Does a person know where his actual position is in the world? Can this person know who they are? In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the main character, provides an example to deny these questions. The culprit for Oedipus is the illusion defined by incorrectly perceiving or interpreting his senses. As a result, Oedipus does not truly understand the reality that finally causes the painful ending. The plot demonstrates that even if humans try to avoid fate, they cannot change their destiny. 

Oedipus’s ignorance of fate is his true illusion. The destiny of Oedipus is that Oedipus had indeed killed his father Laius and married his mother, Jocasta. Several conflicts in Oedipus Rex fully indicated that he lived in his fantasy. To be more specific, when Oedipus summoned the blind prophet to ask for the death of Laius. They have encountered a decisive conflict. Tiresias does not want to claim the murder of Laius because he knows that the truth will hurt Oedipus. However, Oedipus is eager to find the truth of this event by using his free will. So, he doesn’t perceive that he is the culprit for the death of Laius. As a result, Oedipus still lives in his illusion.

Oedipus’s illusion is genuinely different from reality due to his unchangeable destiny. Oedipus goes to Thebes to avoid killing his father and marrying his mother. For this reason, Oedipus never thinks he can achieve his destiny because he has already gone to a distant place. However, the real world is cruel compared to his illusion. To be more specific, when Laius and his people are on the way to Thebes, Laius’s driver cruelly speaks to Oedipus, and Laius beats him with a whip. Oedipus is irritated and struck back at Laius, which causes his father's death. The destiny of killing his father is confirmed by Oedipus, which is different from his illusion. Furthermore, when Oedipus arrived at Thebes, he solved the Sphinx’s riddle and became famous. Later, Oedipus takes the position of King and marries Jocasta, who has four children with Oedipus. As a result, the destiny of marrying his mother becomes inadvertently accurate.

The comparison between destiny and illusion In Oedipus Rex wants to develop ironic themes. Because Oedipus knows his fate, he tries his best to avoid it by going to distant Thebes. Ironically, this action causes him to murder his father Laius and marry his mother, Jocasta. Therefore, no matter how much effort Oedipus has made, they cannot escape the root of existence for fate. Thus, it is so satiric that human existence is vain and useless. In addition, Oedipus lives in his illusion that causes catastrophic results. His fantasy causes him to think that he is not the culprit for the whole event. Ironically, he ensures that the prophecy gradually occurs due to his neglect of the illusion. Overall, the illusion of prophecy establishes the ironic themes in Oedipus Rex.

From the analysis in Oedipus Rex, the illusion of Oedipus caused painful feelings for himself and related people. From my point of view, the illusion is blind confidence in yourself, which causes the understanding of the essence of the matter. Therefore, timely reflection in daily life is necessary to avoid the illusion. In this way, people can prevent things from developing negatively.