Fate Vs. Freewill In Oedipus The King

“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” In other words, the connotation of this anonymous quote states that despite whatever one chooses to decide, the outcome of their choices and decisions will still result to their predetermined fate. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, demonstrates this statement throughout the play in the role of his tragic hero Oedipus. In the course of Oedipus’ actions of trying to escape his predestined fortune, his fate and flaws of being human played major roles to bring about his downfall.

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

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.

The question of whether our lives are controlled by fate or free will has always been around. This question will probably always be around due to not having the proper evidence that will tell us so. However, in the texts of The Odyssey, Oedipus the King, and Romeo and Juliet, they emphasize the large impact that fate has on the characters. In the text, Oedipus the King, Oedipus’ life is clearly controlled by fate.

The argument on whether freewill or fate governs the destinies of human beings has been the center piece of many great writings, such as the story of Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles. Oedipus was on top of the world living a life full of luxury and thought to be worthy of praise however he had a past unknown to him. For the past he knew was a complete lie everything he thought to be true was false. When his prophecy was revealed it set off a chain reaction of events out of freewill leading to his tragic downfall that he was too blind and arrogant to see. However these attempts at preventing his fate through actions of freewill ultimately led to his tragic fate becoming reality.

His troublesome nature blended with a terrible fate that was given to him by the god to complete the event. Oedipus was also fated to sleep with his own mother. Therefore, he completed his fate on the very moment he took the lost king of thebe’s wife as his wife by unaware of that she was his mother. He could’ve refused to marry the former king’s wife, however, here it seems that some of the decisions are controlled by destiny. One believes that Oedipus didn’t decline the offer, for it might be destined that

In the play of “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus, the new ruler of Thebes, receives the task to find the murderer of Laius, the former king. Throughout the course of the play, Oedipus learns of a prophecy and his inevitable fate. The prophecy states he will marry his mother and kill his father. Though he tries to deny his fate, he is lead to his inescapable downfall by being blinded and exiled from Thebes. In the play Oedipus is innocent, but the gods have predetermined his fate by manipulating what he perceives as

Oedipus lived a life full of lies and misfortune. It was fate that Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus was told he was going to kill his father and marry his mother. The actions of others guided his life to where it ended up. As much as he tried to get rid of the fate he had since he was born, there was nothing anybody could do.

Oedipus’ destiny or fate had little to do with his downfall. The prophet told Oedipus that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, but the prophet never mentioned Oedipus murdering Laius on the highway, or solving the Sphinx’s riddle, or accepting and taking advantage of his kingship. Oedipus blinding himself was an example of free will, “for he removed from…[Jocasta’s] garment the golden brooches which she was wearing…” by choice “…and struck the sockets of his own eyes..” blinding himself Free will and hubris, according to the ancient Greeks, were separate from unavoidable fate. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother. However, everything else, including fleeing Corinth, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, and finally pursuing the truth about his life, was by his own free will, a direct result of his ego and pride. Oedipus Rex is a story about the dangers of pride and arrogance, one teaching about the importance of humility and tolerance, and one stressing about the control of hubris, a potentially perilous quality that destroyed Oedipus’s vision and his life.

The tragedy of Oedipus Rex exemplifies the corruption of the higher classes and the differing values of the Athenian society. The play represents the enduring themes of the flawed nature of humanity as well as the limits of free will. Oedipus, the new king sought to prevent the disturbing prophecy from occurring, in the processes accidently fulfilling the inevitable; murdering his father and marrying his mother. Through the twisting plot of the play emerged with themes that defined the era, the beliefs and ideas of the Athenians are shown in the ideas of corruption, knowledge, and fate.

The saga of Oedipus begins long before the setting of the play takes place. It begins with a prophet, who tells Jocasta and Laius—the king and queen of Thebes at the time—that their son is destined to slay his father and bear children with his mother. To keep this sinful event from happening, they sent the baby away to be abandoned and killed. However, the messenger took pity on the baby and gave it to a shepherd of King Polybus, and the boy was adopted into royalty. When the boy came of age he was told the same fate that had been told to his birth parents. Fearing his adoptive father’s life, he exiled himself from the land. On his journey, he met King Laius, though not knowing it him, at a symbolic location: a crossroad. This emphasizes that it was Oedipus’ decision to kill Laius and travel to Thebes, but was that decision out of free will? Throughout Oedipus Rex, Sophocles employs several examples of a theme of predestined fate determined by the gods such as Oedipus inevitably killing his father, marrying his mother, and then having children with her.

Oedipus exercises his free will as he makes the decision to run away, yet this decision to run leads him to the crossroads where he meets King Laius and kills him. If Oedipus had not heard the prophecy by Apollo at Delphi, there is a possibility that he would not have reached the crossroads at the same time as his biological father and would not have killed him there. It is after his encounter at the crossroads that Oedipus reaches Thebes and is given the position of king after he solves the riddle of the Sphynx, a creature that was terrorizing the town. He marries the queen, his biological mother, and unknowingly fulfills the prophecy.

Oedipus fell victim to the chaotic brainstorming set forth by fate. Predisposed destiny cannot be altered, no matter who it affects. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus murdered his father, fathered his own siblings, and married his own mother. The crazy sequence that occurred for those events to line up called for some tremendous destiny and will, apart from the one of Oedipus. The tragedy that happens to Oedipus is the result of a calamitous inevitable destined purpose.

The idea of fate has always had a special request in religion and in the philosophical thinking. A person’s life is fully controlled by fate or destiny. It is fate which can help a man in gaining fortune. The proof that the fate controls everyone’s life is that some people fail to gain phenomenal results even though they keep on trying. Fate is the master of each and everything. At some point of time every individual has to bow down to fate and has to understand that his life is controlled by fate. In the play Oedipus Rex, by Socrates , Oedipus is quick in solving the riddle of Sphinx, but slow in solving the fate of his own identity. As the play opens, a strange plague has threaten the city of Thebes. Many people are dying, and they ask Oedipus