To What Extent Is Oedipus Free Or Fated?

Fate versus free will is the theme of Oedipus Rex. Some may view fate as the reason for all of the terrible things that happened to Oedipus. Others may see it the poor use of free will. In the end, it was the combination of both. As stated by President Thomas S. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, “You can’t change the wind, but you can adjust the

Fate vs Free Will as it relates to the character Oedipus OR Adam and Eve. Consider: behavior, outcomes, how the choices were made, or were the choices made for them?

Destined to marry his mother and murder his father, Oedipus was partly guided by fate. This prophecy, as warned by the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, was absolute and would inevitably come to pass. As for free will, Oedipus’ actions, temper, impulsive nature and pride (hubris) as well as his erroneous judgment (hamartia) all

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

There was an oracle told to Oedipus when he was younger that he would kill his father and wed his mother. Jocasta tells Oedipus that prophets are not correct all the time. She went on to tell him that she once bore a child to Laius, and Apollo told them that this child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. At that point Oedipus was scared because of the oracle told to him when he was younger. It is ironic that Oedipus could have this much guilt placed on him in this short amount of time. He replied to her, "As I listen, my queen, my thoughts went reaching out and touched on memories that make me shudder..."(lines, 759-760). Oedipus has just reacted to what Jocasta, his wife/mother, has told him. He is terrified because he believes that he may have been the one who killed Laius. Oedipus goes on to ask Jocasta multiple questions about who, what when and where this all happened. After every answered question Oedipus reacted with more and more grief. Every question showed more and more evidence that Oedipus had been the murderer of Laius. When the messenger

Neither his father, nor he could escape the tragedy, and fate showed how it could toy with the lives and emotions of mortal beings of the world. The characteristic traits of Oedipus lead his to follow the required sequence of events so as to make the prophecy come true to every word. Thus, it can be opined that his free will and choice blended with the fate that was ascribed to him by the Almighty right at the time of his birth. Thus, the undeniable transcendence of fate drives the course of the play by Sophocles. The prophecy that was made to King Laius and Jocasta is the greatest example that proves that no human effort can succeed in escaping fate.

The overall theme of Oedipus The King is free will being tainted by one’s fate. With the Gods choosing to give Oedipus the awful fate of patricide and incest, his own free will was ultimately useless, almost used as a taunting in the form of the non existent chance of him escaping his destiny. The play conveys the thought that man truly has no free will, and he is “merely a puppet in the hands of his Gods, they pull the strings that make him dance” (Dodds

Does fate control us or do we control fate? This question has been posed many times by numerous amounts of people. The struggle with answering this question is that one cannot know their effect on fate if that fate is not known. To combat the difficulties of answering this question directly one can look toward philosophy and literature to approach this question in a more direct manner. Through the philosophic ideologies presented in Epictetus’s Handbook and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, one can observe how to approach fate and free will. In addition, looking at the literature of Macbeth, Oedipus The Tyrant, and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative, one can analyze examples of the relationship between fate and free will. Taking these philosophic approaches and applying them to literary examples, one can see how fate merely establishes events in life while free will allows for change to it.

Fate and free will have been debated by philosophers for centuries. Do humans really have free will or is our fate deided? Do we have a choice in our actions. These are hard questions to answer but Oedipus had no say in his fate. Oedipus’ fate was predecided by Apollo and his ancestor, Cadmus. Oedipus’ destiny was fully decided by the gods before he was born allowing him no way to change it.

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

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 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.

In “Oedipus,” Sophocles writes about a man who is hunted down by his cruel fate, and whose life is ruined in attempt to run away from it. The ancient Greek perspective reflects on the matter of the story and how the god’s highly influence the lives of humans. This viewpoint basically shows the unbounded power the Greek gods have; by being the gods of destiny, and leaving man at a helpless position. Fate plays a massive role in the lives of humans and as was believed by the ancient Greeks, their lives were simply directed by a decision of gods and goddesses. Oedipus knew his fate set by a curse cast on him; however, even when being aware it is impossible to escape fate, he still attempted to run away from it. As the play progresses Oedipus begins to understand the unbearable truth as he states “I’ve called down a dreadful curse upon myself,” followed by a response “I simply didn’t know!” (1103). It is the will of the man to realize what is inevitable and what choice is. In the Ancient Greece, Gods were praised and worshiped and any command stated by them is the undecided future. Oedipus acting as a blinded man who did not know of such fact led him to his fate and ironically is what later led him to blind himself (Gould). When Oedipus stabs his eyes out with the

The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.

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