Was Oedipus Doomed By Fate

The truth is that Oedipus was acting in self defense, as any man was bound to in the time frame the play is set. Oedipus was always meant to murder his father, and he did so unknowingly while protecting himself. Moving on, it is also suggested that Oedipus’ fatal flaw is his unshakeable pride, which is most notably showcased when he flees the kingdom of Corinth in order to find a loophole to the prophecy. Any morally correct person would try to avoid patricide and incest, and Oedipus had pure intentions fleeing Corinth, wishing to spare himself and his adoptive parents. All in all, Oedipus was innocent, and his demise was not caused by fatal flaws.

In the beginning of the story, Oedipus is very taken back by the situation. He will not accept the truth of his fate and accuses Tiresias of lying to him so Oedipus’s bother- in- law, Creon, could take the throne. Oedipus is extremely dumbfounded by this news because he had no knowledge of killing his father or marrying his mother, but what he learns later is that who he thought were his parents were not his real parents. When he finally realizes that he did in fact marry his own mother and kill his father, he accepts it and punishes himself in order to uphold his promise to his people. By this point there is no way Oedipus can escape his fate. Tiresias says to Oedipus, “No man in the world can make the gods do more than the gods will” (811). Since he did kill his father, the previous king, Oedipus has to be shunned by all of Thebes. Because there is no way of changing his fate, he accepts his responsibilities by giving himself the punishment he assigned to the murderer of Laius.

Throughout Oedipus the King, Oedipus seemed to believe that he could overcome the prophecy given to him by Apollo. However, the ending of the play suggests that Oedipus never had a chance to change his destiny; he was simply predestined by the gods to live out a life that would end with incredible physical and emotional trauma. This idea is supported by the fact that all of the major decisions made by characters within the play to try and avoid the prophecy all failed and ultimately helped fulfill the prophecy. Meanwhile, his personality flaws seemed to only hasten his demise. In the play, Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus did not have a chance to live out a normal life, but instead was destined from birth to experience a painful life

In my opinion if Oedipus did not believe his parents in Corinth were his real parent why kill someone who is old enough to be your father. Why kill someone in general?

     From before Oedipus was born, he was doomed to kill his father and marry his mother, a very cursed fate. Throughout his life, the readers learn that Oedipus tries his hardest to avoid this dreadful proclamation; however, the gods were against him before he was even in his mother's womb, so Oedipus and the readers quickly learn that there would be no way for him to avoid

The tragic fall of Oedipus in Sophocles play “Oedipus Rex” is both self-inflicted and result of events drawn from his own destiny. First off early on in Oedipus’ life his first deadly mistake towards succeeding his self-inflicted downfall was the murder of his father the former king. In a blind rage without any motive, he kills Liaus and his men at a rode crossing. Fate may have had led him to that point but it was his own rage that resulted in his biggest mistake. Further evidence of his self-inflicted downfall Oedipus’ was at the hands of his own ignorance. This ignorance combined with his stubborn, determined attitude does not allow him foresight. This foresight would have led

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.

Throughout history people try have tried to change the outcome of a situation by running away or avoiding their problems. Oedipus is no different, but by trying to run away from his problems, he only fulfills his destiny. even more. Nobodies fate it Everyone has an inescapable fate, a lesson taught by from Oedipus Rex. The play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is about fate and reveals that it cannot be altered or avoided.

           Oedipus has spent all his life running from his fate. He has, we learn, been told that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother. And he refused to accept that fate. He has spent much of his life moving around, so as to avoid his fate. It was a

Fate is defined as a predetermined event that cannot be changed by mortals. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is marked by his fate, and he does not realize it until it is too late. Oedipus learns of his fate when he calls for Teiresias, the blind man who can read and interpret the prophecies. After being provoked by Oedipus, Teiresias angrily reveals that Oedipus is destined to kill 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. Nevertheless, Oedipus understands that free will does exist and is seen throughout the text implementing his own actions into his everyday life. The idea of fate is flawed, and is used by Oedipus and people of today’s society as a scapegoat for one to hide behind their own poor decisions.

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.

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.

Oedipus was faced with several decisions in his life when he left his family, when he killed his father, when he exiled himself for killing his father; these decisions were hard for Oedipus to make. Killing a man that he didn’t even know was his father and finding out that it was made it even harder on him, because it was not his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. If his mother would have never sent him off his baby his life would be completely different and he would have never been I the position he was in. His life would have been Gods fate if Jocasta never sent him off, but since he was sent off his life became Free Will by the decisions he had to make for himself.

People make the assumption that Oedipus murdered his own father, however this is flawed. The play clearly states that this act was provoked; therefore, all he is guilty of is self-defense. Oedipus describes a wagon about to shove him off the road with "brute force", this angered him to strike the driver, and when the old male passenger (a stranger to Oedipus) tried to prong him in the head, he attacked him - this is far from being guilty of murder. This makes you think that Sophocles is writing it from the angle that Oedipus was innocent.

Oedipus was so determined to find the killer of King Laios. He was driven in the sense Laios didn’t have any kids, so he knew. The urge in Oedipus could have risen from him not knowing his own father, and how if it was his father he wouldn’t stop at anything to find the murder. Ironically, Oedipus was setting out to find himself, only at the time he didn’t know. Not only did fate come down at Laios, but fate the epitome of Oedipus’s life. Oedipus was left at birth, and he grew up to by his father’s killer and his mother’s husband. The life of Oedipus was described in that quote. He didn’t have a father, his life was ruled by fate, and his fight to find the killer was fate he would find out it was himself.