Examples Of Fate In Oedipus The King

Bad Ends

Does a man accept his fate and simply allow himself to suffer for the evil deeds that destiny bestowed upon him, or is it he whom has simply ignored the fact that he is ultimately creating his own destiny through free will? If many of us were to ask this question in regards to Oedipus the King we could see a direct correlation. Modern critics of Oedipus the King such as Thomas Gould who considers the possibilities whether Oedipus is indeed innocent, “the finest tragedies never show good men being crushed by destinies that they could not have avoided” (49) help us better understand how Oedipus may have brought upon his own blinding future. Throughout the play, Oedipus repeatedly pleas to the gods as though they are responsible for what his actions has lead him to do, as though he “has no free will but is a puppet in the hands of the gods who pull the strings that make him dance” (E. R. Dodds 35). For Oedipus his terrible fate is predetermined by those he sought holy, “I am the gods’ most hated man!” (1529), or is he guilty and that of his own free will? In a culture where fate is perceived to be in

The two crimes being patricide and the other incest. Although the fact that he may have not been able to escape these crimes shows a glimpse of innocence. It is likely true in the eyes of a spectator is that Oedipus committed these crimes not by any reason other than free will. Murdering his own father Laius constitutes free will of its own as he was not forced into doing it. That being true what are the coincidences that he would also end up marrying his own mother as well. Both coincide directly after another as though it was pre-determined by some other source of power. It is possible that fate, light and darkness, and knowledge will develop the potential of innocence and are major factors in this