Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will

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A common complaint of the average man is that life is not fair, but what if that assertion was not accurate? Rather, it was actually fate that caused all of our immense difficulties. This is a question that a great many societies of history have asked, with a jumbling of suggestions that attempt to explain it. One such is the Greeks’ faithful belief in the idea of all powerful gods that dictated what would be of all their lives. Specifically within the ancient tragedy of Oedipus Rex, I believe it is strongly implied that the cause of all that occurs within the myth are due to fate. I agree with this, and to explain why, the meaning of fate must be delved into a bit deeper. The Merriam Webster defines fate as being “the things that will happen …show more content…

It is human nature to fight as much as possible when faced with an unfavorable or rather downright unimaginable future. Oedipus did as any would, he did what he thought to be necessary to avert what he had learned and along with that made a few choice decisions that he would have made anyways. However, he had not yet realized the truth of fate, and I do not fault him for that. In fact, if any entity could be blamed, I place that burden squarely upon the shoulders of those that revealed this man’s destiny. They mislead this powerless character. Oedipus states that he was told by a god at the shrine of Delphi, “that I should lie with my own mother, breed children from whom all men would turn their eyes; and that I should be my father's murderer.” Such a shocking response would no doubt be met with action, but this revelation lacked in detail. It only described what would happen at the end. Fate is all-encompassing, and this god whom had already caused enough issue with the revealing of his fate failed to bring that up. Then again, this too was part of Oedipus’ fate. Same with his virtues and flaws, his ability to lead along with his stubbornness were part of the plan. He was doomed from birth to carry out every action he had ever taken; his ability to make decisions was merely an illusion disrupted only by finding out about

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