Fate And Free Will In Oedipus The Tyrant

    It is important to realize  that fate is not something that is predestined, it is

Oedipus the King, was written by Sophocles between C.A.496-406B.C. In this play, Oedipus is a great example of Sophocles’ belief that fate will control a man’s life no matter how much free will exists.

Fate is something that we cannot change and we cannot mess with because whatever we do has been done and will always be done.In Billy Pilgrim’s office he has a religious phrase hanged on his wall and it goes,”God grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, courage to change and wisdom always to tell the differnce”(60).To the tralfamadorians they say that humans don't understand the difference

Aristotle’s argument that in a tragedy the protagonist must posses a tragic flaw that leads to his or her downfall, is what is shown in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus’s tragic flaw, that being anger and pride, not only lead to his downfall, but also lead to the death of those he cherished. His tragic flaw contributed immensely to the meaning of the work of a whole: fate and free will, since Oedipus’s pride and anger stopped him from accepting his fate. An example of a tragic flaw that led to the journey of Oedipus the king was in Oedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Aristotle when he is told by an old prophet “that he should kill his father and marry his mother.”

Individuals love power. Being in control of their lives makes them feel superior over others as they are free to make any decisions they desire. Consequently, when fate intervenes, the free will of individuals is comprised, making it difficult for them to accept the reality in which they are no longer in charge of the choices they want to make. Their future has been predetermined resulting in specific actions being hard to comply with. This is the case, in Sophocles “Oedipus the King”, as the instances of consequences are demonstrated when Oedipus marries his mother and kills his father, supporting the fact that fate has strength to fulfill any decree from the Gods. The prophecy of Oedipus, is a prediction of one’s future which ultimately becomes

The problem of the fate has always been exciting and mysterious. Fate is linking with problems such as the purpose and meaning of life, death and immortality. Thus, the idea of ​​the fate is intertwined into a single node all of the burning questions a human is trying to find answers from immemorial times. On the one hand, the fate is a universal category, serving as a universal context of human relationships with the world, but on the other hand, the destiny of each person is individual and unique. However, the concept of fate reflected to two opposite ideas: fatalism and faith in humans' ability to influence their destiny. Is a human an object of influence of the fate, or a creator of his life and future? The religious point of view states that the fate is stronger than an

LaKesha Mancillas Professor Burns English 1302 December 8, 2014 The Fallen King Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. The role of fate is not only very important in the Oedipus the King story, it is something that begins very early into it. Oedipus was born unknowingly to King Laius and wife Jacosta. He was pretty much doomed from birth.

Fate vs. free will: the force behind the undoings. The authors, William Shakespeare and Sophocles of Oedipus Rex and The Tragedy of Macbeth, present the fight between fate and free will when the protagonist face challenges that are set before them, and challenges that have already been predetermined before acknowledgement. Despite the victories both Macbeth and Oedipus grasped in their hands, prophecies influence one to commit unwanted deeds, the choice of free will or fate, and allows one’s culture and era to affect the choices of both tragic heros.

The argument of fate vs. free will is a very difficult subject to have a debate on. There is little to no proof on either subject, which is why this will be a never ending discussion. The official definition of free will is “the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion”(Merriam - Webster). The official definition of fate is “the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power”(Merriam - Webster). In this essay, I will be comparing and contrasting free will and fate, using the following readings, movies, and sources: Jackson Shirleys, The Lottery, The Matrix, The Myth of Oedipus, You Probably Have No Free Will.

The debate whether our lives are controlled by our own choices or fate, is an ongoing question that we could never have the answer to because we can never fully prove one side. I believe that both personal choice and fate have a great effect in our lives. Both "Oedipus Rex" and the novel "and the mountains echoed" show how both personal choice and fate have a great influence in our rises up and our falling downs in life.

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.

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

Fate has a huge effect on the lives of people all over the world; whether it is determining who we meet, where we go, or the type of person we end up becoming, it is fair to assume that the future intrigues people. Sure, people are faced with choices and can make decisions that have a heavy bearing on their reality for the future, but many people like to believe that fate is the ultimate determining force in their life. Though their actions may slightly alter the results of one’s life, it is believed that fate will always find a way to thrive. Fate suggests lack of control, while its’ counter agency suggests control over destiny. Homer’s Iliad is an epic poem illustrating the plight of humanity

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

Oedipus the King is a play explaining the journey of man who tries to run away from his destiny, but by doing so, he ends up fulfilling it. When Oedipus hears his fate, that he must kill his father and marry his mother, he runs away from Corinth, what he believes is his birth place where his “birth parents” rule. On his journey away from destiny, he encounters a man who ends up killing, however, this man ends up being his birth father. He then stumbles across the city of Thebes where the people are terrorized by the female Sphinx. He defeats the sphinx and becomes the king of Thebes, marrying the queen, who also happens to be his birth mother. While on his journey away from fate, much can be discovered about the gods in terms of character and importance as well as Sophocles’ view on cosmic order which leads into the development of one’s own view on cosmic order.