Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will

Equally important to the role of fate in bringing about the downfall of Oedipus is the human flaw of arrogance that clouded Oedipus’ intellect to reason. One can ultimately see this human flaw in the beginning of the play as he says “Here I am myself – you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (p 262, line 7-9). One day Oedipus heard someone say that he wasn’t his father’s son in which bothered him greatly and triggered his curiosity in whether Polybus and Merope were his biological parents. So, as a way to figure out his identity and true origins, he left to Delphi to see the Oracle. However, instead of answering Oedipus’ answer of who his true parents were, the Oracle told him of his fate that “You are fated to couple with your mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see – you will kill your father the one who gave you life” (p. 297, lines 873-875). Hence, his arrogance is clearly showed as he disregards the prophecy, similar to the actions of Laius and Jocasta by escaping it, as he abandons Corinth and sets forth to a place where he “would never see the shame of all those oracles come true” (p. 297, lines 879-880). His flaw of

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 by Sophocles, Oedipus is responsible for the tragedy of his downfall. Oedipus is presented with a series of choices throughout the play, and his arrogant and stubborn nature push him to impulsively make the wrong decisions, the decisions that ultimately lead him to his downfall. While Oedipus and those around him consider "fate" the source of Oedipus' problems, Oedipus' decisions show the audience that it is he who is responsible.

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.

First of all, when Oedipus was born his parents brought him out to the forest and tied his ankles together with rope and left him there to die. He was found by a shepherd who gave Oedipus to the king of Corinth Polybus, as the shepherd knew Polybus wanted a child. Oedipus had no memory of this as he was only a couple days old. Polybus raised him as his own for many years. They named him Oedipus because he had swollen feet from being tied up. He grew up in Corinth with his his new father and mother. He lived his whole life not knowing that his parents weren’t actually his parents. It was fate in the sense that he had no free will to decide whether he wanted to be

Aristotle’s argument that in a tragedy the protagonist must posses a tragic flaw that leads to his or her downfall, is what is shown in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus’s tragic flaw, that being anger and pride, not only lead to his downfall, but also lead to the death of those he cherished. His tragic flaw contributed immensely to the meaning of the work of a whole: fate and free will, since Oedipus’s pride and anger stopped him from accepting his fate. An example of a tragic flaw that led to the journey of Oedipus the king was in Oedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Aristotle when he is told by an old prophet “that he should kill his father and marry his mother.”

Can a person have control over his or her own fate? Humans have little authority of their lives because fate always catches up with them. In the play, “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles presents to readers a psychological murder mystery. Oedipus, Sophocles main character, attempts to escape fate not from pride or desire, but from a divine ambition to live without committing horrifying crimes. Sophocles work reflects major details that incorporate a tragic flaw, a tragic fall, and tragic realization for the tragic hero, Oedipus.

In Oedipus, the former king, Laios, was learned from an oracle that his unborn son would kill him. When Laios’s son was born, the king pierced and binded the baby’s feet and had his shepherd leave him on Mount Kithaeron to die. He did this to avoid fate. The baby, Oedipus, was rescued and then adopted by the king and queen of Corinth, Polybos and Merope. Oedipus grew up believing to be their son. Destiny was taking place.

In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles shows the viewer how an individual's free will does not alter the path created by fate. Oedipus full of hubris, temper and paranoia showed his free will trying to ultimately prevent fate, he leaves Corinth, curses the murderer of Laius leading him on the quest for the truth. All the decisions made also had other options but Oedipus followed the same process which will lead him to nemesis. The protagonist was destined from the beginning to end up killing his father and marrying his mother but the way he would do it was unclear. " god help you, Oedipus you were born to suffer, born to misery and grief" (Sophocles, line 1356-1358). Oedipus searches for the truth irrationally,

Sophocles ' play “Oedipus Tyrannus” is an enigma. His play includes incest, murder and self-enlightenment all leading into the main theme of fate. Athenians believed that fate is not left up to man, but that is provided solely on the whims of the gods. Because of his dramatic approach to his plays Sophocles was considered one of the most brilliant and creative writers of his time.

Like his parents to avoid this he fled from his parents the ones he thought was his true parents only to kill his real father. It was fate that led Oedipus to kill his father at the crossroads that day “the one shouldering me aside the driver, I strike him in anger! I killed them all every mothers’ son”. Instead of just stepping aside and letting the caravan go by he instead he stayed in the road. Was it fate that day or just his stubbornness that caused that fatal incident? Oedipus then becomes King of Thebes after he solves the riddle from the Sphinx’s. He would later marry the king’s wife who he would learn later that it was his mother. Was it fate that brought him to marry the late king's wife or was it a decision he made he did not have to marry the kings,

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

A motif in Oedipus Rex is the matter of fate and the amount of control that the characters have over their own. Fate, when used as a noun, is defined as events beyond a person's control, usually developed by supernatural beings. I think Sophocles’s work misused the word “fate”. Throughout this work, I believe the characters were trying to reconstruct their future, not their fate, since it’s inhumanly possible to do so even for the Greeks. Sophocles does demonstrate the human desire to control their future and ultimately accept the consequences through three characters; Oedipus, Jocasta and King Laius.