Who Is Oedipus A Victim Of Fate

If predictions were to be real, one could really believe that is what is going to happen in the future. In “Oedipus the King” this is actually true, Oedipus calls for his fate unwillingly and definitely inevitably. Fate is described as something that unavoidably befalls a person. The author of “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, writes a tragic fate that Oedipus was born to live. I will begin by giving a brief analysis of the story to give a better understanding, and explain point by point why fate was just inevitable in this story.

Although Oedipus’s fate was already determined, he is not just a mere puppet of the gods, meaning he can control his own life. Before full knowledge of his unintentional incest, he tries to flee town in order to avoid marrying his mother. By doing this he is taking matters

Large-scale questions of such ideas are raised in Sophocles’ play, “Oedipus the King”—a story that deals with the tragic hero, Oedipus, and his demise. Oedipus progresses through the play struggling against his own wicked destiny: the prophecy that declares that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Ultimately, Oedipus fulfills this prophecy; in fact, he had completed his fate without his own knowing and before the play even begins. Despite his belief that he was fighting against his prophesized destiny, Oedipus was ironically fulfilling it, and he slowly brings about his own downfall. He becomes a victim of his own fate. In this regard, “Oedipus the King” explores a terrifying concept: Oedipus never had free will—a puppet in every sense to the higher beings that decided his ending for him.

Sophocles used Oedipus’ pride to characterize Oedipus as a tragic man. It showed that he was destined to make himself miserable because of the hubris he was born with. He also uses it to show that there is fate, but we are a part of it and it is only what might happen based on the person we are. Oedipus came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil act or an evil trait but because of the person he was. When the oracles stated that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, he stated what could happen. Oedipus’ fate might have been avoided if Oedipus was not the type of person he was.

One way Oedipus is doomed to fail comes from the fact that since the very beginning of his life, he never actually knew of his past, and how his parents could never properly dispose of him. Furthermore, if he was neglected, none of these horrible things might have actually happened to him, “O God! I think i have just called down on myself a dreadful curse-- not knowing what I did” (10). For Oedipus, it was destined for everything to occur, and this unexpected pain and truth led him to his fatal end. In addition, another way Oedipus is doomed is due to his inability to accept his fate. Since he does not want to believe that he will kill his father and marry his mother, he attempts to run away from the prophecy. Just as he discovers the dreadful truth, even after he was told not to. Eventually he finds that he killed his father and “it has all come true. Light let this be the last time I see you. I stand revealed born in shame, married in shame, an unnatural murderer” (69). Once Oedipus discovers the bitter truth, he cannot handle it and stabs his eyes, leaving him blind. He feels as though he does not deserve his sight, as it represents knowledge that he admits he does not have. Finally, the last reason why Oedipus is doomed from the start comes from his

As much as I would like to feel bad for Oedipus, but when fate is set for an individual it is written in stone. Like God in the

In ancient Greece, the Gods decided how an individual’s destiny would turn out and once it was decided, the fate was set in stone. One’s fate is inevitable and can not be changed no matter what. This is clearly shown in Sophocles’s two plays, Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, where fate plays a major role. In his two plays, Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and have children with his mother. This seemingly unfortunate and cruel fate, however, is not all bad. It has a good part to it. Oedipus’s exile and blindness help him by making him a better man, improving the relationship with his daughter Antigone, and showing the characters’ true colors.

my head was a warning, and I chose to ignore it but it was destined to happen.

The play “Oedipus the King” favors the idea of fate because both Oedipus and his parents, Jocasta and Laius, make futile attempts to avoid the fate given to them by the god Apollo. However, no matter the extent to which these characters go to change their fate, they always return back to their original path of fate and it remains true.

In the play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, the story revolves around the central theme of prophecy, and forces the reader to seriously consider the extent to which the protagonist’s doom is dependent upon his own free will or is predetermined by fate. In the story, Oedipus was not a victim of only his actions or only his fate, but his actions and fatal flaws did affect the path that he took to his demise, through his pride/ignorance/temper, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and his cowardice.

Far too often, people find that despite their best efforts, life counteracts their intentions. It seems as though every person has had their moments of true powerlessness and helplessness, as their fate appeared to be in the hands of someone else. Thousands of years ago, in Ancient Greece, a potent belief in fate existed, and is even depicted in one of history’s most infamous plays, Oedipus Rex. In this play, Sophocles depicts the cruelty and strength of destiny through the terrible tale that is Oedipus’ life. Oedipus deems himself a “child of fortune” after the most grueling truths of his fate are revealed, as Oedipus realizes he truly had no command over his destiny. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles poses an eternal question about destiny: What

I find Oedipus to be a victim of fate rather than having free will. Free will could be seen to be more of an illusion than a reality. People and society like to make you think you have control over your own life while in you really do not have a choice in your fate, but do with the choices you make which lead you to it, you can determine when but not if. While it seems he could have tried harder to avoid his cursed destiny he ultimately unknowingly walked into it. He was born damned, to suffer and this makes him a true victim of the gods. Man is too weak to change fate found in this quote by Teiresias “...the wretch Who murdered Laius--that man is here. He passes for an alien in the land But soon shall prove a Theban, native born. And yet his fortune brings him little joy; for blind of seeing, clad in beggar's weeds, For purple robes, and leaning on his staff, To a strange land he soon shall grope his way. And of the children, inmates of his home, He shall be proved the brother and the sire, Of her who bare him son and husband both, Co-partner, and assassin of his sire. Go in and ponder this, and if thou find That I have missed the mark, henceforth declare I have no wit nor skill in prophecy” (450-461). The prophet says these words confidently and even put his reputation on the line to prove his wisdom is in fact true while Oedipus still wevers in fate's control of his life and believes he is more God like than he actually is while in reality he is just a mere mortal.

The theme of “Fate (deed of the gods) versus free-will (personal choices and actions)” is ever-present in Greek drama. It is the concept that the lead character of a drama has no control over his Fate, which is preconceived and inevitable. On the other hand, it has been argued that the character did have a choice in the matter, and ultimately, it’s their choices that lead to their destiny being fulfilled. In this essay, I will be exploring the role of the gods in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, and whether or not they are to blame for his tragic downfall.

Sophocles introduce one of Oedipus’s hamartia when he is approached by an old prophet that informs him “that he should kill his father and marry his mother” (Oedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Aristotle). Oedipus determined not let the prophecy come true, hurried off in the direction of Thebes, where he could distance himself from who he believed were his parents.This revealed Oedipus’s first tragic flaw (pride) that made him fight against the idea that the gods are in charge of the lives of mortals. Moreover, Oedipus pride pushed him to believe that he could control as well as create his own destiny. The possession of such fatal flaw started Oedipus path towards the realization of the gods’ prophecy. As a matter of fact, his refusal to accept a fate that was set up for him since the day he was born, contributed greatly to his own

“What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.” This becomes true when regarding any situation which life presents itself, and the losers ultimately spend their days wallowing in their grief as they realize how they mishandled their fate. The same is true in Oedipus Rex, when the tragic hero, Oedipus, attempts to change his fate, but only ends up fulfilling it and causing more destruction than foretold. In the tragic play, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles demonstrates Oedipus attempting to alter his fate, but backfires and becomes the onset for traumatic experiences.