Comparing Sophocles Oedipus The King And Free Will

In the tragedy, Oedipus the King, fate is a predetermined course of events and is also an important factor that caused Oedipus’s downfall. Oedipus is ultimately a victim of his own fate because, despite his and Jocasta’s efforts, he could not escape the prophecies. Though others say that Oedipus created his own fate because he had the free will to handle the prophecies in becoming his own outcome, in the end, there was no chance that Oedipus could escape the prophecies. It was the fate for Oedipus getting saved after being left to die by his parents. Also, the gods brought the plague into Oedipus’s city, which caused him to search for the murderer of Laius. The truth behind the prophecy was also planned for Oedipus before he even knows it.

Oedipus’ actions are all fated together. Jokasta, Oedipus’ wife, widow of King Laios, calms Oedipus and tells him not to worry about Tireasias’ prophecy. She tells Oedipus that prophecies are not always accurate and fate does not exist. Jokasta tells him, “A long time back, an oracle reached Laios- / … / It said that Laios was destined to die / at the hand of a son born to him and me.” She continues, “Laios pinned its ankle joints together, / … / That time Apollo failed to make Laios die” (726). Laios was fated to be killed by his own son; instead, he was killed by bandits where the three roads meet. So the prophecy was false. Jokasta’s words hits Oedipus. Oedipus’ ankles were injured since birth. At a young age, an oracle tells Oedipus that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother, he ran away to Thebes, without knowing his parents are not his biological parents. The intersection of the three paths was where he killed in self defense when he ran away from home. Oedipus’ choice was to run away thinking it’ll prevent the prophecy. But because of his actions, he killed his

In Oedipus the King, one of Sophocles’ most popular plays, Sophocles clearly depicts the Greek’s popular belief that fate will control a man’s life despite of man’s free will. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Throughout Oedipus the King, the concept of fate and free will plays an integral part in Oedipus' destruction.

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 our world today, fate and free will remains the biggest mystery of all; is everything we do controlled or do we have the freedom of choice? In the story "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author uses the idea of fate and free will to explain the struggle of Oedipus's life. Fate and free will is explained as; fate is controlled by an outside supernatural force, and there is no way of controlling it. Free will is when each of us is responsible and controls all aspects of our own life. The author of "Oedipus the King" uses ironic devices to convey a tragic attitude toward the struggle of fate and free will.

In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, the idea of fate and destiny is brought to the forefront of the play. The idea of fate is incredibly prevalent in the play and drives a significant amount of the plot. The most important example of fate in the play is the prophecy that Oedipus is doomed to follow. The prophecy that Oedipus is supposed to fall victim to is revealed to the audience by Teiresias, a paraphrasing of the prophecy is “he’ll have no joy of the discovery: blindness for sight and beggary for the riches his exchange, he shall go journeying to a foreign country tapping his way before him with a stick. He shall be proved father and brother both to his own children in his house; to her that gave him birth, a son and husband both; a fellow sower in his father’s bed with that same father that he murdered” (Sophocles, 504-513). Even though, many of the seeds of this

The events in Oedipus show that his past actions were determined by fate but what he did in Thebes, he did on his own free will. Oedipus’ actions, temper, impulsive nature and pride, as well as his erroneous judgment show free will. Personality is what decided their own free will. In Oedipus’ case, one of these was the desire for knowledge and truth about his life. This driving force in the play led to the truth of his origin. This ties in with his own aspect of free will. His free will is based on his drive for knowledge.

The gods had a specific prophecy upon him and it had to be completed. Many can argue that Oedipus’ flaw was the only cause of his downfall, but if Laius had made a different choice when he had the freedom of having a child or not, things would have been better for Oedipus. Like E.R said “the disaster could have been avoided, but Laius sinfully disobeyed and his sin brought ruin to his descendants.” Laius’ prophecy was that if he had a child, his own child was going to kill him. Here Laius could have decided to not procreate, but he did anyways fully conscious of his consequences. Now Oedipus is born and given away, and has a prophecy that is unfair since he has no idea who his biological parents are. The reader can conclude that Oedipus had no control over his fate, so therefore he could not have a tragic flaw. This cannot be true because he did not have to kill his father, he could have avoided that mistake by simply walking away like Gould said, “the best freedom is freedom to make our own

