The Use of Chance in Oedipus vs. Chronicle of a Death Foretold

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?

Macbeth and Oedipus the King, are well known play. The plays are from different time period yet they both have similar plots that center on a concept of characters fates are inescapable. Both characters fore¬seen directly and indirectly their destiny and unavoidably comes true. In Macbeth, the three witches tell Macbeth that he would become king and it becomes a reality in his mind and follows that goal until it was accomplish. Likewise, in Oedipus the King, Oedipus finds his fate that he would one day kill his own biological father and marry his own birth mother; he tries to escape his destiny yet he was unable to. At the end, Oedipus says “I am agony…My Destiny, my dark power, what a leap you made” (Sophocles, pg. 238). Nevertheless, these two literatures presents two characters who have a predestine future, which they accomplish.

Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, tells us about a tragic hero (Oedipus) in which his life is predetermined by fate, because he is deprived of free will. The first act of fate on Oedipus was him being saved by a shepherd when his parents (Queen Jocasta and King Laius) left him in the mountains to die, he then met and killed his father without knowing who he was, and last, he married Queen Jocasta, later realizing that she was his mother. Every action that Oedipus took to prevent his fate, would soon be the ultimate downfall, not only for himself, but for his family and the people of Thebes.

Foreshadowing supports the central idea because in the text Oedipus says something that is foreshadowing another scene later in the story Oedipus says “I may suffer all those things i’ve just called down upon the killers.” (Sophocles 11) He says this to show people that he means it when he says that he is going to find the killer and punish him. Therefore if the killer turns out to be him or if he helped in the murder in anyway possible then he will also

In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, the idea of fate and destiny is brought to the forefront of the play. The idea of fate is incredibly prevalent in the play and drives a significant amount of the plot. The most important example of fate in the play is the prophecy that Oedipus is doomed to follow. The prophecy that Oedipus is supposed to fall victim to is revealed to the audience by Teiresias, a paraphrasing of the prophecy is “he’ll have no joy of the discovery: blindness for sight and beggary for the riches his exchange, he shall go journeying to a foreign country tapping his way before him with a stick. He shall be proved father and brother both to his own children in his house; to her that gave him birth, a son and husband both; a fellow sower in his father’s bed with that same father that he murdered” (Sophocles, 504-513). Even though, many of the seeds of this

Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is a play that has stood the test of time mainly due to the important themes it explores. The main theme being man’s vain struggle against the all-powerful will of the gods. Whereas ancient cultures believed in fate and a preordained path for humankind, modern culture is based on the idea of free will with the notion that every individual is free to choose between right and wrong, good or evil. This has become the basis by which each member of society is judged. There is, however, philosophers and scientists who have posited that we do not really have free will; that our destiny is set in stone. The play is a good platform to explore fate versus free will.

In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the topics of fate and free will are exceptionally solid all through the play and. Both focuses could be contended to extraordinary impact. In old Greece, fate was thought to be a simple piece of everyday life. Each part of life depended and was based upon fate. It is nature conviction to accept that humankind does in reality have Free will and every individual can choose the result of his or her life. All Oedipus actions are given to him by God So, fate and free will control his downfall.

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 classic Greek literature the theme of a tragic hero is prominent. In Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, the protagonist falls victim of being a tragic hero. Events within the text lead readers to question Sophocles’ implementation of fate and free will. This key philosophical question poses a conflict between the prophecy of Oedipus’s life and the decisions he makes once told about the prophecy. If Oedipus was able to make independent decisions such as gouging his eyes out, (an event not told about in the prophecy) could he have made decisions to go against his predetermined fate? In the same regard, is Oedipus a victim of his fate or could his choices have impacted the overall fortune his life? Sophocles leaves the ideas up to the interpretation of the reader. Tragic irony plays a role in the interpretation of these ideas. Briggs defines tragic irony as when “a character’s words carry a deeper and more sinister meaning for the audience than the character speaking intends them to impart” (Briggs par. 19). This concept supports

Greeks believed strongly in the influence of fate and the idea that the invisible power of the gods have control over one’s future. Fate is the central theme in Oedipus the King and this tragic play demonstrates how human lives are destined to take a certain path. E.R. Dodd writes: that “Oedipus Rex is a tragedy of destiny. . .the play proves that man has no free will but is a puppet in the hands of gods who pull strings to make him dance” (37). In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses foreshadowing, symbolism, and dramatic irony as he reveals to his audience the lesson that a person cannot escape their predestined fate.

The events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, suggesting a connection between man 's free will towards perfection in life or fate which the ancient Greeks believed that Gods had given to them. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Both the concepts of fate and free will are a poignant factor and they play an indispensable role in the Oedipus ' destruction. Oedipus was a victim of fate when he was predicted from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father. This prophecy as a warning by the oracle of Apollo, and it certainly will happen, no matter what he would do to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, it was decided by his own will.

Fate is not left to chance because everything happens for a reason. Forcing the hand of fate carries significant and tragic consequences. The plays of, “Macbeth”, by Shakespeare and “Oedipus”, by Sophocles share a common theme - fate. Both main characters, Macbeth and Oedipus, attempt to outwit fate.

Greek mythology is such an interesting genre of stories. They let the audience, or reader, know what happens in the plot before the actual story takes place. In this Greek tragedy, the main character is in conflict with himself and has a wicked twist of ethics with fate itself. The story of Oedipus is one of the greatest Greek stories in history; Oedipus is a tragic hero in a classic Greek tragedy.

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King tells the story of a king who is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Kurt Fosso, author of “Oedipus Crux: Reasonable Doubt in Oedipus the King” explores the theory of determinism in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy. In contrast, P.H. Vellacott leans toward a fatalistic point of view in his article, “The Guilt of Oedipus.” Personally, in the case of Oedipus, free will was an illusion as he was ultimately doomed to fulfill the prophecy.