Fate And Fate In Oedipus The King

In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the element of fate versus freewill shows up frequently all through the play. It is foreseen to Oedipus' parents, Jocasta and Laius, that their child would grow up to slaughter his father and wed his mother. Jocasta and Laius endeavor to dispose of their child, however, fate triumphs. Oedipus' fate all through the play has been chosen by the fate which adds to his annihilation. Various societies and cultures all through history have embraced similar perspectives, accepting a fate or destiny for their lives. Such points of view are very common is Greek myths who had confidence in "the three Fates" — goddesses who controlled the lives of individuals and the world in general. Clotho the youngest spins the thread of human life. She decides who will be born and when. Lachesis, a matron, measures the thread deciding a person’s lot in life. She is shown with a measuring stick, a scroll, a book, or a globe that represents the horoscope. Atropos, the oldest, choses the mechanism of death and ends the life of each mortal by cutting their thread. She is usually portrayed with a cutting instrument, a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, or a pair of scales. Even in modern day, some Christian philosophies incorporate destiny as fate. Many Jews acknowledge that their God has an arrangement for their people and nation.

Fate as defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary is ‘an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end’. Sophocles discusses fate vs free will in his plays. In the play Oedipus Rex there was a prophecy that Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, he attempts to escape his destiny by running away to Thebes where he meets his fate. In the play Antigone, that main character Antigone decides to go against Creon’s (her uncle who has inherited the throne) decree and bury the brother, Polynices, knowing the consequences would lead to her death. In Sophocles’ plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone, the theme is mankind not being able to escape their fate.

    Oedipus Rex (the King), written by Sophocles, is the tragic play depicting the disastrous existence to which Oedipus, an Athenian, is 'fated' to endure. With a little help from the gods and the 'fated' actions and decisions of Oedipus, an almost unthinkable misfortune unfolds. Athenian perfection can consist of intelligence, self-confidence, and a strong will. Oedipus, the embodiment of such perfection, and his tragedy are common place to Athenians. Ironically, the very same exact characteristics that bring about the ominous discovery of Oedipus' fate: to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' 'fated' decisions entangle everyone whom is of any significance to him

In the play Oedipus the Tyrant by Sophocles, Sophocles challenges the idea that fate controls one’s life. Throughout the play, Oedipus encounters many coincidental moments where he is subject to a prophecy that was told to him. The big issue is that the prophecy of Oedipus’ fate is never told the same way twice by the characters of the play. Sophocles also depicts Oedipus running away from the prophecy and having chance arrive to prove that the prophecy was real. Although fate seems to be a driving factor of the play chance had an even bigger role, Sophocles’ Oedipus the Tyrant suggests that people are controlled by chance rather than fate.

Do you really have a choice? Many people believe that there is no such thing as fate. That a person can decide their own fate and nothing is set in stone. Although, people today don’t think the same as the people from the ancient societies. Back then, a person’s fate was handed down from the gods to oracles and was decided before the child was born.

I think for Oedipus to receive this fate or prophecy may not have been fair. He probably did not think so either but during that time if you were given a prophecy, that was your fate and you had to accept it. I think that for him to receive this fate he must have done something to deserve it, although his parents received this prophecy before Oedipus was born. Then again fate is fate, and the gods are the gods, they are all powerful and what they say, goes. If I had received this fate and was in Oedipus’s situation I would have told my parents hoping there could be some mistake or a way they could help me to get through it. If Oedipus had have done this his parents may have told him the truth of his birth. To avoid this certain fate he would

Fate is something one cannot escape and is out of one's control. In Oedipus The King the king and queen of Thebes have been told of a prophecy, that one day Oedipus their child will kill the king, his father. To divert this future mishappening the king had ordered a kill order to kill Oedipus, to eliminate the prophecy. Nonetheless the Shepherd did not kill him and Oedipus was sent away from Thebes to another family. Oedipus having the talk with drunk man at the Corinth about the truth of his life, sparked his fate of his father’s fate being killed by him.

All throughout literature, readers are left dumbfounded at the outcome of certain characters. Often times, the general conclusion of unfortunate results is simple: fate. In Ancient Greece, it was a common belief that your whole life was thoroughly planned out by the many Gods and one’s specific plan was inevitable. In Oedipus the King, this theme of fate is prominent throughout the work and is essential to reader’s understanding of the character’s and their actions. Sophocles followed basic Greek philosophy of fate upon writing Oedipus.

my head was a warning, and I chose to ignore it but it was destined to happen.

In the play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, the story revolves around the central theme of prophecy, and forces the reader to seriously consider the extent to which the protagonist’s doom is dependent upon his own free will or is predetermined by fate. In the story, Oedipus was not a victim of only his actions or only his fate, but his actions and fatal flaws did affect the path that he took to his demise, through his pride/ignorance/temper, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and his cowardice.

A common debate that still rages today is whether we a a species have free will or if some divine source, some call it fate, controls our destiny. With all the oracles and talk of prophecies, it’s obvious that there is some divine intention in Oedipus. First, in Oedipus at Colonus, there is oracle at Delphi that tells Oedipus’s parents and then himself that he will kill his father and marry his mother. While free choices, such as Oedipus’s decision to pursue knowledge of his identity, are significant, fate is responsible for Oedipus’s incest and many of the other most critical and devastating events of the play. By elevating the importance of fate, Sophocles suggests that characters cannot be fully responsible for their actions. It becomes difficult, for example, to blame Oedipus for marrying his mother given his ignorance. Oedipus is known for being a smart dude. After all, he was the only guy around who could figure out the riddle of the Sphinx. Unfortunately, for a large portion of his life he also lacks some significant information. If he'd known who his real parents were, he could've avoided some seriously unfortunate situations. You have to hand it to Oedipus, though, even when he's beginning to get the gist of the horrible truth, he doesn't stop searching for it. In the end, you could see Oedipus as representing all of humanity and our quest to understand the truth of ourselves and our place in the universe.

In the tragedy of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, a man named Oedipus pursues truths of his identity and is announced ruler of Thebes after the unfortunate death of their king because of his great act of ridding the land from the deadly Sphinx, but he's soon to find out about his new terrible Fate. In the beginning of the story, citizens beg King Oedipus for help regarding the plague overtaking Thebes. He responded to the citizens with the fact that he sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the Oracle of Delphi in hopes Apollo will offer his help. When Creon arrived back to the palace, he says that Apollo wants Thebes to find former King Laius’s murderer. In order to find the clues, Oedipus had to seek information on who killed Laius. Oedipus decided

We also find that fate has led him to be ignorant of his the fact that those he considers his parents are not really his biological parents. The play portrays Oedipus as a man with much love for his family. Though he wishes to see his parents, he vows not to return to his home in Corinth for fear of falling into fate’s hands. Had he known who his parents are beforehand, he never would have slain his father and married his mother. His actions are noble and meant for the greater good however, twist of fate corrupt them, and lead him closer to his unwanted destiny. We can argue that fate has it that he comes to learn the truth about his family when it is too late.

Fate played an important part in the plays and literature of the Greeks as is shown in Sophocles' play

The theme of “Fate (deed of the gods) versus free-will (personal choices and actions)” is ever-present in Greek drama. It is the concept that the lead character of a drama has no control over his Fate, which is preconceived and inevitable. On the other hand, it has been argued that the character did have a choice in the matter, and ultimately, it’s their choices that lead to their destiny being fulfilled. In this essay, I will be exploring the role of the gods in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, and whether or not they are to blame for his tragic downfall.