of killing his father. It doesn't matter
that he didn't know it was father, he still killed someone. Oedipus
WAS NOT insane when he killed Laius. He got a little crazy at the end
of the play but he wasn't crazy when he killed him.

I think the main theme is The Blind People See. Tieresias obviously
could see what was happening and at the end when Oedipus blinded
himself it was because there was no longer anything worth seeing in
the world. Everything was ugly now and he had seen the truth.

[Matejka]

I don't think that Oedipus was guilty of grievious sin because it was
his destiny to kill his father. He didn't know what he was doing, then
the chorus blamed him for murdering his father.

On Sep 18, 8:55 am, Katherine <10kathe...@gaggle.net> wrote:
> I don't think Oedipus was guilty of commiting grievious sin because it
> was more of his destiny than his fault. The chorus tries to blame him
> for killing his father, but by running away from the people he thought
> were his parents, he was trying to avoid the prophecy.

[DUNNICK]

Since Oedipus didn't know it was his father he killed and his mother he married, I don't believe that he should be punished. The Chorus decided him as guilty.

-----Original message below-----

Is Oedipus guilty of committing grievous "sin" if he did not
know what
he was doing? How do you view this? (Consider that in our society,
people who commit heinous crimes are often found "not guilty be
reason
of insanity.") How did the characters and the chorus in the play
view
this?

As you think about theme, what do you believe to be the major theme of
the play; why do you think this?

*** This Email was sent by a student at Grundy Center Community Schools in Grundy Center Community Schools.

[mallory]

How can you be doing something wrong if you dont know its wrong? I
dont think he did anything wrong if he didnt know. I mean its sick and
twisted but yet he cant be punished for the unknown. the chorus put
him at fault when he really didnt know he was doing it

[shuey]

No because Oedipus was told that his father was dead and he thought
that he was. If he would of known it was his father then he would of
been guilty.