Blog Post 3

 The rulers in Oedipus the King believe they can manipulate fate in order to avoid suffering.Unfortunately, however, destiny is not something a person can choose; there will always be some hardships that must be overcome — not simply just avoided. Laius and Jocasta tried to escape their prophecy by leaving their son to die. They were willing to put their own son at stake to protect themselves. Jocasta understood her son was a “poor defenseless thing” (946) who had no chance to survive on his own. He would have died a slow death in the mountains if he was not found. Usually parents are willing to do anything to help their child, but Laius and Jocasta heavily believed in the prophecy and believed that they were able to change it. They tried to kill their own son to escape their prophecy. 

Oedipus also attempts to escape his fate by running away from Corinth so he does not kill Dorian and Polybus (thinking they were his real parents). These efforts were futile; Oedipus still reaches his fate. Instead of knowing about the prophecies, ignorance would have been better for Laius, Jocasta and Oedipus. Jocasta even says “Better to live at random, best we can” (1072). She clearly did not take this advice when she was still with Laius though. If they did not know the future, then they would not have tried to alter it. Oedipus claims prophecies to be “nothing, worthless”(1063), but he is fixated on changing it — hence the reason why he left Corinth in the first place. Oedipus wants to defy the gods by changing his destiny and, as a result, “brought down these piling curses on himself" (906). Just like in most tragedies, Oedipus the King shows that a prophecy cannot be changed just to avoid predicaments. The power of fate and the gods cannot be overcome by anyone, including kings and queens.

  During American Imperialism, Americans believed they had to expand westward because it was God's special destiny to occupy the land and Christianize all of America. They reacted because they wanted to fulfill the destiny, unlike Oedipus who tried to abstain from his.