“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will”-Unknown. In “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles uses Oedipus to prove fate overcomes free will. The story take place in Thebes and theirs was plague that went around in the town and the king (Oedipus) wants to find the killer so they can stop terrorizing the people.…
In Oedipus the King, the main character Oedipus as well as his parents Jocasta and Laius were fated by the gods. It was prophesied that the child of Laius and Jocasta, Oedipus, would kill his father and marry his mother. Afraid of this prophecy coming true, Jocasta and Laius sought to avoid their fate by piercing a spike through baby Oedipus’ ankles and leaving him on a mountaintop to die and therefore preventing the events the prophecy predicted from occurring. However, because of the actions they took to avoid their fate, they actually caused the prophecy to come true. Oedipus is rescued and put in the care of an adoptive family who he believes are his real parents. Because of this, Oedipus runs away from home after hearing the prophecy several years later because he does not want to kill his father or marry his mother. However, his action actually causes the prophecy to come true as he kills his real birth father, Laius, and marries his birth mother, Jocasta, unaware that he was adopted after being found abandoned on the mountainside. In this way, by trying to avoid their fate, Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius actually cause it to happen.…
Oedipus later finds out that even though he escaped his fate when he was born (when he was spared from death and crowned prince of Corinth), the boundaries of his free will led him back to the inevitable fate that the gods had in store for him. When Oedipus discovers this, he cries out and says, “Apollo, he ordained my agonies, these, my pains… I did it myself! What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy.” (Sophocles, Ln. 1467-1473) Here, Oedipus is blaming Apollo for his troubles, but then goes on to admit that it was he too who was to blame for what happened. This shows the audience that as much as it was his free will that had a hand in his depression, it was also in the hands of the Gods, and that there is no escaping…
In the play, people lived their lives based on fate. The people relied on oracles to reveal this fate. Oedipus attempted to control this by using his free will. The oracle disclosed that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus wanted to prevent this from happening so he used his free will to control his life’s direction. He chose to leave his home in Corinth. He moved to the town of Thebes, where he met his love and had four children. Unbeknownst to him, fate had taken over and he moved to the city Thebes, where his birth parents actually lived. His love was later revealed as his birth mother.…
Despite all efforts, Oedipus could not change his pre-determined fate. He did all in his power to avoid both prophecies, such as running away from Corinth to avoid contact with his known parents, Polybus and Merope. "...I must be banished from Thebes, and then I may not even see my own parents or set foot on my own fatherland-or else I am doomed to marry my own mother and kill my father Polybus..."(Pg:57) On this trip, Oedipus came across a man in a carriage and killed him because he failed to abide by the right of way. After killing the man in the carriage, Oedipus makes his way to Thebes where he concurred the Sphinx and married the Queen of Thebes, Jocasta.…
In Sophocles’ O edipus The King, Oedipus was born with the curse that he would kill his father, Laios, and marry his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus tries to avoid his fate by running away from Corinth, however this causes him and Laios to meet one last time, and Oedipus ends up fulfilling the prophecy. With this in mind, the gods create a person’s predetermined fate, and no one can ever escape it, as Jocasta points out; “No mortal can practise the art of prophecy, no man can see the future.” (935). O edipus The King i llustrates t hat the gods have the ultimate power in people's’ lives rather than free will of the people, an individual cannot overcome fate because the gods determine their future, and personalities are chosen by the gods and as well…
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 argument on whether free will or fate governs the destinies of human beings has been the main topic of various writings, such as the 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. His naive and stubborn personality made this lie an even greater tragedy. As Mike Kelley once said “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 left at all.” Oedipus guilt…
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (rpt. in James P. Place, Literature: A reader for Freshman Composition II, 1st ed. [Boston: Pearson, 2011] 122-168), the oracles had prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and beget children by his mother. Oedipus does not want to do the things that Apollo predicted; he is no puppet, but indeed the controller of his own fate. Oedipus was unwilling to have his fate come true; he was frightened that he would kill his adopted parents. He believes they were his real parents, therefore he left to Thebes. The decision he made was based on the stories he heard. This led to Oedipus’s own downfall.…
