It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King. However, it not fair for Oedipus to take full responsibility of killing his father and having an incent relationship with Queen Jocasta because fate has overcome his free will.…
The role of fate is the power that determines the outcome of events as well as the actions of how people choose what they want to do can contribute to a breakdown of a person. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus’ own actions through his life contribute to his downfall at the end of the play. It is Oedipus choice to look for answers of his childhood. Oedipus’ blindness to the truth of his life causes him to make a decision to become blind at his downfall. The excessive pride Oedipus has results in his decision to going after king Laios murderer not knowing he is the murderer. The actions of Oedipus are factors in his downfall as he chooses to fill in missing information of his childhood.…
Man can try his best to control his fate, but, ultimately, he is blind to what is actually going to come. Oedipus lived in a figurative state of blindness. Because he was human, he was blinded to his doom. It wasn’t until this harsh realization that Oedipus saw he couldn’t control his fate. When Oedipus gained sight of what his life had become, he decided to take his eyesight away crying out, “What good was left for my eyes to see? Nothing in this world could I see now with a glad heart” (Sophocles 1520-1522). Oedipus never experienced life on earth without some form of blindness. Oedipus’ life is, unfortunately, a result of human nature. Man can be both physically blinded and live in darkness, and man can be figuratively blinded from that of which only the gods can foresee. Both forms of blindness, brought on by consequences of the flesh, can hinder the joyfulness one experiences in…
In the Play Oedipus Rex, Fate vs. Free will is a major factor of the story. The story is set in ancient Greece where Oedipus becomes king of a small city after the death of the old king. The key question is; did Oedipus make all his decisions by himself, or did fate already plan and execute what was going to happen to him? In this particular story there is strong evidence to swing to both sides, however, the fate of Oedipus was the biggest factor.…
The second paragraph Dodds is giving examples to support his view that fate does not make us determined in our ways. With the use of secondary sources Dodds is able to elaborate on his belief that Oedipus acted on his own will rather than being a forced by fate. Dodds made a reference to philosopher A.W. Gomme and Jesus Christ who both spoke about actions being fate bound. He cited Gomme because Gomme made it unquestionable that the gods may say something will happen but they do not give a direct order to make the act in question play out. Dobbs wanted to make the reader see that even though Jesus prophesied that Peter would betray it was Peter who did so at his own will. The person with the foreknowledge can share their knowledge with the person in questioning and they can acknowledge it. However, it is in the hands of the person who received the foreknowledge to…
In fiction, generally fate is unavoidable. Fate comes true and is impossible to escape, even if protagonists of plays and books believe that they are acting on free will. Though a character may think that he or she can outsmart a prophecy, their free will is part of their fate. In both Macbeth and Oedipus the King, prophecies came true, as they were always true ahead of time. Macbeth and Oedipus both think that they were escaping their fate and downfall by avoiding the prophecies and acting on their own free will, but in doing so, their fate becomes true and occurs in what they discover to be self-fulfilling prophecies. Fate is the direct cause for Oedipus and Macbeth to fall, due to how the prophecies cause both Oedipus and Macbeth to change their normal course of actions and behave differently from most people, in order to fulfill their prophecies, and, after discovering that their fate became true, they both recognize that their perceived free will was indeed false and blame who made the fates and told them the prophecies that caused the fates to occur.…
In the play “Oedipus the King”, fate vs. freewill dilemma of the heart of Oedipus myth is described as a tragic flaw caused by his blindness. In human life, there are people governed about whether they choose to do something with their fate vs. freewill. But most people believe that it is not always good to have fate vs. freewill. It is a choice to cause either fate by making something happen or freewill by controlling their behavior in situations.…
