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I have taken a few psychology classes and heard about the Oedipus complex. I was explained that this is when a son has an attraction to his mother and tries to select a mate that closely resembles her. After reading “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles I finally heard the story it self. If I had to make a decision based on what I read, and then carry out a sentence, I would only judge on the facts that he killed a man on the road without any threat to his own life. Before reading this book I was under the impression that psychology states that the Oedipus complex is when any little boy wants to kill their father and sleep with their mother. It sounded absurd to me and I kept my mind open in case any further information will leak out and shed light on what it really is. Looking at Oedipus him self, it’s very hard to prove that he intended to kill his father and sleep with his mother. In fact he tried to avoid it by running away from his foster parents. This shows that he wanted to protect him self from fulfilling the prophecy which was so important back in the days, and was considered as the will of the gods. Personally I don’t believe in any gods at all, but for the sake of the story I’ll play along. The blame for what has happened should fall first of all on Oedipus’s parents. First they tried to get rid of a son who was supposed to commit a horrendous act at least 15 years in the future. Then to prevent him from doing that they ordered to have him killed which wasn’t the smartest thing they could have done. If you really think about it, the most logical thing or so it seems to me is to castrate Oedipus and that will prevent the prophecy if the gods want it or not, unless of course they are so powerful they can find a way around that. Secondly when Oedipus came to town, killed his father and saved the city from the plague and married his mother, it seems a little fishy.
Approximate Word count = 1405
Approximate Pages = 5.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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