Romeo and Oedipus, alike, are extremely impulsive both act without forethought which leads them to making decisions that are not thought out thouroughly. They both two act quickly, without thinking of later consequences. The oracle was condemned upon Oedipus from birth. The second time the oracle is told in the story, young Oedipus hears it for himself and he flees Corinth, “As this I fled away, putting the stars between me and Corinth, never to see home again…” (Hadas 115-117). Now here Oedipus is being selfish and he only thinks about his well-being. He takes matters into his own hands instead of confronting someone who might know what is going on. Oedipus flees hurriedly after he is told his ‘fate’ from an oracle in which “[King Laius] was doomed to perish by the hand of [Oedipus]” (Hadas 107). Oedipus did not stop to reason things through or get advice, instead he rushed out of his hometown. At this time, Oedipus seized control of his own fate. He himself made the decision to flee from…
They said that ‘love conquers all’ and yes it is indeed true, it is something that gives us hope and reason to fight and to live in this challenging world. The story of Odyssey made me realize that we should be patient, humble, brave and do not underestimate the power of God just only because we did something great and we see ourselves as the greatest among all. Odysseus faced a lot of challenges because of one mistake but he didn’t lose hope because of his love to his family and kingdom.…
In Oedipus the King, there are two major oracles that cause Oedipus to fight for a different fate. The oracle declared, ”…doom would strike him down at the hands of a son, our son, to be born of our own flesh and blood” (Sophocles, Oed 786-788) this is in reference to his father, and also that Oedipus was, “ fated to couple with your mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see- you will kill your father, the one who gave you life” (Sophocles, Oed 873-875). These two events happen very quickly in the play and from then on he tries to fight his fate. As he struggles, his destiny is becoming more of a reality without him knowing. This makes Oedipus a tragic character, because he purposefully tries to make only good, but ends up killing his father, and marrying his own mother. One could argue that if Oedipus never heard the fate from the oracle, he wouldn’t have tried to avoid it the way he did, and could have possibly changed his own destiny. This makes the oracle that Oedipus received a self fulfilling prophesy, meaning that the existence of the fate created such a distaste in the mind of Oedipus that it consumed him and made it a reality.…
When Oedipus is completely blind to the truth, he is safe from fulfilling his terrible destiny. It is when he begins to see the truth that he starts to approach his fate. "...a drunken man maundering in his cups / Cries out that I am not my father's son! / ...the suspicion / Remained always aching in my mind," Here, on page 42, Oedipus, in a very minor way, starts to see the truth. By becoming slightly aware of the truth, Oedipus's situation only got worse as his knowledge only escalated with every curious inquiry. Because of what the drunkard said, Oedipus learned about the oracle ("[Oedipus] should lie with [his] own mother... / ...and that he should be his father's murderer" (42) ) and fled for safety from what he thought was his fate. However, he was doing the exact opposite; while fleeing from Corinth, he met his real father, King Laїos, and killed him. He then made his way to Thebes where he married his real mother, Iocaste.…
Even though what the drunkard said was actually true, Oedipus could take blame for what will come into his horrible future if he had only just believed his parents when they said that they were in fact his real parents. Though, in doing so his adopted parents would force Oedipus to be living a life of lies, but he would be happy, it would have not been in vain, and no one would get hurt. The oracle then told him the very same thing she told his actual birth parents, Laius and Jocasta that his inevitable fate was he was destined to murder his father and marry his mother and have children with her. Even though prophecies from an oracle are inevitable, he decided to try and avoid such a horrible fate like that, so he left and decided it was best to never return…
It is always said that we are all predestined with a set prophecy. No matter how much one tries to escape it, our fate will always conquer. Whether it’s finding the right person who you are going to marry or the career path a person chooses, it’s all up to the decision of fate. Knowing ones fate can either uplift or destroy a person because of the path it permits the person to take. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a prime example of how one’s fate destroys him and he couldn’t escape it. Oedipus being the main character, gains knowledge of his horrid fate and attempts to break away from it. Because Oedipus gains knowledge of his fate and does try and run from it, he mistakenly kills his father and marries his mother, denies the truth, and blinds himself.…