Oedipus Free Will

Fate and free will are two topics that are often questionable because they go hand in hand. Fate is a belief that a certain event is said to happen, then that person's choice and free will lead them to what has been predicted as inevitable. Knowing whether something is fate’s fault or the fault of the person who’s going to enact the said action, is one question that has never been fully answered. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare's Macbeth, fate is determined by their own choices and free will, the character Macbeth knows of what lies ahead of him, making him alter the present to create his idealistic future, however instead he lives a life of ruins. As for Oedipus his entire actions are based on one prophecy he desperately

The Story of Oedipus is a tragic narrative of the life of a king whose life gets turned upside down when a hidden truth guarded by a prophecy comes out. I believe that it is not Oedipus Rex who is at fault in the story. I feel that destiny had pushed them to the ends that they all met. Throughout the play there were instances where I could see that fault could have fallen on the shoulders of Oedipus but to many times the incidences occurred that skewed my vision of what seemed to be accidental turned into destiny. Oedipus had pride above any man because he was praised for defeating the sphinx and an outstanding King of Thebes, for this allowed fate take over and destiny to preside him in his fate.

Many people believe that fate has planned out their lives and despite efforts on their part what was meant to happen, will eventually happen. This belief has been handed down over the centuries from some of the first civilizations, such as the Greeks. However, not all Greek citizens wanted destiny to take control of their lives. Some decided to choose freewill over the will of the gods. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles writes a cautionary tale meant to warn the doubters in Greek society that regardless of their beliefs in gods and prophecies, it is necessary to heed their warnings. Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius are Sophocles’ characters that prove that escaping one’s fate is not possible, as each of their predicted fates is realized despite extensive efforts to thwart them.

In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe and “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, both Okonkwo and Oedipus possess tragic flaws, which lead to their eventual downfalls, thus making both “Oedipus The King” and “Things Fall Apart” fall under the category of tragedy. This aside, these aspects of their personalities in these texts by Sophocles and Achebe are not helped by the negative twists of fate that seem to make the problems with their behavior more pronounced, thus more tragic in the end. Due—is the nature of fate as it functions in terms of tragedy and the tragic elements of both of these stories, both Oedipus and Okonkwo are partially to blame for their demise, but on the other hand, each of these characters possesses traits that seem to invite tragedy. The difference of both these stories is that Okonkwo bears more responsibility for his downfall than Oedipus, simply because he had more opportunities to change the course of his fate. Oedipus, on the other hand, despite his rash actions, is more a victim of fate than Okonkwo.

When thinking of who is responsible for the tragedy of Oedipus, I tend to lean towards fate. Since the beginning, it was Oedipus' fate to kill his father and marry his mother. He spent most of his life attempting to avoid this, but all of his actions simply brought him closer to his fate. Fate knew Oedipus' end from the beginning and the oracles were always right in what they predicted for him. I think the gods are so nasty to Oedipus because he tried to avoid his prophecy by leaving his believed parents. I believe Oedipus has free will, but no matter what he chose to do, his fate would have remained the same at the end.

Fate refers to an occurrence that uncontrollably befalls a person. The Oracle Prophesies at Delphi dooms Oedipus prior to his birth; by prophesying that Oedipus would marry his mother and kill his father. Oedipus learns about this prophecy, and lands on this fate because of his arrogance. He makes a quest for the truth about his father, because he does not know about his origin. This forms a platform for the occurrence of the Oracle prophecies. He eventually marries his mother and kills his father as prophesized by the Oracle. But was this uncontrollable? Was it not obvious that Oedipus unwittingly murdered his father, King Laius of Thebes, at a crossroad? Then as he married the king 's widow, Oedipus also wed his own mother, fulfilling the double fate of parricide and incest foretold about him. Kurt Fosso argues that “Resisting fate, One could argue that Oedipus 's

The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.

