Freewill and Fate in Oedipus Rex The argument on whether free will or fate governs the destinies of human beings has been the main topic of many great writings, such as the tragic tale of Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles. Oedipus demonstrated to have a fulfilling praise life by many to see, however he had a past or a fate unknown to him. For the past, he knew, was a complete lie, everything he thought to be true was false. “Guilt is a powerful affliction. You can try to turn your back on it, but that’s when it sneaks up behind you and eats you alive. Some people struggle to understand their own guilt, unwilling or unable to justify the part they play in it. Others run away from their guilt, shedding their conscience until there’s no conscience …show more content…
Then he gets to Thebes solves the riddle of the phoenix and boom, Oedipus is king of Thebes married to his own mother. A woman much like his his father, never met her or seen her, and he believes his real mom is in Corinth. Fast forward a bit and now he has four new siblings and kids. Amazingly after all they did too prevent it the prophecy had become reality right under their noses and no one knows nor would they ever find out until Thebes fell under a plaque for an unknown reason. Great king Oedipus wanted to be the hero and set his people free from this plaque so he sent his brother in law to the oracle to find out the reason why. The killer of the former king Laius had to be found and exiled from Thebes for the plaque to be lifted. Through Oedipus’s excessive hubris he sworn and boasted about how the killer would be found and punished when he in fact was the …show more content…
Fate or Freewill, which one could it be? This story is a perfect example of why fate cannot be beat no matter what . It seems that once a person’s fate has been revealed they never can change it or beat it. However if a person does not know their own fate they would not know if they change their fate. Freewill is the actions and decisions people make that determine their fate. In the story of Oedipus if his real parents never would have tried to get rid of him what are the chances of a child raised and loved by his mother and father would grow up, kill his father, and marry his mom. Therefore by putting trust in another person the shepherd in this case to get rid of or kill the baby they risk the chance of the baby not being killed, but instead raised by another set of parents never knowing his real parents increasing the chance of something as ridiculous as the prophecy actually happening. Even if Oedipus had listened to Tiresias and not continued to ask, no one would have known but the city of Thebes would have been under a plaque until Oedipus’s death. Fate is just a product of freewill, everybody was put on this earth for a reason and all have certain duties to perform, that’s just the way it
Many times in life, people think they can determine their own destiny, but, as the Greeks believe, people cannot change fate the gods set. Though people cannot change their fate, they can take responsibility for what fate has brought them. In the story Oedipus, by Sophocles, a young king named Oedipus discovers his dreadful fate. With this fate, he must take responsibility and accept the harsh realities of what’s to come. Oedipus is a very hubris character with good intentions, but because he is too confident, he suffers. In the story, the city of Thebes is in great turmoil due to the death of the previous king, Laius. With the thought of helping his people, Oedipus opens an investigation of King Laius’s murder, and to solve the mystery, he seeks advice from Tiresias, a blind prophet. When Laius comes, Oedipus insists on having the oracle told to all of Thebes showing no sign of hesitation or caution. This oracle states that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus must learn to deal with his terrible and appalling fate the way a true and honorable king would. Because...
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is told that he will marry his mother and murder his father. He is told by the Delphic oracle this information but he wants to change his fate so he banishes himself from what he believes is place of birth. As he is wondering, he stumbles across a caravan. After some arguing, due to his hubris, he kills all the men in the caravan. One of the men in the caravan turned out to be his father, King Laios. Oedipus at the time did not know this. He then entered the city of Thebes and broke the plague of the sphinx by solving its riddle. Because of this he was awarded the recently widowed Queen Iocaste, who is actually his mother. He married Iocaste and had children with her.
King Laios the ruler of Thebes, has a son with his wife Queen Iocoste. His name is Oedipus. The soothsayer Teiresias, a loyal servant to the King and Queen tells them some disturbing news. Teiresias tells King Laios and Queen Iocoste that their son, Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. The king and queen make a decision to take the baby boy up to a mountain far away from the town. King Laios gives the baby to a servant and instructs him to bind the babies ankles and leave him on the mountain side to perish. The servant follows his instructions but instead of leaving the boy on the mountain side he gives him to a shepherd and makes him promise to take the boy to a far away place.
Even though "fate" seems to determine Oedipus' life, he does, in fact, have a free will.
At the beginning we are made aware that a plague has stricken Thebes. According to Creon, who has just visited the Oracle at Delphi to make an inquiry, the plague will continue until the murderer of the last King of Thebes, is expelled from the city. Oedipus proceeds to call upon Tiresias, the blind prophet, who reveals that Oedipus is Laius’s murderer. Tiresias also gives Oedipus a riddle, which says that the murderer of Laius is both father and brother to his own children, and the son of his wife. Jocasta tries to convince Oedipus that the prophecy can’t be true and gives an example of a false prophecy made by the Delphic oracle, which proclaimed that Laius would be murdered by his own son. Upon hearing the story about how Laius actually died however (at a three-way crossroads), Oedipus realizes that he might have been the one who killed Laius. Oedipus then seeks out his father Polybus who he finds died of natural...
