Oedipus the King: Top Scoring Sample Essay on Right Choices

'In Oedipus the King, there are no right choices.' Do you agree?

A full length (~1,150 word) essay covering:

•      Noble intent corrupted by hubris, from the vow to bring it all to light to the threatening of the shepherd, with Creon positioned as a foil

•      The futility of choice against fate, in Laius and Jocasta's abandonment of their son and the subverted symbolism of the crossroads

•      Moral ambiguity in the aftermath, weighing Jocasta's suicide against her abandonment of her children, and Oedipus's just exile against the children it leaves parentless

Written by a 2025 VCE student who scored a raw 49 in English. Includes historical context of the Athenian audience and their likely interpretation. Features sight and blindness as well as light vs dark motifs, and where these are inverted.