Oedipus and Gilgamesh, both honorable and heroic men, were victims of tragic downfalls. In comparison, Sophocles, the playwright of Oedipus the King, and the author of Gilgamesh, were both significant writers of their respective generations and their legacy still continues today. These two stories made their masterpieces during different eras; Sophocles life concurred with the Golden Age of Greek tragedy and the epic of Gilgamesh took place sometime between 2800 and 2500 BC. Despite being born centuries apart, their works are similar in that they both describe and make the tragic downfalls of two distinguished men come to life. The demises of Gilgamesh and Oedipus can be compared and contrasted through their hunger for power and as well as

Another sign that Oedipus had no free will throughout the play, are the number of failed attempts at stopping the prophecies from happening, starting with Laios. Laios tries to get rid of his son so he won’t be murdered by him. His plan fails however when his wife gives the baby to a shepherd. The shepherd decides to give the baby to a king from another country, believing that this will keep the baby as far away as possible from Thebes and Laios. This backfires however. By not being with his true family, Oedipus questions his parents and seeks out an oracle. This oracle of course, tells him of the prophecy. And, because Oedipus does not know he is adopted and does not wish to kill his own father or wed his mother, he leaves the one place he

On page 5 of the play published by Nick Bartel, it says, “There was an oracle once that came to Laius, and it told him that it was his fate that he should die a victim at the hands of his own son, a son to be born of Laius and me.” When we interpret this we can tell that Laius is meant to be killed by his own son (Oedipus) since it’s his destiny. Also, in the text, Oedipus says, “I would have not been saved from death unless it were for some strange destiny. Let my destiny go where it will.” He is realizing that he cannot change his future, therefore enabling it to drive where it will.

We must not forget that in King Oedipus Sophocles deals with the struggle that mankind has with fate. ‘Fate’ would imply that events are predetermined and beyond the control of human beings. Sophocles cleverly showcased determinism in a form of a prophecy; the example from the play, “That he should die by the hands of his own child, His child and mine.” (Sophocles, trans. 1947, line 713-714), suggest that the prophecy is unconditional and will be fulfilled no matter what actions are taken, in other words, predetermined. The prophecy itself is the cause of it coming true. One would think that Laius’ and Jocasta’s decision in sending the baby away or King Oedipus’ decision in leaving Corinth is a display of human agency. But it appears not to be so as their decisions are caused by the knowledge of the

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

In the play, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus becomes more self-aware throughout the play as he learns the truth about his fate. As a young child Oedipus has a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother, when he comes of age he leaves his parents in fear he will fulfill the prophecy. Though he doesn't know he was given away when he was a baby. A terrible plague has struck Oedipus's city, Thebes. After Creon, Oedipus righthand man, comes back from visiting Apollo, Oedipus learns what must happen for his city to be saved from the plague. He must find the killer of Laius, the former king of Thebes, who is in the city. Oedipus desperate for answers calls on Tiresias, the blind prophet. While talking to Tiresias, Oedipus

Laius and Jocasta hear the fate that their son would kill Laius and marry Jocasta. In their free will, they decide to get him killed, and send a shepherd to send the baby on top of the mountain to have him killed. Although, fate overpowered and the baby survived, and the prophecy later became true. () Another part is when Oedipus leaves Corinth, a free will action in order to fall away from the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. Although, what he did not know was that Merope and Polybus were not his blood parents, and he eventually does kill his blood father and marry his blood mother. This is showing how free will is limited, as characters did have the free will to do certain actions, but it is fate that truly conducts the play. “A son was born To us, but lived no more than three days. Yes, Laius pinned his ankles together and sent him Away to die on a distant, lonely mountain. Once he was there, no power could make him a murderer, Nor make Laius die at the hands of his son.” (95) Through free will, Jocasta thought that if her and Laius were to send Oedipus to the mountains through a servant to die, then the fate would be gone. Even though she could have killed Oedipus herself, she could not bare killing her own son. This ultimately lead to a change, and her free will action lead to fate, as Oedipus went on to survive and kill Laius and marry herself. This shows that even though Jocasta had the choice to kill Oedipus, fate in the end had the control of the action and free will was limited by