In the famous tragedy by Sophocles, Oedipus the King, the selfless hero is met with a devastating end, leading readers and spectators to the ultimate question of the author’s work: was his fate truly inevitable? Oedipus finds himself entwined within a world where free will juxtaposes with the Greek belief of divine power guiding fate: the human has the ability to control his own destiny unless gods decide to intervene, whereupon all efforts to control or resist fate become futile. However Oedipus still believes he is acting freely by running from the city of Corinth to save whom he believed to be his parents but he subsequently runs into his true father, to who he then murders after a horrendous dispute. Unknowingly, the gods were guiding
Born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta in the city of Thebes, Oedipus is surrounded with controversy after a prophecy shows that Oedipus will be destined to murder his father and marry his mother. Fearing the potential consequences of the prophecy, Oedipus’ parents made the decision to abandon their baby at the top of a mountain to die using one of their servants. The servant’s consciousness, however, causes him to instead deliver the baby to a shepherd, who in turn sends him to King Polybius and Queen Merope of the kingdom Corinth. After raising the child as their own, Oedipus becomes suspicious that these weren’t his biological parents and leaves Corinth upon hearing the prophecy by the oracle Delphi. As he unknowingly travels to his birth city, Thebes, Oedipus murdered a man along with his servants after a dispute between them. Before entering Thebes, Oedipus is confronted by the guardian of the city’s Gates, the Sphinx who presents him with a riddle. If he solves the riddle, he will be able to pass. If he doesn’t, he’ll die. Oedipus’s superior intelligence and cleverness allows him to easily solve the riddle, however unbeknownst to him will be a foreshadowing of his tragic downfall. The citizens of Thebes praise Oedipus and Queen Jocasta offers to marry him since her husband was mysteriously murdered. Upon marry Jocasta and becoming the King of Thebes, a powerful plague decimates the citizens of
In the story, “Oedipus the King” before Oedipus became king of Thebes, he made choices that led to events that defined his fate. The first event emerged when Oedipus heard a drunken man saying that the ones who cared for Oedipus at Corinth were not his biological parents. The terrible news is what set forth the very first steps towards the beginning of the events that led to his fate. Oedipus confused and interested in the truth, went on to speak with God. However, the God did not answer what Oedipus questioned and instead had his fate foretold. “The god dismissed my question without reply; he spoke of other things. Some were clear, full of wretchedness, dreadful, unbearable: As, that I should lie with my own mother, breed children from all men would turn their eyes; and that I should be my father’s murderer,” (Gioia, 2010). Oedipus still unfamiliar, of who his parents were, chose to flee from home in attempt to prevent the God’s statement of his fate from coming true. Oedipus’ choice of fleeing the country was perhaps a bad decision. It was what led him to experience the first event of his fate. As Oedipus goes his...
After Oedipus becomes king of Thebes, the people of Thebes become plagued. Oedipus’ feels responsible for saving the people of Thebes. Oedipus’ pride to save the city later turns to pity after he divulges the sin he has committed. His pride forces him to find the traitor who murdered Laius. He eventually finds out that he is the sinner and gouges his eyes out to prove that he is not worthy of sight.
The Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, was written to show the common people of Greece how powerful the gods are and that your fate is pre-determined and nothing you do can change that. He does this by showing how people in this story try to escape their fate and how it is no use because in the end, what the oracles predict comes true. In the story there are many occasions in which people try to escape their fate.
When he grows up, unknowing of his adoption, he discovers his doomed fate from an Oracle. Seeking to escape it, he flees from Colonus. Once upon the road, Oedipus discovers his path blocked by a man, whom he perceives to be a robber. He kills this man, who turns out to be his father, and unknowingly fulfills the first part of the prophecy. Soon, he comes to Thebes, which is being terrorized by a terrible monster, the Sphinx. The Sphinx wanders the streets surrounding the city, asking travelers an unanswered riddle. Oedipus encounters the Sphinx, and answers its riddle, causing the Sphinx to kill herself in disbelief. The citizens of Thebes, who have recently found themselves kingless, appoint Oedipus king and give him Queen Iocast? for his wife as a reward. The couple lives together happily and produces four children. Some years later, the city is beset by a terrible plague. It is prophesied that the only way to cure the city is to find the killer of the previous king, and bring him to justice. Oedipus, who wishes to solve the city's peril, relentlessly seeks out the answer to the problem. He soon discovers the hideous truth; he has killed his father, married his mother, and fathered her children. He returns home to find that his wife/mother has committed suicide, and, unable to deal with the reality of this wretched reality, he takes the broaches from her gown and gouges his eyes out.
In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus ' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). 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.
“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” In other words, the connotation of this anonymous quote states that despite whatever one chooses to decide, the outcome of their choices and decisions will still result to their predetermined fate. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, demonstrates this statement throughout the play in the role of his tragic hero Oedipus. In the course of Oedipus’ actions of trying to escape his predestined fortune, his fate and flaws of being human played major roles to bring about his downfall.
Fate is the power that controls all of mankind. There is no way to escape the events that are predetermined for man; there is no such thing as free will. Every decision one makes is not their own choosing, but rather an inescapable course of actions foreseen and determined by a higher power. Sometimes prophets or oracles can show the Destiny of others, such as the oracle of Delphi who speaks the words of Apollo the God of Light and Sun. This exact oracle revealed the prophecy of a man by the name of Oedipus, he is smart, he is heroic, but more than any trait he is cursed. Oedipus learned that he shall murder his father and one day marry his mother who in turn will give birth to his children. That is exactly what happened: he ran away from his adopted parents, killed his true father and won his mother’s hand in marriage by defeating the Sphinx. But in the end, Oedipus had no idea he ruined his family, and once he saw the truth, he cut out his own eyes and exiled himself from Thebes. Since the beginning of time the Immortals of Greece have anticipated the birth of Oedipus; throughout his entire life: birth, teenage years, and adulthood the Gods have known his Destiny and they forced him to fulfill his painful prophecy.
But now, the king was killed by a foreign highway robber at the place where three roads meet-so goes the story” (1.1.791-796). The man he killed on that street was actually his dad. What Oedipus did not know, was that the people he thought his parents and ran away from, were just his adoptive parents. So if he had not been so set on changing his fate, then that awful fate the oracle predicted, might not have come true as he imagined.... ...