Freewill In Oedipus The King

As the play proceeds and Oedipus is passed from hand to hand, he eventually ends up in the home of King Polybus and Queen Merope were he grows into a young man being fed the lie that they were his true parents. When Oedipus is told the prophecy that he will kill his father he flees in an attempt to avoid the murder. However, as fate would have it he ran to a crossroad where he fulfilled the prophecy killing King Laius, his true father. While Oedipus continues to run he meets Jocasta, his birth mother, whom he eventually marries and has children with. If Jocasta had kept Oedipus as a baby and raised him or just killed him herself there would have been no chance of the prophecy coming true.

Oedipus made the decisions he did because fate told him what to just as Therisias said when he prophesized about the fore comings when they investigated the death of Oedipus’s father. In the end fate wins and Oedipus losses everything he had. Even though he was a great leader and savior it didn’t make up for the fact that his ego and pride exceeded himself and rubbed to many people the wrong way including the gods. He was given suitable punishment for all that he has done. Fate proved to be the formidable victor and many arguments can be made that maybe it was his decisions and the repercussions of his actions but that is not the case because with all the evidence I have proven, it shows that destiny had a play in there lives and the outcome was as formidable as Oedipus’s

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

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

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

Oedipus constantly tries to flee his fate and avoid the prophecy, if he had not been so determined to challenge the Gods, his fate could have been different. Perhaps, he was cursed and had to achieve the prophecy because he was trying to escape his destiny. He plays god throughout the play he curses himself without knowing and tries to run away from reality of knowing that he might not get far. Oedipus pushes his free-will to the next level by accusing Tiresias of treason, Oedipus and Jocasta are doubtful of his prophecy. Jocasta tells Oedipus that a previous prophecy that Tiresias revealed didn’t come true and what he was saying is false. They have made the Gods angry with them at that point because of the distrust they had for the almighty. When Oedipus learns the truth about his fate he gouges his eyes out, this act would be a curse from Tiresias because he was blind

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.

In trying to run from this prophecy, did he really do anything any other person, given the culture, wouldn’t have done? Is Oedipus a victim of fate or is he responsible for the choices he makes?

“With free will comes consequences.”When your own free will you can wrong decisions very quickly and hurt you or someone else in the process. The choices you make can plan your life the opposite of they way you want to live them.The play is about a man named Oedipus who was the king of Thebes. They people of thebes are complaining to him about the plaque. They ask him to pray to the gods for help, so they do not die like the others died of sickness. The gods tell him he has to find the person who killed the king before him, King Laius. At the end of the story he figures out that Laius is his father and he killed him and that he married his mother. When he finds out that he caused his people so much pain he couldn’t bare to see so he stabbed his eyes out and his wife Jocasta hanged herself because she could not bear to live with the sorrow of marrying her son. By exercising his free will, Oedipus’ actions lead to his downfall.

It doesn’t matter how many cards you have or who you play with, it all depends on how you play them, free will can either make or break Oedipus. In the play, “Oedipus” by Sophocles the choices Oedipus makes throughout this tragedy determine the consequences he will face. Oedipus king of Thebes defeated the sphinx making the citizens love him. The riddle of the sphinx being “What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?” Oedipus answers correctly pleasing all the people (Sophocles pg 185).

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,

Oedipus rises as a hero, but eventually loses his power when he faithfully commits to terrible deeds. Jocasta, the wife and mother to Oedipus, doubts that the oracle of Apollo is genuine. Since she and her previous husband, King Laius, left Oedipus to die in the mountains, they refuse to believe the oracle. She claims that “ ..It was fate that he should die a victim at the hands of his own son, a son to be born of Laius and me. But, see now, he, the king, was killed by foreign highway robbers at a place where three roads meet” (Sophocles, 493: 791-796). Despite Jocasta and Laius’s intentions to change their fate, the prophecy remains unfeigned. The fact that Oedipus is alive even after being abandoned, is evidence that their fates are

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.

Fate and free will shows up in many stories, and plays a vital role in building up a character, or leading to their downfall. Fate and free will is a big theme in Oedipus Rex, and is the building bone to many of the characters lives. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus becomes king of Thebes. Before Oedipus came into power, the previous king of Thebes, Laius, was mysteriously murdered. A Sphinx came into power as the city had no king. However, Oedipus is able to save the city by answering the riddle told by the Sphinx, which no one else could figure out. The people of the city praise him for freeing them and Oedipus becomes king, and marries Jocasta. He is a strong and brave leader who is respected by the people of Thebes. However, after

Oedipus’s life and destiny was said to be set by the god’s, but together with his parent’s lies and his own ignorance, he brought upon his downfall foretold so long ago. It was only when he was born that a prophecy of Oedipus, who was to kill his father and marry his mother. Terrified and without much thought of the consequences, Iokaste and Laius abandoned the child to die. Oedipus did not die. Instead he became a strong and well respected prince, who believed his real parents were king and queen of Corinth. Oedipus’s adoptive parents kept him in the dark about his true identity. For this reason, when ignorant Oedipus hears of his prophecy, he runs away terrified. Ironically, on his journey away from home, he encounters his real father, Laius King of Thebes, which he kills due to an argument. Moreover, he goes on to become King of Thebes and husband of Iokaste, his biological mother. So, without realizing, the fate that Oedipus wanted to impede so badly occurs right before his eyes, showing that fate “lies within Apollo’s competence/As it is his concern” (Oed.