Fate In Oedipus The King

Oedipus’ fate could not have been changed; he was destined to have a messed up family tree.

Many times in life, people think they can determine their own destiny, but, as the Greeks believe, people cannot change fate the gods set. Though people cannot change their fate, they can take responsibility for what fate has brought them. In the story Oedipus, by Sophocles, a young king named Oedipus discovers his dreadful fate. With this fate, he must take responsibility and accept the harsh realities of what’s to come. Oedipus is a very hubris character with good intentions, but because he is too confident, he suffers. In the story, the city of Thebes is in great turmoil due to the death of the previous king, Laius. With the thought of helping his people, Oedipus opens an investigation of King Laius’s murder, and to solve the mystery,

Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, tells us about a tragic hero (Oedipus) in which his life is predetermined by fate, because he is deprived of free will. The first act of fate on Oedipus was him being saved by a shepherd when his parents (Queen Jocasta and King Laius) left him in the mountains to die, he then met and killed his father without knowing who he was, and last, he married Queen Jocasta, later realizing that she was his mother. Every action that Oedipus took to prevent his fate, would soon be the ultimate downfall, not only for himself, but for his family and the people of Thebes.

           Oedipus has spent all his life running from his fate. He has, we learn, been told that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother. And he refused to accept that fate. He has spent much of his life moving around, so as to avoid his fate. It was a

Fate and free will played major parts in creating the characters and stories in many of the Greek mythologies and tragedies. The Greeks believes that the Gods and the Oracle's could predict a person's fate before or after birth, and that no one, even the Gods could intervene in that person's fate. They also believed that a person's or God could not create their own fate. This belief stems from the three fates: sisters, The Moirai or Fates were three sister deities, incarnations of destiny and life. Because of these three old women, fate could not be avoided or altered. As such with these stories, in the Iliad fate leads Achilles down his path of glory and his early demise, and cause Oedipus to sleep with his own mother and kill his father. Free will is the power of acting without constraint and fate; acting by one's own decisions. Even though Achilleus and Oedipus have fate, they both also have free will. For instance, Achilles has a double fate: if he goes home, he will live long without glory or if he stays at Troy, he will have lots of glory, but a short life. As such, in Sophocles Oedipus the King, when Oedipus was born he was fated to kill his father and lay with his mother, thought his ability of free will caused his fate to come true.

In Oedipus the king the Prophets tells Oedipus how his life will pan out and that there is nothing that he can do about it. Oedipus, however thinks he can prove them wrong being the self righteous person that he is. He believes that fate is not real and that its all about free will and individual decisions that lead to and determine the future. Oedipus is wrong for thinking that he can change his fate because the world is controlled by fate not free will.

Sophocles states that “Fate has terrible power. You cannot escape it by wealth or war. No fort will keep it out, no ships outrun it.” Fate derives from a Latin word, fatum, meaning that one’s future is predetermined. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles unfolds the misfortune of a noble king who searches for knowledge. Evidently, Greek heroes like Oedipus are destined to rule, but are also bound to fall, therefore, he cannot alter his own fate. This tragic play proves that the power of fate is indeed stronger than one’s free will. Despite his attempts to fight his destiny, Oedipus can never outrun his fate. Regardless of his parents’ desperation to evade the predicted outcome, fate guides his journey for knowledge, leading to his destruction.

Oedipus’s parents, Jocasta and Laius, were told by the gods that their son, Oedipus, would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother, a terrible fate. In the play, Jocasta tells of a prophecy given to

Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze.

In life one is always presented with a choice no matter how grievous the situation is, there is always a way to overcome it. Oedipus is no exception of this. In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus is responsible for his downfall because of his hubris. When Oedipus hears about his fate he is determine to escape it, but by attempting to do so he ends up following his steps to fulfill his destiny, something that he tried to avoid in the first place and feared the most. Throughout the story, Oedipus is presented with similar situations and the choices that he decided to make would ultimately lead to his downfall.

Fate plays an essential role in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. Not only does Oedipus commit parricide and incest, but he also ends up blinded and exiled. Due to his crucial decisions and actions throughout the play, Oedipus deserves his fate. By attempting to escape such a tragic fate, Oedipus ends up fulfilling it.

Kurt Fosso explains how fate in “Oedipus the King” is stoppable and that fate is not what drives the story. He says that what decisions Oedipus makes is his own free will and that just because he is fated to do something, it doesn’t mean he is consciously making decisions knowing what is going to happen. Kurt Fosso explains that fate is Oedipus’ punishment. He states that Oedipus is a victim of fate and it’s because of his own doings. Irony also comes into play since Oedipus’ name translates to “swollen foot” (he has physical marks around his feet because they were tied together as a child and those physical marks stay visible in his adulthood). Kurt Fosso also depicts Oedipus as impulsive which causes Oedipus to essentially complete his own prophecy. Kurt Fosso then implies that the story isn’t driven by Oedipus’, but by his radical actions and the validity of the oracles. Oedipus reads too far into the

Fate is defined as a predetermined event that cannot be changed by mortals. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is marked by his fate, and he does not realize it until it is too late. Oedipus learns of his fate when he calls for Teiresias, the blind man who can read and interpret the prophecies. After being provoked by Oedipus, Teiresias angrily reveals that Oedipus is destined to kill his own father and marrying his own mother, while eventually gouging out his eyes. However, Oedipus does not fear his fate; he believes that he is invincible to these prophecies. How does one go about escaping fate? Does one have any control over these predetermined events? Oedipus is a man in pursuit of answers, and the idea of his prophecy coming to fruition does not sit well with him. He does not even fully understand fate and how it is going to affect him until he experiences it. Nevertheless, Oedipus understands that free will does exist and is seen throughout the text implementing his own actions into his everyday life. The idea of fate is flawed, and is used by Oedipus and people of today’s society as a scapegoat for one to hide behind their own poor decisions.

"Oedipus the King" is a tragic play showing a shift from the belief of fate to freedom of choice. Therefore, Oedipus the king is a great example of those who run from fate ends up fulfilling their fate

Rather than boldly accepting his predetermined fate, Oedipus cowardly tries to run away from his curse, running to Thebes, away from Polybus and Merope believing he can counter his destiny.