“Oedipus the King” is a tragic Athenian play written and produced around 425 B.C. by Sophocles; a tragic dramatist, priest, and one of the three great ancient Greek writers whose excellent work has survived the centuries. The play takes place in mythical ancient Greece in a city called Thebes. It’s about a prophecy foretelling the murder of king Laius by his own son, Oedipus (protagonist), and the incestuous marriage between mother (Jocasta) and son (oedipus). The discovery of the truth brought upon Jocasta’s and Oedipus’s downfall; Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus blinded both eyes with the golden brooches attached to his mother’s gown. He blinded himself because he could not bear to witness the destruction of himself and his family; the meaning behind his choice of surgical instrument is based upon punishing himself for setting eyes on his mother’s nakedness during their marriage (the brooches are what mainly kept the gowns on).

Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, has risen many questions concerning the main character and whether or not he acts on free will or if his future is predestined by the gods. I am going to test the theory that although Oedipus believes he is acting on his own free will, he is in fact a victim of the gods. I will analyze several different sources that discuss fate and human agency in Oedipus the King and then proceed to build my original argument on the archaic debate.

The people throughout Oedipus’ life trues very hard to allow him to escape his fate of killing his father and then marrying his mother. In the epic poem Oedipus the King, Sophocles tells the story of the tragic downfall of Oedipus. Although many people see the role of free will that brought upon Oedipus’ doom, no matter what choices were made throughout his life, his ultimate fate would always return.

The Greek drama “Oedipus The King” evidently leads to the unveiling of a tragedy. Oedipus, the protagonist of the play uncovers his tragic birth story and the curse he had been baring his whole life. Oedipus is notorious for his personal insight that helped him defeat Sphinx, which lead him to becoming the king of Thebes. He is admired by the people of Thebes and is considered to be a mature, inelegant and a rational leader. From his birth, his story began with a prophecy that Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Through out the play numerous people, who tell him of his unknown past, visit Oedipus. Blind to the truth he casts them away until a blind man named Therisis gives a sight of truth to Oedipus. As Oedipus learns the truth he realizes the great evil his life carries. After finding his wife and also mother hung in her bedroom, Oedipus blinds himself with the gold pins that held Jocasta’s robe. Oedipus blind to the truth is finally able to see when the old blind man visits him and tells him the truth about his life. Both metaphorically and physically sight plays a significant role in understanding the irony of a blind man seeing the truth while Oedipus who isn’t blind doesn’t seem to the truth that’s right in front of him.

Oedipus The King by Sophocles is a horrible tragedy. The way the characters act and how the plot was set up created a perfect story. Aristotle’s Poetics describes how Oedipus The King becomes a tragedy by using a technique called reversal and recognition. Reversal is a very famous strategy in writing tragedies and is key in this story. It is stated as, “a change from one state of affairs to its exact opposite” (pg.523) After the reversal takes place, it’s followed by recognition. Recognition is stated as, “a change from ignorance to knowledge” (pg.523). Reversal and recognition is what makes Oedipus The King such an amazing tragedy.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is the story of a man who was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. The story continues in the tradition of classic Greek plays, which were based upon the Greeks’ beliefs at the time. The ancient Greeks believed that their gods decided what would ultimately happen to each and every person. Since those gods destined Oedipus to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus’ life was definitely fated. However, the gods only decided where Oedipus’ life would eventually lead; they never planned the route he would take to get there. All the decisions that Oedipus made in order to fulfill his destiny, and the decisions he made after the fact, were of his own free will,

In Oedipus the King, the theme of fate vs free will appears all through the play. Oedipus throughout the play tries to avoid his inevitable fate, which ironically seems to make his fate come

Unknowingly marrying his mother and the sire of his children Oedipus, a father, a son and a brother to them went through a lot pain when the truth is revealed. The true parents of Oedipus abandoned the child on the sole bases of a prophecy that may or may not have come true foretelling of Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother, they leave him in hopes to be killed so this does not happen, but apparently you cannot get away from “fate”. “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a masterpiece within its own rights when one speaks of the epic plays, but is there a thing such as fate that actually exists? The servant that had to leave the poor child to die either by animal or nature could not do it, and as such caused the butterfly effect to go into play. Not being told of his true parentage and was kept in the dark until the last possible second, the denial as realization struck Oedipus and the outcome that came with it. Would being ignorant have been better than knowing the truth?