The Role Of Free Will In Oedipus The King

Fate is the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. It is a very common theme used in literature. We’ve seen examples from stories such as: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Iliad. We’ve been reading Oedipus the King written by Sophocles. My main thesis that I would be talking about is if: Oedipus was actually a victim of fate, or did he deserve what he got.

Oedipus is not responsible for his own destiny because Jocasta and Laius are his birthers, he had no decision in being born. Jocasta and Laius didn’t believe the warning the Oracle gave them so they took every warning with a grain of salt. They ended up having Oedipus, against

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.

Free Will in Oedipus the King 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’ destiny or fate had little to do with his downfall. The prophet told Oedipus that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, but the prophet never mentioned Oedipus murdering Laius on the highway, or solving the Sphinx’s riddle, or accepting and taking advantage of his kingship. Oedipus blinding himself was an example of free will, “for he removed from…[Jocasta’s] garment the golden brooches which she was wearing…” by choice “…and struck the sockets of his own eyes..” blinding himself Free will and hubris, according to the ancient Greeks, were separate from unavoidable fate. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother. However, everything else, including fleeing Corinth, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, and finally pursuing the truth about his life, was by his own free will, a direct result of his ego and pride. Oedipus Rex is a story about the dangers of pride and arrogance, one teaching about the importance of humility and tolerance, and one stressing about the control of hubris, a potentially perilous quality that destroyed Oedipus’s vision and his life.

It’s an early morning and you’ve just brought in the newspaper. Flipping to the horoscope section right away, scanning over your daily predictions in hope of a good day and lucky for you, the horoscope says you’ll run into ‘the one’ today. Even though many others have received the same fortune, you still believe it to be true because the paper said it was going to be destiny. Can you believe that thousands of years ago, people still believed in destiny? Way back in ancient Greece, they didn’t exactly call it a horoscope but their version of destiny was brought to them by Oracles. A popular Greek play that represents the Greek’s belief in oracles is Oedipus the King. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles demonstrates a variety of literary devices such

Fate refers to an occurrence that uncontrollably befalls a person. The Oracle Prophesies at Delphi dooms Oedipus prior to his birth; by prophesying that Oedipus would marry his mother and kill his father. Oedipus learns about this prophecy, and lands on this fate because of his arrogance. He makes a quest for the truth about his father, because he does not know about his origin. This forms a platform for the occurrence of the Oracle prophecies. He eventually marries his mother and kills his father as prophesized by the Oracle. But was this uncontrollable? Was it not obvious that Oedipus unwittingly murdered his father, King Laius of Thebes, at a crossroad? Then as he married the king 's widow, Oedipus also wed his own mother, fulfilling the double fate of parricide and incest foretold about him. Kurt Fosso argues that “Resisting fate, One could argue that Oedipus 's

Fate and free will are two topics that are often questionable because they go hand in hand. Fate is a belief that a certain event is said to happen, then that person's choice and free will lead them to what has been predicted as inevitable. Knowing whether something is fate’s fault or the fault of the person who’s going to enact the said action, is one question that has never been fully answered. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare's Macbeth, fate is determined by their own choices and free will, the character Macbeth knows of what lies ahead of him, making him alter the present to create his idealistic future, however instead he lives a life of ruins. As for Oedipus his entire actions are based on one prophecy he desperately

Are people responsible for their actions or is it fate? Is fate inescapable? A person's fate is the events that are destined to happen to them. Fate is decided the moment someone is born. People cannot change their fate and it is unavoidable. Throughout the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, the hero, Oedipus often tries to run away from what he is destined to do only because of his ignorance to his situation. Throughout the entire play, the conflict of Man versus Fate is often seen as everyone tries to avoid what is fated upon them.

Section II: Counterarguments Free Will and Hamartia Counterargument #1: P. H. Vellacott for Free Will Many classicists believe that Oedipus’s fall is due to his Free will and the decisions he makes. Those who hold this belief hold that Oedipus made his own decisions, which is what led to his fall and that he was not compelled by some external source. P. H. Vellacott is a strong supporter of this theory. As such, in his famous essay, “The Guilt of Oedipus,” Vellacott argues that, factually speaking, Oedipus must have at one point thought to himself, “If the man I killed was my father, and if I overcome the Sphinx and marry the queen, the oracle will be exactly fulfilled, and I shall have only myself to blame,” (Vellacott 213). In other words, Oedipus, knowing the prophecy given to him, must have understood the risk he was taking in possibly fulfilling the prophecy.

It has been reiterated time and time again in Greek literature that fate is an unavoidable force in the universe. No matter how many precautions one may take, fate will always find a way to catch up to them and fulfill its prophecies. In the case of Oedipus the King, the idea of choice plays a role in helping fate to carry out Oedipus’ destiny. Due to the choice of the shepherd to spare Oedipus from perishing as a child, his prophecy could still be fulfilled, showing that fate is a strong enough force that it will cause choices to be made so that it can be carried out.

In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, the irony of fate brings the downfall of Oedipus. Fate, in this story affects three specific characters. The gods have already decreed Oedipus and Jocasta’s fate even before they know it. Their fate was in fact decreed the day they were born, and trying to avoid seems to have been pointless.

Fate – some believe in it, others do not. Ever since the beginning of time, prophecies have been passed down from the gods to oracles – these messages were worshipped and fate was always seen as fact, something that cannot be avoided. In the play, “Oedipus the King”, fate is shown to be the underlying reason for why Oedipus becomes victim to events that he cannot control. When Oedipus is summoned to an oracle and told that he will eventually kill his own father and marry his mother, he is distraught and tries to go against his own fate. Oedipus, though, has already fallen victim to these harsh circumstances set forth by the Greek Gods, and this play is able to show that no matter what Oedipus chooses to do, he can never outrun his fate.

Oedipus’s fate was partly human action and partly intervention of the gods. I say that it was partly human actions and not Oedipus’s own actions because actions of other had to do with his fate such as his parents, Jocasta and Laius, abandoning him as a small child.

Humanity: Human beings have great knowledge capability and can demonstrate incredible powers of understanding, reasoning 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).