Free Will In Oedipus The King And The Adjustment Bureau

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.

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.

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.

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.

Throughout all of history, a common theme found in literature has been the idea of whether or not humans have the ability to determine their own futures or if each person has their life predetermined and nothing can be done to change that. The ancient Greeks were no different, and the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles has this idea intertwined throughout the entire plot. The play revolves around a king named Oedipus who rules over the land of Thebes. Oedipus deals with a prophecy about him that he does all he can to avoid, but in doing so he inadvertently causes his fate to become reality. The play “Oedipus the King” demonstrates the fate versus freewill conflict based on how Ancient Greek culture viewed prophecy, and Oedipus’s prophecy and his attempt to prevent it which was ultimately unsuccessful.

The main character in “ The Oedipus Plays Of Sophocles” written by Sophocles is a story about the dreadful fate of Oedipus. In the story Oedipus willingly kills his father thinking he was just an ordinary man, but this event sealed his fate because the Gods warned Oedipus of this event but he refused to believe it. These plays show that fate is unchangeable, and sometimes fate is disguised as free will. Fate is unchangeable.

People, historically, have thought that fate and free will are intertwined and play equally important roles in one’s life, but this does not apply to ancient Greek thought. For instance, Sophocles, a Greek tragedy playwright, and the Greeks at his time believed that a person’s destiny was foreordained before birth, decided by the triple goddesses called the Fates, or Moirai. In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, the topic of fate is treated thoroughly among its characters, specifically as related to the protagonist, Oedipus. Oedipus, when attempting to solve the mystery of King Laius’ death in order to resolve the plague of Thebes, found out the truth about his own fate, which was to commit patricide and fall into an incestuous relationship with

In Sophocles’, Oedipus the King, fate and free will are two prominent themes presented. Often times the main character in a story is given a predetermined fate from the moment they are born, and feels inclined to live up to it or avoid it- taking away their free will. Immediately, Oedipus’ fate is decided by the Gods, but there is also an aspect of free will. Throughout the whole play, we see how Oedipus decides on how he wants to approach his fate decided by the Gods. One may argue that there was no free will in mythology and just fate, but in Oedipus, we see aspects of both themes.

Oedipus’s flawed short-tempered and angry personality trait is one of the many ways he dooms himself to make rash decisions by free will. The best example of Oedipus’s rage can be observed when he kills his father Laius, saying, “‘I strike[ed] him in anger,’” (Fagles 891) revealing his only true motive for the murder: his annoyance with the late king. While most people would be likely to move out of harm’s way and allow the king to pass, Oedipus made a scene and certainly let his emotions get the best of him. The actions of Oedipus resulted in him being driven “‘...out of the land at once, far from sight…”

Over a longer period of time, people can start to depict whether it is in the characters fate or free will is going to get the best of that particular character. However, it seems like Oedipus has a choice whether we wants to stab his eyes out, or look at Simon, who did not have a choice when he ends up in the field staring at the Lord of the Flies. Both of these events are considered to end up being the downfall of both civilizations and leads to tragedy. To start things off, throughout the entire story of Oedipus it makes references that Oedipus can not see and struggles when the truth can appear right in front of his eyes. Oedipus does not realize that he is the killer of his own father and he tries to find the killer throughout the

Ancient Greek Theatre began in Athens, Greece. At religious festivals, the Greek performed plays of tragedy in open-air amphitheaters in honor of their Greek gods and more importantly in support of their religious beliefs. As displayed in the play Oedipus the King, fate is the main theme. Moreover, free will plays an immense significance regarding his fate throughout the play. Prophesied at birth, Oedipus, born to King Laius and Jocasta, unknowingly one day is to kill his father and marry his mother.

If there is a god, man hates him. How could he not? He was born and raised under an illusion in which he believed that he possessed freewill, but in time he learns that all of his actions that did not align with the will of his creator were gravely punished. Sophocles’ trilogy of Theban plays showcases this ideal in that any character that tries to act independently apart from the gods of Olympus only lives a life of tragedy, and furthermore Sophocles asks his audience if freewill is a curse rather than a blessing.

The underlying theme in Oedipus Rex is that fate is more powerful than free will. On this strong basis of fate, free will doesn't even exist. This was a popular belief among the ancient Greeks.  Fate may be accepted or denied by modern society, but in Oedipus's story, fate proves inevitable. In the play, Oedipus Rex, the characters Oedipus, Iocaste and Laios try to change fate.