Free Will vs Fate: A Study of Oedipus Rex

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Fate is the belief that a person's life is being controlled by destiny while free will is the belief that a person's life is being controlled by themselves where they choose how to live their life and without an external force. Although this topic has divided people for many centuries, many famous poets and authors have used this to their advantage. One example of fate versus free will is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus Rex should be considered to be categorized as a free will drama because of several events that happen that shows Oedipus free will, such as the example of the messenger telling Jocasta the good news, 2“MESSENGER: The people of Isthmus will choose Oedipus to be their king. That is the rumor there.” (1061-1062) The Messenger …show more content…

Oedipus adoptive parents decide to omit the truth and not mention that they are his adoptive parents. Even though they are not aware of the prophecy, both show their free will to hide the truth from Oedipus. Some gods had an Oedipus-like experience not meaning an exact experience, but similar. Such as Zeus, Uranus, and Gaia because Zeus killed his father and Uranus, and Gaia had a relationship even though Gaia was Uranus mother.
Teiresias, the old and the blind prophet, is a major reason why Oedipus Rex should be free will instead of fate. Even Though, many oracles have gone blind because of fate Teiresias went blind because he chooses to. 3 Teiresias was spying on the goddess Athena when she found him spying on her while she was taking a shower she punished Teiresias for his actions (Greek Mythology). Every human being has desires, and we control our actions and we handle our desires and Teiresias did not escape this.
4“MESSENGER: The people of Isthmus will choose Oedipus to be their king. That is the rumor there.” (1061-1062). It might have just been a rumor, but, it is still free will because someone decided to spread the word. After all, a person has the freedom to think and to say what they want, when they …show more content…

If Oedipus's adoptive parents would not have noticed him, then he would not have escaped from home to go to his birthplace. If Oedipus did not run away from home, he would not have killed his father on the way to Thebes. Subsequently causing Oedipus to marry and have kids with his mother. After all, they showed free will but ruined their lives forever. They decided how everything was going to end, they decided who kill, marry, and how many kids to have.
In summary, Oedipus Rex deserves the title of a free will drama because most characters have to decide what to do, how to act and what to say. For instance, the Oracle and Oedipus adoptive parent’s not telling Oedipus the full truth. Also, the story behind how Teiresias lost his sense of sight. Oedipus’s story of Alabama Section 13A-13-3, inter-familial relationships, and the causes of one person panicking. Finally, Oedipus Rex has many examples of free will, but the important thing is to find these example, one has to expand their mind, think outside the box and go against the

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