By definition fate is “the development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.” The key concept being the fact that events are beyond a person’s control. And if they are beyond our control, then how can anyone be held accountable for any crime they’ve committed or bad decision they’ve made. But if we throw the idea of fate out the window, then we are left with only free will controlling our lives. So in the story of Oedipus the King whether or not Oedipus is at fault for killing his father and sleeping with his mother is completely dependent on what side wins out in the battle of fate versus free will.
At Oedipus’s birth “There was an oracle once that came to Laius, and it told him that it was fate
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It wasn’t your fault you were spinning, but it was still you who overcorrected it and ran it off the road. So overall both of you contributed to your car being totalled and lying in a ditch, even if the other driver initiated the situation. Oedipus’s life played out essentially the same way. Oedipus may be the one who killed his father and slept with his mother, but it was the prophet who put the whole thing in motion. If King Laius and Jocasta hadn’t known of their son’s “fate” then they would’ve never have sent Oedipus away, and the whole story wouldn’t of happened. And if we’re not putting the blame on the prophet then the next up would be his parents because they are the ones who sent their son away to be killed in the first place. Then after them is the messenger for not killing him like his parents requested, and after that the shepherd who didn’t take Oedipus to a far away country like the messenger assumed he would but gave him to a family in a nearby town. So even if it can partially be blamed on Oedipus, the burden is not all his to bare.
So whether Oedipus is at fault or not depends totally on the existence of fate, and even if fate doesn’t exist and he decided on his own to do these things he can still only be held partially accountable because his story had been set in motion by many other people before
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
It is pretty awkward to see such a professional writer as Anne Lamott talk about first drafts with such praise. Her fourth paragraph actually makes me question my own process of writing. My writing process is pretty similar to her own, however, I tend to think that writing in such way is a sign of weakness as a writer. Even though I tend to have the same process, reading this article, confirm that my beliefs were wrong. Nevertheless, I have always believed that before writing you have to know the structure, the way things will flow, the coherence and the adequacy of your writing. However, after reading the article, I understood that “[...]all first drafts are terrible.Coherence and, yes, brilliance come from revision”(Anne).
On the 17th of July, 1996, 13 minutes in it's flight, Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA 800) crashed
Oedipus doesn’t realize the personal consequences his hunt for the murderer will have for him, and his loyalty to the truth is based on his ignorance. His pride, ignorance and unrelenting quest for the truth ultimately contributed to his destruction. An example is when Oedipus was told [after threatening Tiresias], that he was responsible for the murder of Laius. He became enraged and called the old oracle a liar. However, Oedipus thought he could outsmart the gods, but in fact, his every action moved him closer to the prophesy becoming a reality. Upon discovery of the truth of his birth from the herdsman, Oedipus cries, “O god all come true, all burst to light!/O light now let me look my last on you!/I stand revealed at last cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands”. (631). Oedipus knew that his fate had indeed come to pass and feels cursed by it. Oedipus was guilt, of killing his father and marrying his mother. He punishes himself for the sins he committed by gouging out his eyes. The true sin is when he attempts to raise himself to the level of the gods by trying to escape his fate. Oedipus is accepting the full burden of his acts and knows that he must be punished for his sins. Therefore, this last act of gouging out his eyes was the result of Oedipus’ free will and his tragic fate came about because every sin must
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.
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
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.
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.
All this is a big doubt in the history of this King, which his destiny was already written or all this happened to him through the fault of his actions. In my part I say that it was not a thing of the destination what I spend to him, Oedipus created his own suffering. I am saying this is because he caused her suffering and how is it said ‘’ [that] a man is responsible for what he did"(Thomas Gould 52). All this was by his own ignorance to kill his father and marry his own mother, ‘’ [so] Oedipus [was] responsible for his
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.
Should we blame Oedipus for everything that happened? Should the king be held responsible for Iocastê's death and his own suffering and shame? Indeed, the tragic hero is responsible for some circumstances that happened during the play. For an instance, he was directly connected to Lïons death. He did not control his own emotions and exploded in rage, fatally attacking the former Theban king and his few companions. This action itself was the initial step to his whole tragic fate. But his actions alone should not be considered as enough evidence to blame him if we take the whole context into account. According to the play, Oedipus fate was already set up by the Gods even before his birth. How the king could change and control his own destiny? How would he be able to change Gods' wishes? Up to which extent should Oedipus be responsible for the consequences of actions that, although he was part of them, he was unable to control? Oedipus was nothing rather than a key character used by Apollo who was the true architect of this whole tragedy.
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.
Talk about road rage! Oedipus is pushed out the way by a wagon, and he retaliates by killing almost everyone in the wagon, including his father! Sure, Oedipus was destined to kill his father anyway, but the manner in which he did so gives an insight into his demeanor. Oedipus could have killed his father in any number of ways, but to do so in a fit of rage set off by so seemingly trivial of an event is just not rational. Murder may not have been as big of a deal at that time, but if Oedipus had tried that in today’s world, he would have either been executed or have been spending the rest of his life in a mental institution. This incident goes to show that Oedipus is a very rash and impulsive man, and this carries over into his administration and decision-making.
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
In Greek literature, fate is defined as a predetermined event that cannot be changed by mortals or Gods. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is marked by his fate, living with the action of killing his own father and marrying his own mother, while eventually gouging out his eyes. However, Oedipus does not fear his fate; he believes that he is invincible to these prophecies. How does one go about escaping fate? Does one have any control over these predetermined events? Oedipus is a man in pursuit of answers, and the idea of his prophecy coming to fruition does not sit well with him. He does not even fully understand fate and how it is going to affect him until he experiences it. In fact, Throughout Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s lack of understanding fate and free will ultimately led him to his own demise.