Oedipus Rex: Fate or Determinism

Oedipus Rex, clearly a tragic victim of fate, easily meets the criteria of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a man of noble stature. He has greatness about him. His is not ordinary man but one of outstanding quality. (Perrine’s 1305) Aristotle also wrote that the tragic hero is good, though not perfect, and his fall results from his committing what Aristotle calls “An act of injustice” (hamartia) either through ignorance or from a conviction that some greater good will be served. This act is, nevertheless, a criminal one, and the good hero is still responsible for it, even if he is totally unaware of its criminality and is acting out of the best intentions. (Perrine’s 1305) This is true of Oedipus, in the eye of the public, he is concerned, and a caring individual. He does have the blood of his own father on his hands. The fact that he did not know that he was killing...