If the culture someone was in was very religious, Oedipus the King would be a play that explains how fate is too powerful to conquer. Oedipus’s fate was what caused his downfall, there was nothing he could do. Depending on what religion their culture is fond of, the god/gods would have wanted Oedipus to kill his own father, marry his mother, and stab his eyes out. Oedipus couldn’t have done anything about it. Fate led Oedipus to the crossroads as said in the play, "Short work, by god-with one blow of the staff" (Sophocles 189). Fate was the one that decided all his actions. If the audience was religious, they would have felt bad for Oedipus because there was nothing he could have possibly done to avoid his fate. On the contrary, in a culture where religion is not prevalent, free will would be the theme that is the most prominent. The whole play would be about how Oedipus chose to kill his father and marry his mother, due to his actions and decisions. For starters, Oedipus could have neglected the throne when he solves the Sphinx riddle. If he had refused to take the throne, he wouldn’t have married his mother and the situation all together. Not only that, considering he chose to find out about his fate, his free will is based on his drive for knowledge. Oedipus’s expressed this determination when he said, "Oh no, listen to me, I beg you, don't do this....Listen to you? No more. I must know it all, see the truth at last " (Sophocles 195). This quote expresses how his own ignorance led to his downfall in the end. He had the option of dropping the whole situation, but he decided to continue. If someone that grew up in a culture where free will was a common…
People always say that if they could be able to notice and correct the causes of a tragedy, it would not happen. However, things happen for reasons. In the famous Ancient Egypt tragedy Oedi- pus written by Sophocles, while Oedipus is trying to help the citizens who are experiencing a disas- ter, he finds out that he is the killer of his natural father and his wife is his real mother. It does not matter what could be avoided before everything happens, the play Oedipus could not have had a different ending than it does, because the personality of Oedipus has showed that the truth could never be hidden, the situation has not given anyone to correct what has been wrong, the fear of Laius and Jocasta has determined the outcome, and Oedipus and Jocasta have believed what they are told instead of knowing the whole story.…
"Fate" only happened because of the actions of the characters themselves. And in their actions, there was no divine intervention that somehow facilitated the prophecy. Oedipus was born an intelligent and strong man who was meant for great things. This is the reason why he managed to solve the riddle of the Sphinx in the first place, and probably also the reason why he single-handedly murdered a band of travelers including his own father.…
The characters in Oedipus the King express many different views on fate, prophecy, and the power of the gods. Characters like the chorus and the leader have solid beliefs in the gods and prophecy, but their faith is shaken many times and is changed based on the events that happen. Other characters like Jocasta refuse to accept the prophecies as truth. Towards the end of the play, however, all have no hesitation in their minds that the power of the gods and prophecies are valid. Everything that was foretold becomes true, extinguishing any doubt and maddening those who did not believe. Thus, Sophocles ultimately suggests that fate is unavoidable and it is unwise to try to alter it.…
The first main sign of fate is when Oedipus is dropped off to die because Oedipus’ parents did not want the curse to come true. Being controlled by fear, Oedipus’s parents Lauis and Jocasta sent baby Oedipus to the mountains refusing to allow the oracle to happen, hoping he’ll die. Being sent to the mountains with his ankles tied, and set alone to die. Polybus grabs Oedipus and raises Oedipus as his own. The fact that Lauis and Jocasta had already planned out…
In many respects, the irony is that while Oedipus is treated unfairly by fate, he is also the initiator of events that torment him. Oedipus uses his free will, yet fate molds the outcome of the decisions that he has made. In other words, he is free and, therefore, to some extent, completely responsible for the events that happen to him.…
Fate or predestination is “the development of events, outside a persons’ control, as predetermined by supernatural power” Examining this description with the line of developments in King Oedipus, one can partly identify fate in the play with its formal description. Oedipus’ actions, e.g. killing his father and sleeping with his mother, “sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding blood” (Sophocles, King Oedipus 1228) is the developments mentioned in the description mentioned above. The next phrase, “outside a person’s control”, is not true in the case of Oedipus. He had control over his actions, as he has a free will. He chose to murder a fellow road user (King Laius) and to take Jocasta as his wife. He did not however do this with the knowledge to the identity of his birth parents, Jocasta and Laius. Finally one can add the power of the supernatural in this catastrophic equation.…
The irony behind Oedipus tragical childhood fate and his name are both perfect examples of the theme God vs Human. This is also another strenghener factor about how humans have no power over fate and prophecies. Oedipus fate was traced was determined way before his conception. From him bieng a baby all these misfortunes start to happen and he has no control or is even aware of what is going on. Another foreshadow of how humans free will is limited and powerless against fate.…