Fate In The Kite Runner And Oedipus Rex By Sophocles

Over the centuries, the concept of fate is constantly being changed to adapt to our current way of living. In modern times the concept of fate is usually connected to the themes of love and romance. However the ancient Greeks recognized fate as an inescapable reality that shaped their lives. The famous playwright, Sophocles, adopts the idea of fate in his plays to control the character’s actions. In both plays, “Oedipus the King” and “Antigone”, the writer uses the concept of fate to show human’s inability to conquer the will of the gods.

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.

It is amazing how two literary works from different time periods and different cultures can portray the same theme. A major theme in both The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex is the limits of free will. The way Khaled Hosseini portrays the theme in The Kite runner is the way that the majority of Pashtuns treat the Hazaras, they are either treated as objects that people can do whatever they want with, they are treated as second class citizens or they are servants to the Pashtuns. In Oedipus Rex, the way that the theme is portrayed is that Oedipus is bound to a prophecy that he heard when he was a child.

Although Oedipus’s fate was already determined, he is not just a mere puppet of the gods, meaning he can control his own life. Before full knowledge of his unintentional incest, he tries to flee town in order to avoid marrying his mother. By doing this he is taking matters

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 is a man of unflagging determination and perseverance, but one who must learn through the working out of a terrible prophecy that there are forces beyond any man’s conceptualization or control. Oedipus’ actions were determined before his birth, yet Oedipus’ actions are entirely determined by the Gods who control him completely. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. He tried to escape Corinth when he learned of the prophecies that were supposed to take place in his life. Instead, he

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.

Everything in life happen for a reason and there is nothing that can change the past. Events that have happened in the past tend to influence the future. In The Kite Runner hassan gets rapped as a young child when his best friend could have helped prevented it, but then his best friend Amir feels guilty and tries to make it up to him. In Oedipus Rex Oedipus is told he will murder his father and marry his mother and does this without knowing and he tries to prevent this but cannot. Both The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex display the theme of fate throughout both stories while using it in different ways and the significance of the theme in both stories is different too.

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.

Next, both Hosseini and Sophocles used the theme to fascinate the readers. Amir’s choice ultimately caused him nothing but tragedy, for his friendship with Hassan is fading and his lust for punishment has led him to “hit him [Hassan] with [a] pomegranate”, so that in turn Hassan would punish him, so that he may “finally sleep at night”, yet Amir’s selfishness still overpowers his life, which magnifies the reader’s interest (Hosseini 92). Amir’s need to destroy himself is not only heartrending but painful. His need at self-destruction absorbs the reader’s full attention and makes them crave more. Sophocles used the theme for the exact same purpose, yet he wanted to emphasize it for greater interest. Oedipus’s choice to discover his birth has

With support on both sides, the concept of free will versus a predetermined fate is a debate that began centuries ago. This issue is also prevalent within both The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The main characters in the books, Amir, and Oedipus, have trouble accepting the truth and possess the tendency to run from reality. Both characters also have to deal with the burden of guilt and the consequences of their actions. Although the authors integrate common themes within their works, their angles differ. Oedipus Rex includes a more literal sense of fate, with a prophecy; however, The Kite Runner includes a more abstract version of the meaning of fate. In Hosseini’s and Sophocles’ books, the plot is driven by the character’s sins, and how they deal with the consequences of their wrongdoings, ultimately, fate decided their destiny. Both works have the common themes of the inevitability of fate and the consequences of sin.

Sophocles is the author of the famous play, “Oedipus the King”. In case you did not know, Sophocles is from Greece. In Greek mythology there are three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans. Each person 's destiny was thought of as a thread spun, measured, and cut by the three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. In the story “Oedipus the King” fate and destiny was the main theme. On Google the definition of destiny is the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future. Fate is defined as, the development of events beyond a person 's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. In this paper I will be analyzing the story to help you understand the significance of destiny and fate to the story.

Reading through three related stories, we discover different motifs denoting author’s thought in different time.Without any doubt, the tragic essence goes through the Three Theban Plays. As Sophocles meditates the philosophy of the tragedy all along his life, the tragic essence expands from individuals in a society. The conflict in each play becomes increasingly complicated. In Antigone, we can clearly distinguish the conflict between Antigone and Creon, family and politics. However, in Oedipus at Colonus, the play merges all the conflicts happened to former plays and enhances the theme of the story. The later part of this trilogy, especially the ending of Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus, reveals a darker and deeper phenomenon of Thebes and projects it to Oedipus. The prophet plays important role of forming the story line and tragic image of Oedipus, but the root causing the series of tragedy of the characters is not gods’ command. It is degeneration of people, which is pathetic to humanity. Finally, after suffering from family complex and exile, Oedipus is not only a victim of the society, but also the reflection of the twisted humanity of Thebes.

Within each separate work of literature, the protagonists make decisions to commit atrocities, therefore exercising their right of free will. In Oedipus Rex, the protagonist, Oedipus, murders a carriage full of men. He does so autonomously, therefore committing a sin, murder, ultimately becomes impure and losing his innocence through his own actions. Years later, Hosseini’s protagonist, Amir, exemplifies internal conflict that turns into moral corruption as he witnesses his childhood friend, Hassan, being physically abused and decides to standby, instead of stepping in to save him, he runs away and admits, “I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt,” and despite his self-acknowledgment of being

Charles Darwins theory about Survival of the Fittest outlines the idea of human nature through evolution, which is a relevant concept in both Oedipus Rex and The Kite Runner. Natural law is defined as, “a body of unchanging moral principles regarded as a basis for all human conduct.” The unchanging moral principle, humans demonstrate as a basis for all human conduct is based on personal ethics. Humans will transgress against natural law, due to one's stance on ethics. Social transgression is ubiquitous and will remain ubiquitous until humans evolve to a higher level and raise above humanity. The human evolution according to science did not yet reach the apex of Charles Darwin theory. Human nature has not changed from the time of the ancient Greeks to the present time, one can draw this knowledge from reading both The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex. Humanity is merely stuck inside a continuum searching for harmony between two opposites in a world of civic evolution. Oedipus and Amir the protagonists share the common nature of inhumanity although go on to gain redemption and seek harmony for the sin or sins which have long perpetuated their lives.