Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King

what are the conflicts of oedipus rex

oedipus rex vs himself and and his god

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The main conflicts of Oedipus Rex are indeed, Oedipus vs. himself and Oedipus vs. fate (which sometimes can be related to contemporary stories as man vs. nature). In terms of the former, Oedipus damns himself early in the play when he makes a royal decree that whoever is responsible for the plague will be banished and punished. So by his own integrity - the insatiable desire to find the truth and punish the transgressor - Oedipus destroys himself. There is also the argument that Oedipus and his anger put him in the position of patricide years before, when he killed his father from anger (this is the "tragic flaw" argument). However, this argument is shaky because of course, Oedipus did not know it was his father. This leads into the bigger conflict - Oedipus vs. fate (and by extension, all men vs. fate). When the Shepard brought the infant Oedipus into the wilderness in hopes of helping him escape the terrible fate the oracle decreed (killing dad, marrying mom), he nevertheless facilitated that very end, since circumstances would lead Oedipus back along the past to Thebes, killing his father in the process and then marrying Jocasta. There is nothing Oedipus can do. By running from his fate does he make sure it happens.