How Does Oedipus Control His Own Destiny

His behaviour largely impacts his life when it causes him to make rash decisions, such as killing King Lauis at the crossroads without knowing it is his father. During a conversation, Oedipus opens up to Jocasta about the fateful day at the crossroads and explains to her the events that transpired “He paid with interest for his temerity; / Quick as lightning, the staff in his right hand / Did its work; he tumbled headlong out of the carriage, / And every man of them there I killed.” (48). Oedipus acts quickly to kill the men at the crossroads since he feels disrespected by King Lauis’ and their small, unpleasant encounter. By killing the men without even thinking about it, Oedipus’ impetuous behaviour causes him to unknowingly kill his true father. Oedipus kills the men without first even trying to find out who they are or their purpose in the area, which emphasizes just how quickly he took action against them. Oedipus displays very impetuous behaviour in his actions causing him problems in the

One day, Oedipus went to the Oracle of Delphi and found out that he was destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus tried to escape his fate by running away from Corinth, leaving who he thought were his real parents. However, he ended up running right into his real father. He saw a group of people riding a chariot at the crossroads and assumed that they were thieves. Laois happened to be one of them, and Oedipus killed him not knowing that he was his real dad. This is important since Oedipus fulfilled part of the prophecy. Oedipus remembered about his encounter with the chariot near the end of the play and said, “But he more than paid for it and soon was struck by the scepter from this very hand, lying on his back, at once thrown out of the car. I killed them all” (Sophocles, 39). Quite soon, he also won the throne of Thebes by answering the riddle of the Sphinx and unknowingly married Iocaste, his real mother.

“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.

The plot of Oedipus the King, a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles, revolves around several prophecies. A plague has stricken Thebes, and Oedipus discovers that the plague will only end when the murder of King Laius has been caught. Additionally, another prophecy states that the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta would kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus vows to the citizens of Thebes that he will find the murderer, but as the plot develops, Oedipus comes to the realization that he himself was the murderer that he had been seeking. There are several scenes in Oedipus the King that incorporate violence, and these violent scenes are a critical aspect of the play because they contribute to the development of the plot; the use of violence, whether verbal or physical, also enhances our understanding of the characters’ personalities and/or emotions.

In Oedipus the King, one of Sophocles’ most popular plays, Sophocles clearly depicts the Greek’s popular belief that fate will control a man’s life despite of man’s free will. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Throughout Oedipus the King, the concept of fate and free will plays an integral part in Oedipus' destruction.

In Oedipus the King all three characters: Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius are all seen as tragic figures and victims of Fate. Throughout the play, characteristics of free will are what brought the destruction and downfall of each of these characters. It was Oedipus’s pursuit of knowledge and identity, Jocasta’s arrogance of the prophecy, and Laius and Jocasta’s attempt to avoid the prophecy by killing Oedipus that led to their tragic endings. It how these feuding concepts of Fate vs Freewill mix together that make up the Greek Tragedy. Sophocles Ultimately ends Oedipus the King with the belief that free willed decisions and actions cannot overcome and defeat fate.

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.

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.

Fidel Castro once said “Men do not shape destiny, Destiny produces the man for the hour.” A man is only a man, he is not a god nor omniscient, he can not control or shape his future but he can influence it by his choices. Men have gone mad chasing their destiny and trying to sway their future. Example of this is Oedipus, who is a mythical Greek king of Thebes. Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophesy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, therefore bringing disaster to his city and family. “Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all” -Alexander the Great

Human beings have great knowledge capability and can demonstrate incredible powers of intellectual penetration and awareness. However, it is unreliable and limited because even the smartest human being will commit an error. King Oedipus means to show that human beings are powerless before the gods because they are the ones that created us and sort of path our journey on Earth. Disaster and error can happen to anyone and human beings must have the best attitude toward life (Sparknotes).

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.

In Oedipus the King, Oedipus can be considered to be the tragic hero of the play. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero holds that the tragic hero is “a person who is neither perfect in virtue or justice, nor one who will fall into misfortune through vice or depravity, but rather, on who succumbs through some miscalculation” (Brown). Aristotle also believed that the tragic hero’s misfortune or demise was not “wholly deserved” and that the punishment would exceed the crime that he or she committed (“Aristotle”). The tragic hero’s fall was also meant to serve as an allegory and intended to “raise awareness [or] gain self-knowledge” (“Aristotle”). In many cases, the tragic hero’s fall is due to a tragic flaw that serves as a catalyst for his or her demise. In other cases, supernatural forces help to cause the tragic hero to fall (“Tragedy: The Basics”). In the case of Oedipus, it is King Laius that initiates the conflict between himself and Oedipus who retaliates against the king and kills him in self-defense. When Oedipus is told the truth, he cannot understand what has happened, which is a direct result of being lied to about his biological parents. When Oedipus is finally able to piece together the fragmented facts that

Destiny and fate both play a similar role in this play. These are two crucial themes that are central to the play; they have a devastating impact on the story line and unleash terror on the characters. Fate is one of the opposition elements of the play that is influenced by one’s own action but ultimately is dictated by events beyond anybody’s control. By elevating the importance of fate, Sophocles suggests that characters cannot be fully responsible for their actions, but instead, they are unaware that their destiny is controlled by a supreme power. These two main themes cause tragedy and despair to many characters, however, the most affected one is King Oedipus.

The downfall of Oedipus displays to the Greek people that as individuals, they can never overcome their fate. Furthermore, the play encourages the Greeks to have immense loyalty towards the Gods and the State as a whole. Specifically, Oedipus believes he is better than both Gods and men, and acts as such, but he ultimately falls to tragedy. This indicates that no individual Greek can overcome or anticipate future events. For instance, Sophocles himself states: “Fear? What has a man to do with fear? Chance rules our lives, and the future is all unknown. Best live as we may, from day to day.” Therefore, by illustrating the story of a man who thought he avoided fate ultimately being the cause of his own downfall, this encourages Greek citizens to submit themselves to a predetermined fate. Moreover, literary critic Peter J. Ahrensdorf writes, “For if so great a man can fall so far and can be led to commit such horrible crimes, what hope can we have to lead happy or decent lives?”(Ahrensdorf 166). This passage delves into the fear that Oedipus creates, in that if the great Oedipus has no control over his fate, how can any other being. Further, in his essay, Ahrensdorf writes that Oedipus provides a sort of rational political state, where humans accept that they have no control over their own destiny, and thus commit themselves to the state and the

Out of all Greek Tragedies, “Oedipus Rex” or “Oedipus the King” is the most done production throughout history, especially nowadays. Sophocles wrote a clear and powerful play that the audience receives a clear message of power, knowledge. fate and free will. The protagonist, Oedipus, has freedom of choosing his fate, however his lust for truth and knowledge over clouds his mind to see things clearly from the beginning and that activates a snowball effect that he could not have predicted. Thus, Sophocles suggests that humans cannot be fully responsible for their actions. Also, those who seek knowledge it is useless to gain happiness.