AP Literature & Composition 1989

Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized

literary merit who might—on the basis of the character’s actions alone—be
considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the
full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically
than we otherwise might.

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex follows the fall of a great man, a hero, whose thirst for
knowledge leads him to the poisoned oasis of truth. Simply knowing his actions does not
open the door to understanding Oedipus; in fact, looking only at the actions leads to a
complete misinterpretation of Oedipus’ character. A committer of incest with his mother,
murderer of his father and king of Thebes, usurper of the throne, Oedipus is not the cruel,
sick villain though of when hearing his deeds. No, Oedipus is a victim, the fly caught in
fate’s cruel web.
To know Oedipus is to know his origin and the actions he took due to this. As an
infant, Oedipus was named as the future murderer of his father Laius and was cruelly left
to die on Mount Cithaeron. Legs bound, a shepherd took pity on him and Oedipus was
soon given to the King and Queen of Corinth to raise as their own. Raised away from his
birth parents, Oedipus comes to recognize Merope and Polybus as his parents and when
this comes into question, Oedipus travels to Delphi, consulting Apollo and leaving with
the harsh fate “to couple with his mother and murder his father.” Unbeknownst to
Oedipus, the couple who raised him are not those named in the prophecy, so he flees
Cithaeron in an attempt to escape his fate. Oedipus does not know his true origin; he does
not know the fate he is trying to escape is laid before him when he meets Laius at the
crossroads. He does not know his true parents abandoned him, fearing the same prophecy
he has just heard. Jocasta and Laius are selfish in leaving their baby to die on Cithaeron,
wishing to escape sin. Oedipus is not the convict portrayed by his actions; he is the victim
doomed by his cruel beginning. Though society cannot relate to Oedipus’ torturous start
and unfortunate lack of knowledge, many can relate to and feel sympathy for what he
loses as a result of fulfilling the prophecy.
 Oedipus’ misguided actions cause him to lose what society values most; he loses
his parents, his wife, his children, and his country. These things that are often taken for
granted, these underappreciated treasures: Oedipus loses them all in the course of a day.
His wife and unwitting mother realizes the truth and takes her own life. Perhaps this is
out of disgust, perhaps due to the realization that only misery awaits her. Oedipus loses
his children, and thus, his sibling, ripped from them and sent into exile. All this tragedy is
unbearably agonizing for the audience, as it would be for society. In one fell swoop
Oedipus is robbed of all he holds dear. Not only this, but he loses his country, forced into
the unknown, never to return to the people who once admired him. If not for Oedipus’
abandonment as a child and misinformation about his parents, Oedipus would simply be a
criminal, but due to the circumstances, he becomes the victim. This loss of cherished
people encompasses the weight of his downfall.
Oedipus is a king who, in the course of a day, loses all respect and admiration,
only to be pitied and looked at with disgust. Oedipus, the hero who falls from grace takes
responsibility for his actions. Once revered by his people, he is now on the same level of
his subjects, if not lower. His decision at the crossroads so long ago doomed the city,
stripped the subjects of their king, and his reigning intellect, solving the Sphinx’s riddle,
brought him to power. He admits that the gods set out his fate, but he committed the
crimes. He dooms his family to misery and suffering, but he does so unknowingly and
shows great remorse for his actions. Oedipus does not shunt the blame to anyone but
himself, inflicting his own punishment for these unruly actions in the form of exile and
taking his own eyes. Oedipus does not try to deceive his subjects or dismiss his actions,
instead he leaves and saves the city the agony of looking upon him any longer; he cares
about his people. Oedipus is a loyal king, a loving husband, son, and father; a man
mislead by his upbringing and, most unfortunately, an unwilling victim of Fate.